RC, yeah, the good old C-130. In front line active duty service for almost 65 years now and no replacement in sight. Along with the C-141, I am well acquainted with them. They have a special place in my heart from all of the one way trips that they provided. Sounds like your dad has some great memories of them as well.
Mike, my first time passing thru Tucson was on a day long ago when the A-10s were very active. I didn't see any flying the other day, but the flight line had all sorts of other neat stuff there, and a few C-130s were up in the air. I need to hit the boneyard and Pima museum one of these days. Preferably on a spring or fall day when the temps aren't just below 100. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive each way from our home to the base.
Dodgy, most military bases have a museum of some sort on them, some better than others. But since 9/11, access by non military folks is either during an "open house" to designated areas, or with a sponsor escort. So many of these museums cannot be visited by the general public.
Lee, I am guessing that the canopies were painted over for long term display in the open in the desert climate. The usual plexiglass of a canopy will deteriorate if not maintained regularly like on operational aircraft. The U-2 canopy on the opposite side was in rough shape.
Don, I'll be looking forward to that Bird Dog build of yours.
F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!
U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!
N is for NO SURVIVORS...
- Plankton
LSM