AMARC, photo via Artificial Owl
Our pal WebEcoist has a very neat post about the graveyards of "stuff" after they're no longer wanted. This one above is the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center or AMARC ("The Boneyard") in Tucson, Arizona, where military airplanes go to die:
When U.S. military airplanes need to be repaired or are just too old to fly, many of them end up in the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, or AMARC, in Tucson, Arizona. Some of these planes are restored to operational status while others are broken down for parts. Seen from above, the planes make beautiful patterns in blue and white against the earthy brown backdrop.
Link | The AMARC Experience website
Previously on Neatorama: Shipbreaking Yard: Where Ships Go to Die
Airplanes can't fly forever. They get old, the metal starts to fatigue, the planes become too costly to maintain. Probably very near this air force base is a boneyard for commercial aircraft, where 747s, DC-10s, et al. are parked by airlines for many of the same reasons.
Keep for future.
Strip for Spares
Flog off
Just Passing.