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July 14th, 2005
08:06 pm

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So, I went back up to get more pictures of the flying ambulance from Firefly...

   

Heh...

I know, I know, I said I'd do it Friday, but my schedule changed a bit.

So, the place is located here... you can switch it to "map mode" if you like to get a better idea on how to get there.  It is just east of the Mojave Airport... MUCH closer than I remember it, only like forty miles from my place.  Then again, my first visit was back in April...

Anyway, along with

[info]darkmojo , I was able to get inside the place and get much better pictures.  Yeah, we trespassed... what kid hasn't snuck in to a junkyard full of treasure before?  What is a fan, other than an overgrown kid?  heh... 

 

We did no damage, and we took nothing, and we left it as we found it... no harm done... remember that, if anyone else visits the place!  DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING OR DAMAGE ANYTHING ON THE PROPERTY!  We do not want to generate any ill will with the owner!  

You might find the way we got in if you look long enough (not going to encourage trespassing by telling how)... otherwise just be careful, you can cut yourself real easily if you go over the wire...

So... on to the pictures!  Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us , there was a speck of yellow dust on the lens... if anyone who is good with Photoshop wants to remove that speck and send me back the pictures, I will happily put them up!

   

   

I'm going to be wearing the same shirt at Comic-Con on Saturday, by the way (laundry later tonight)... feel free to say "hi" if you see me!  That's also

[info]darkmojo  on the lower right, there...

 

   

   

   

It's just sitting on the ground, so if it is ever salvaged we'd need some way to pick it up.  The door needs some restorative work...

   

   

If you look inside the hull, you'll find the two stubby wings, ready to be reattached.  No sign of the engine nacelles, though...

   

Oh, I found the tail, too!  Since I didn't know what I was looking at back in April, I didn't realize what that thing sitting there was...

   

   

It looks like one of the fins is missing from the tail... 

   

It also looks like the tail may have been snapped off, rather than unbolted...

   

That it was inspired by the Mi-24 Hind is undeniable; as is the fact that it is not one.  It is much smaller; someone on one of the other forums suggested that it was a 50% mock-up, and I tend to agree.  You'd have a hell of a time fitting eight infantryman inside it, which the Hind was designed to do.  It's also made of fiberglass with wooden bracers and plywood floors; the Mi-24 is so heavily armored that it was known as the "Flying Tank" by the Mujahideen and Contras who fought them in the '80s.  It wasn't until we started giving them Stinger missiles that they were able to fight them at all; the damn things are nigh-impervious to small arms fire.  The complete absence of any kind of avionics, linkages, or any kind of internal equipment at all also indicates that it was never a real aircraft... just a neat mockup.

There is, of course, a whole lot of other neat junk out there.  

   

That was indeed an F/A-18 Hornet, after all.  I am greatly puzzled by this; that is still a frontline combat aircraft... what is the wreck of one doing in a junkyard?  I'm not sure what this other one is... maybe an F-4 Phantom...

   

AGM-65 Maverick missiles, anyone?  The temptation for one of these to "accidentally" wind up in my trunk was very strong... but no, this was a sight-seeing ONLY visit.  I hope anyone else who goes out there follows the same rule! (the missiles were, of course, inert)

   

One of those mini jets... I've seen them in a number of different films, notably the James Bond film "Octopussy", but I can't for the life of me recall what they are called...

   

Some ejector seats and electronic doodads... there were a whole lot of things like this littering the place...

This little gunsight gizmo almost came home with me... but no, I behaved...

This whole thing has been very serendipitous indeed.  It seems that it has also almost taken on a life of it's own... more than two hundred posts on at least four forums that I know of, as I finish this entry.  If you guys don't mind, I'd like to see where all this is being talked about... if you could post links to the various threads that mention my happy discovery in replies to this, I'd appreciate it.

Unfortunately, there was no indication at all as to who may own the place.  No signs, no phone numbers, nothing.  The auto parts store down the way and across the street doesn't know who runs it, although they said that they see people out there from time to time.

I made contact with the folks at the Mojave Airport, but no one there could recall off hand who runs the place.  One of them is going to look in to it and get back to me, so hopefully in the near future we may have an answer.  I've also sent an email to Scroggins Aviation... they could be the owner of the junkyard, although their actual facilities seem to be inside the airport proper, whereas the junkyard is outside the airport boundary, according to the guys that I spoke to.

If I learn anything, I'll be sure to let you all know!.

The rest of the pictures I took can be seen here.

EDIT: "Part One" of this "story" can be found here...

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Comments
 
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 15th, 2005 04:46 am (UTC)

Congrats

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Looks like you had a very successful run, very interesting report, thanks! Don't know about that mystery USAF jet except I don't think it's a Phantom F-4, no side air scoops. The other microjet, tho, is called a BD-5 and was pretty much the first jet-powered kit plane you could buy - sold by Bede Aviation, which pretty much went bust before many were finished. When I was a teen I drooled for years about building one, collected all the magazine articles. Check out:

http://www.bd5.com/

Hope you can find the owner of the Ariel ambulence and cut a deal. Even if the owner won't sell or wants too much for a fanboy purchase, it would be SO COOL if you guys were to get permission to borrow it for a week, fix it up for the Serenity premiere, and haul it down for opening nite. Can you say ticket to meet / sit with Joss and Cast?
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From:[info]akin
Date:July 15th, 2005 04:55 am (UTC)

Re: Congrats

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Thanks for the info on that little jet...

As for the acquisition/restoration of the ambulance, I’m trying to find the owner, but once we get to that point I’ll likely be out of it, as I have neither the money nor the skill to really help. Well, I can donate a bit, and if manual labor is needed... heh... I may try to keep my hand in it though, hoping to get to the premier as the guy who found it...
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 15th, 2005 05:59 pm (UTC)

Re: Congrats

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Defiantly not a F4, here is one from a similar angle, from the other side
http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=8xik41
(This F4 was used for target practice, the stop sign and other patches cover previously hit sections so when they goto score hits, they know what’s been hit. Must have been low on extra metal the day the used the stop sign)
The F4 is a two setter and the cockpit is very different, plus like mentioned above, none of the side air intakes. This is only a single seater. I'm kind of starting to get a recon vib off it. I spent over half an hour looking at plane pics from different museums, still cant figure out what it is.

Hopefully someone can recover the "ambulance" and make her look like she still flyin, may not much, but enough....
Where is it located in the yard? I see the big white splotch on google maps on the south west corner next to the S-56, is that it?

Love the pics, thanks!

-- a plane crazy Joss geek :)
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From:[info]roniabirk
Date:July 15th, 2005 04:50 am (UTC)
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Very cool. As for the links, a friend originally passed the link here to me via Whedonesque. :)
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 15th, 2005 06:06 am (UTC)

Firefly air ambulance

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Fantastic sleuthing, there, Akin. And great pix. Felt just like I was there with you. Maybe if it comes to it, the recovery of the Ariel air ambulance could become a fan project that would see it somewhat restored or fully restored and placed in a proper display area -- whatever that could be. Haven't thought that far yet.

thanks a bunch
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From:[info]electrcspacegrl
Date:July 15th, 2005 06:24 am (UTC)
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I posted a link to this in my personal journal, and it was also linked to on Whedonesque here. This magical accident of yours sure has taken on a life of its own. I hope someone can somehow salvage the Ariel ambulance and find a good use for it. Some ideas thrown about have been someone putting it in their yard and holding Firefly shindigs, making it into a Firefly car, contacting Joss Whedon and asking if he wants it (heh), or giving it to a science fiction museum.

I think it would be AWESOME if somebody can do something fun with it that would garner media attention. Someone in my local Browncoats group even talked about making a documentary about it. This is certainly one of the coolest discoveries ever. You're like a hero or something. A BIG damn hero! :)
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From:[info]akin
Date:July 15th, 2005 08:18 am (UTC)
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*blushes*

Right guy at the right place, I guess... heh... in all honesty, I doubt that many people would have paid as much attention as I did to an old junkyard, and then remember it months later. Now, if only i had a useful talent...

BTW, I sent an email to the contact link at Whedonesque.com, asking if they would let me join, as I seem to be a topic of discussion over there, and I haven't heard back from them... it's been several days... any idea how long they take to answer, if they do?
From:[info]soujourner
Date:July 15th, 2005 01:33 pm (UTC)

ambulance

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Perhaps we could promote "Firefly" and do some good deeds both by linking
the ambulance to its 'original' use: helping the sick and injured.

Using it in conjunction with a blood drive,EMT fund raiser,etc. could double
the function and the publicity of such an event and could garner fans for
"Firefly" from the medical personnel who might intend.
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From:[info]bob_san
Date:July 15th, 2005 02:29 pm (UTC)
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I concure.

Three chears for Akin the BDH!

I too do hope that someone will rescue that poor thing from the heaps and put it to good use.

Ah, if only I didn't live several thousand miles away. :(
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 15th, 2005 01:29 pm (UTC)

Suggestion

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Something you might think about is editing your report to show ONLY the Firefly prop and not the other hand portable goodies like Maverick missiles. The owner (or the law if he decides to sic them on you for trespassing) will probably understand fanboy enthusiasm particularly when you've got so much internet evidence to back up you claims of innocent intentions. However, he may not appreciate broadcasting the info to thousands that there are other cool portable goodies on his property worth coming after in the middle of the night...

Just a thought.
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 15th, 2005 01:33 pm (UTC)
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Hey,

Posted this story on Browncoats.nl.
(http://browncoatsnl.proboards41.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=nieuws&thread=1121434192 )

I am also unspeakable jealous of you for just finding that.
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From:[info]akin
Date:July 15th, 2005 04:04 pm (UTC)
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Now if only I knew German... heh...
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From:[info]thewolf77
Date:July 15th, 2005 01:58 pm (UTC)
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This is so very shiny! Thanks for your work and photos!

Very cool.
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 15th, 2005 04:17 pm (UTC)
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www.fazed.net has a link
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From:[info]shades747
Date:July 15th, 2005 04:23 pm (UTC)
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Nice find. So much cool stuff in one location (and congrats on being the type of person that wouldn't steal anything). If I might suggest... including the short story on how you found it would be cool. I jumped back a few entries as I wanted to know, but this post would make more sense to "the masses" if they could read it all in one place. ;)

"If you guys don't mind, I'd like to see where all this is being talked about... if you could post links to the various threads that mention my happy discovery in replies to this, I'd appreciate it."

Posted on www.fazed.net and comment page for your story can be found here (although there are no comments yet as it's a new post).
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From:[info]inire
Date:July 15th, 2005 05:21 pm (UTC)

The little jet in the pile...

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They were called BDs, as in BD-1, BD-5, etc. Very hard on pilots and tended to be so high-maintenance both from a flying and fixit standpoint that people used them a bit and realized that living was more interesting ;-)

what a GREAT JUNKYARD! Does anyone have a phone #? I'd be interested in a legit purchase of some of that schwag!

-j (the 50%-mockup-guy)
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 15th, 2005 05:57 pm (UTC)

How to find the owners.

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Property tax records are public. Go to the country courthouse and file a request.

Alternatively, you could trade money for time and pay a private detective to do the research. Shouldn't cost that much.

Balderdash
(not a Live Journal member, but some people will recognize the pseudonym)
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 15th, 2005 06:41 pm (UTC)

hmmm

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I'm not interested in that stupid movie prop thing- but I'd love to get my hands on the Bede jet...

You REALLY should take down the directions to the site until you speak with the owners. It's irresponsible and now the place will get looted or some geek will get shot by the owners.

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From:[info]3horn
Date:July 15th, 2005 07:03 pm (UTC)
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The "mystery plane" is in fact an F-8 Crusader.

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From:[info]akin
Date:July 15th, 2005 07:18 pm (UTC)
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Hmmm... that may very well be it! The front was covered with crap, so I wasn't able to get a good look at it, otherwise the nose would have given it away...
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 15th, 2005 08:09 pm (UTC)
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It seems to me that this is a dumping ground for old studio props, no?
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From:[info]akin
Date:July 15th, 2005 08:30 pm (UTC)
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I doubt it, there was only the one item that appears to be a prop... everything else was some sort of military or aviation surplus. Which goes back to my original question, once I figured out what it was... how the hell did it wind up there?
(no subject) - (Anonymous) Expand
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From:[info]lunar_glass
Date:July 16th, 2005 05:18 am (UTC)
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Hey, congratulations, I found a link to this on Attack of the Show's blog (Attack of the Blog)! How exciting! Here's a link if you're interested- http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/index.html it's under the heading "Daily News Link Dump - 7.15.5". Keep posting about any new information you get. Nice to meet you by the way, I'm Callisto.
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 17th, 2005 04:53 am (UTC)

second jet

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Ok, the second jet is the front part of a US Navy RA-5 Vigilante. It was used as a high speed photo recon plane during the vietnam war.
I have also noticed the Firefly is going to start to be shown on SiFi network.
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 18th, 2005 11:15 am (UTC)

Re: second jet

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Nope, it's an F-8. The canopy and aft-cockpit area looks similar to the RA-5c, but the RA-5c was unarmed, and you can see the guns at the bottom of the fuselage. It also can't be an A-7, because the gun placement is wrong and there's no refueling probe.

Here's a comparison shot:
http://www.warbirdphotos.net/aviapix/PostWW2/Fighters/US-VietnamEra/F8-Crusader/f8-1.JPG

Notice also the trapezoidal panel (missing on ours, to the left of teh red triangles on this shot). The junk on ours cleverly obscures the air intake.
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From:[info]eksvsevan
Date:July 18th, 2005 10:45 am (UTC)
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Very VERY nice photos.

You win the Geek award for the day for these photos and the experience. *is jealous*
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From:[info]hcidivision17
Date:July 19th, 2005 05:08 am (UTC)

Salvage/storage/begging laws

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It would make sense if that is a storage yard for aircraft parts to be used in movies and tv shows and such - low cost props which can later be digitally brought to life.

What I wonder, though, is what kind of rules would be enacted if ownership were to transfer.
Are these props still owned by the theater companies - does some junker keep the right of ownership - perhaps the junker already bought it and hasn't shown it off yet? And if anyone can find the data, what kind of cost would that end up as anyhow?

Oh, and congratulations on living a fantastic anecdote!
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From:[info]bugchicklv
Date:July 19th, 2005 05:38 am (UTC)
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SO VERY JEALOUS OF YOU RIGHT NOW!

I hope you do not mind, but I saved the top pics of Wash and you to post on the SciFi.com Board, but will provide the link here in the rest of the post.
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From:[info]akin
Date:July 19th, 2005 06:49 am (UTC)
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I require that you provide me with the link to yourpo st! Heh...
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 19th, 2005 03:36 pm (UTC)

Pic fixes....

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That's not a junkyard - that's my version of Wal-Mart....

I'll try and clean up the yellow, just let me know where and how you want them back. Use the email link at White Dog (http://whitedog.typepad.com), and I'll get them to you at whatever res you want -


--jim
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 20th, 2005 04:23 am (UTC)

Pictures fixed -

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...and I added one you might like...

About 2.3MB total - didn't have time for all of them
but this should take care of the most distracting ones.

Just let me know where you want them -

waanimosh AT gmail.com
From:(Anonymous)
Date:August 7th, 2005 02:52 am (UTC)

Found it

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Found the ambulance. found where you went in tooo. didn't feel like taking the chance on getting cops called, so just took pics fromm outside. It's exit 172 off the 58, if you are coming from barstow, just turn left off the freeway and follow it down.

Didn't you worry about getting the police on you when you were there?
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From:[info]akin
Date:August 7th, 2005 07:21 am (UTC)

Re: Found it

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Only very slightly... trespassing is just a misdemeanor...
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