B-36 Is Headed For Arizona

There are only four B-36 Peacemakers left in the world and the Air Force has decided one of those precious few will soon be leaving Fort Worth, TX. Sometime in the next few months, the massive warbird will be packed up and trucked out to Arizona, where it will take up residence at the Pima Air and Space Museum.

The Air Force simply got tired of waiting.

"We didn't see them as having the resources to ensure the long-term preservation of the aircraft," said Charles Metcalf, director of the National Museum of the United States Air Force in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

It was a sad ending to efforts by the B-36 Peacemaker Museum in Cowtown to build a permanent home for the B-36. But over a period of several years, its biggest advocates were unable to raise enough money or stop quarreling long enough to fund that permanent facility.

"We're not surprised, but we're disappointed," said Brig. Gen. Bill Guy (USAF, Ret.), president of the B-36 Peacemaker Museum group.

There had been several proposals to land the aircraft at places like Fort Worth's Meacham Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth International or even Alliance Airport. None of them panned out.

"We need to do whatever is in the best interest of the airplane," Fort Worth City Councilman Chuck Silcox told the Star-Telegram. "It was born here, was named after this town and we would have loved to have it stay here. But if you can't afford it, you can't afford it."

At Pima, the Peacemaker will complete the Air and Space Museum's collection of 273 aircraft -- making it one of the biggest warbird collections in America.

FMI: www.pimaair.org, www.b-36peacemakermuseum.org