[MilCom] Blackbird Airpark

[Duane Mantick]

While out in California on vacation last week, I was able
to con the wife into taking a drive out of LA over to Palmdale
to see Blackbird Airpark.  Got there with a minimum of 
difficulty only to find it closed when it was supposed to
be open with a sign up that the closure was due to a
"volunteer emergency".  Must not have many backup volunteers,
but anyway I hope nobody was seriously ill or anything like 
that.

Consequently had to shoot photos through the fence.  Which brings
me to the main point, that I *think* Blackbird Airpark must have
been moved recently.  It is currently located OUTSIDE of the
security gate at a publicly accessible location.  They just also
dedicated a "Heritage Airpark" with some other  aircraft outdoors
on display just a bit west on the same east-to-west road, which
I think they call "Avenue P".  There was a blurb in the area papers
about it, with retired General Steve Ritchie having been the
keynote speaker.

The current contents of the Airpark include the #1 A-12; SR71
#973; a U2-D; a D21 drone with NO markings on it; a J58 engine.

I have two photos of myself next to the sign that is on the 
extremely unattractive chain link fence - one that you might say
is for "general consumption" and the other of which is a variant
in which a certain gesture expresses my irritation at having flown
2000 miles out there with the idea to see this place and finding
it closed.  :-)  I may scan that latter one in if anyone wants a
mild laugh.   

The wife and I got a few pictures but that fence made this a real 
pain in the butt.  The location is NOT an attractive one at all,
downright ugly and wouldn't even be worth going to unless you are
a SERIOUS Blackbird/Skunk Works fan.  I'll add that Palmdale is
everything that I have always been told it was, which includes
hotter-than-hell and dryer-than-hell (104 in the shade with 11 percent
humidity) with a wind that would rip the hide off a rhino by picking
up that sand.  How those airplanes will survive I don't know - the
paint is surely getting both baked and sandblasted.

Very sad to see such fine aircraft set out to rot in this manner.

Duane
Indiana