Former employees of the top secret Area 51 military base are banding together to try and save an icon of the Cold War era. The men, all former CIA contractees, are heartbroken because of the shoddy treatment given to an amazing spy plane that once flew from the Groom Lake base, but is now stuck in a New York Harbor and is literally falling to pieces.
The I-Team spoke to the CIA men about their interest in saving the plane known as Article 122.
Retired Brigadier General Dennis Sullivan has a special bond with the A-12 spy plane. Sullivan was recruited by the CIA to pilot the sleek aircraft, flying secret espionage missions all over the world as part of something called Project Oxcart, a CIA operation based at Nevada’s Groom Lake, better known as Area 51.
Only 15 A-12’s were ever built, the first of the Blackbirds, arguably the greatest airplanes that have ever flown. Sullivan is pretty sure he set a world record in the A-12, one that’s never been broken, but that’s never been acknowledged either because of secrecy concerns.
Gen. Dennis Sullivan said, “It was on a flight from Nevada to Idaho. I turned back, pushed the throttle up — by the time I came in over Groom Lake, I was at 90,000 feet.”
The world altitude record in the SR-71 is 90,000 feet. There’s little question that the A-12’s and subsequent Blackbirds helped to win the Cold War by letting America know what potential adversaries were up to.
One of the planes, known as Article 122, was special, even for an A-12, special because of the advanced composite materials that modified its titanium structure, and because of other design changes inspired by Sullivan himself.
The composites meant that Article 122 was the most fragile of the A-12’s, a fact that is all too evident today. Instead of being sent to air museums like the other surviving A-12’s, Article 122 was handed over to a private businessman who plopped it onto the deck of an aircraft carrier for the past several years, a decaying tourist attraction.
People who care about Article 122 are pretty steamed. T.D. Barnes, a former CIA specialist, said, “We’re upset. It shouldn’t be on a carrier in salt water. It’s composite materials; it’s rotting down, using it as a moneymaker. Robbie Knievel jumped over it with a motorcycle, cutting wheelies.”
Officially, Article 122 is still on loan from the Air Force, but military officials have shown little interest in the terrible state of the plane, now a target for graffiti, bird droppings, and vandalism. Rivets have fallen out, leaving holes in the sides. The nose has been replaced by a makeshift “doo-hickey.”
To try and hide obvious wear and tear inflicted by the elements, someone applied a coat of latex house paint to 122’s unique skin, and didn’t even bother to match the color. People who remember the plane from Groom Lake are sick about it. Plus, why put a CIA plane on a Navy carrier? It makes as much sense as putting an Army tank on the flight deck.
The International Roadrunners organization, made up of former Groom Lake employees, would like to see Article 122 returned home to Nevada, perhaps as part of an aviation museum or Cold War exhibit. It’s a long shot, but the situation has the Roadrunners riled up.
Gen. Dennis Sullivan says, “Something needs to be done. Las Vegas is a good spot for it.”
The Roadrunners know they face long odds in trying to rescue Article 122, but they are a determined bunch.
http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3786604&nav=168Xdx3U
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September 2, 2005 at 5:26 am