Today I drove 302.5 miles traveling from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tucson, Arizona.
This is the final video shot with my old and failing camera. |
I am spending the night at the Hilton Hotel on the east side of Tucson, Arizona.
I have a standard room with one king bed.
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Hello Folks, I'm going to take it easy on you today as I do not have much to report on. This morning I had a very boring three and a half hour drive from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tucson, Arizona. Moved my clock back another hour to mountain standard time since Arizona does not go on daylight savings time. The first, and only thing I did here in Tucson was visit the Pima Air and Space Museum.  I spent several days here in Tucson almost five years ago to the day. I didn't visit this museum on that trip so I thought I would today. Below is one of the Blue Angels planes. Begun as a supersonic variant of the F9F Cougar the Tiger quickly evolved into an entirely new design with its own designation, F11F-1. The Tiger showed great early promise as a fighter, but the rapid advancement of aviation technology in the 1950s resulted in the plane’s obsolescence even before it entered service. Tigers served in front line squadrons for only four years before they were replaced by the F-8 Crusader. Tigers continued in use in training and testing programs and with the Blue Angels up to the end of the 1960s. The last two flying Tigers were used in a program to test an inflight thrust reverser and made the last Tiger flights in 1975.  The B-52G variant of the Stratofortress was introduced in 1958. The “G” model participated in the B-52s second war in 1991 with 74 aircraft dropping a total of 36,590 bombs with a total weight of 11,742,000 pounds, or 5,781 tons, and participating in what were at the time the longest combat missions ever flown.  Below is a B-36 Peacemaker.  The B-47 became the first all-jet bomber produced anywhere in the world. Over two thousand Stratojets were built between 1947 and 1957.  Based on the Boeing C-97 cargo plane and the Boeing 377 airliner, the huge “Guppy” super-transports are some of the most unique aircraft ever built. Designed to carry very large, but relatively light cargos. The planes proved to be very useful for carrying segments of rockets and many of the Saturn rockets that powered the Apollo Program were transported in the Super Guppy.  In 1959, the U.S. Air Force purchased three “off-the-shelf” 707-153s for use as VIP transports. Modifications to the aircraft were limited to interior fittings and military radio equipment they were externally identical to commercial 707s. These aircraft served as VIP transports in the Presidential aircraft fleet until they were retired in the late 1990s.  Below is a C-118. It is a militarized version of the Douglas DC-6 airliner. This aircraft served as the official Air Force One for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. It was the last propeller driven aircraft to be designated as the primary Presidential transport.  Below is a 1950s TWA Lockheed Constellation.  The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the latest in Boeing’s family of jet airliners that began with the 707 in the late 1950s. The Dreamliner incorporates many technological innovations that serve to enhance the aircraft’s performance in terms of both flight and economics. The aircraft is the first large commercial aircraft to feature an airframe made almost entirely of composite materials instead of aluminum. Nearly 80% of the aircraft is made of carbon fiber composites. This, along with new advanced engines and aerodynamic innovations in the shape of the aircraft’s wings, make the 787 one of the most fuel efficient and cost-effective jet airliners ever built. Flight testing on the 787 began in 2009 with the first aircraft entering service with All Nippon Airways in 2011. Boeing has received orders for over 1,000 aircraft in three major variants.  Below is a Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter plane from the USS Kitty Hawk.  I could show you dozens more planes and bore you to death but I won't. I kind of rushed through the museum today as other things were on my mind. I needed to replace my camcorder after all. And I wanted to get that taken care of here in Tucson. I checked into the Hilton Tucson East early. A very nice hotel with a seven story atrium.  I researched which camera I wanted to buy. The Best Buy two miles from my hotel did not have it in stock. I had to drive all the way across town to another Best Buy. I got the new camcorder back to the hotel and checked it out. It seems to work fine. That task accomplished I was starving. I went next door to Culver's and got me some dinner.  Below is the view out my hotel window.  Now I'm relaxing and watching the Reds play the Braves in the first game of the season on ESPN2. That's it for today. Tim |
Covers 302.5 miles from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tucson, Arizona. |
Click on the arrow above for tomorrow's adventures.
| TIM'S HOME PAGE SITE INDEX | |||
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