Flaps, Slats and Turkey Feathers: A box of chocolates in the Arizona sun

When it comes to photographing arrivals at Davis-Monthan AFB it helps to realize that this base is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get. DM, as we call it, has a few things going for it when it comes to unpredictability:

Operation Snowbird- a winter program where units preparing to go to their operational locations come to get "ramped up" for deployment and where you can see any number of squadrons (and not just US-based) as the this part of the country closely mimics conditions found in certain Southwest Asia areas of responsibility..

309th AMARG- a.k.a. the Boneyard, home to an ever-changing number of aircraft that come to be stored, retired/scrapped and some even rise from the dead (like the F-4 FSAT- Full-Sized Aerial Target program and some FMS- Foreign Military Sales). AMARG also has programs like the A-10 SLEP (service life extension program), C-130 PDM (Programmed Depot Maintenance) and B-1 Sniper pod installations which puts associated aircraft in the skies.

Location- DM is on a major east-west transit route which brings in visitors for cross-country check rides and gas-n-go stops. Being conveniently located to the US-Mexican border DM is also a major operations hub for US Customs and Border Patrol aircraft.

So with all that said, spotters here can expect to find, well... the unexpected. It pays to have your head on a swivel even when you're eating a big juicy roast beef sandwich from Luke's as you just might catch a retiring F-15A from the Oregon ANG on short final.

F-16C Fighting Falcon Block 25 Wing King of the Minnesota ANG 148th Fighter Wing / 179th fighter Squadron "Bulldogs"