Pinal Air Park (or Marana as it is otherwise known) is a former CIA base and I’m sure we have gone into its murky history many times before.
Evergreen was associated with such outfits as Air America and its many and varied off shoots. Jeff Hawke flew B-26s from here on the abortive delivery flights to Biaffra many moons ago and even when I was here in the late 80s and early 90s I was told I could photograph everything except the Evergreen Casa 212s and the building (and associated area) above the Sun Country 737 in the first picture.
They train sky marshalls there using a CV990 fuselage, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security train people there, there was an Office of Indian Affairs. The US Army have an area right next to the airfield where AH-64/OH-58 are based (and some British Army Apaches as well).
It is a wonderfully ‘spooky’ place and Evergreen use it to store aircraft. You can’t get in anymore but you can fly in and taxi down the main ramp and take off and you can rent an aircraft and (avoiding the paradropping C-130s that inhabit here) circle round taking photos. In the old days you used to phone Arnold Mayer (the “Schnozz”) and book a tour and he would drive you round stopping whenever you wanted. Customer Service Representative. LOL, what a job. I got a Christmas card from him one year.
*sighs for the old days* and yes I used to have all the “Schozz paraphanalia as well.
Is VR-CAN still stored here?
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