Has anyone ever been involved in getting an aircraft put into an air park on base? Apparently there was one parked a few years ago with that intent and forgotten about. Looking to get the process moving again.

8 hours ago, KWings06j said:

Has anyone ever been involved in getting an aircraft put into an air park on base? Apparently there was one parked a few years ago with that intent and forgotten about. Looking to get the process moving again.

Somewhat and it is expensive and a pain in the arse.

When all the AC-130H's retired we tried to get a few places to take one including the museum at Warner Robins. All retired aircraft technically belong to the USAF museum and they are generally ok to work with but the cost is VERY high. We were very shocked when Warner Robins said no thanks. They had been our depot for years...also, ALL of our software was developed and maintained there. A rather large community of civilians, military and contractors petitioned them but they said no de to cost.

Even putting the plane in an airpark requires cleaning, painting and commitment to maintain. Look no further than the AC-130H parked at the front gate at Cannon...they have NOT taken care of it.

Good luck

KWings06J.....Your unit/base Air Force Historian is the POC you should contact to get the process started. They should be able to guide you through the process.

To echo what Clearedhot and Bookiebird said, it's not an easy process and in my experience most of the people (outside the historian) you'll deal with will be neutral at best on whether you ever actually get the bird into the Airpark.

First thing they'll probably ask is who's paying for it? The site prep, any plaques or monuments that will go with it, actually moving the airplane into the site etc. Second thing they'll ask is who's going to maintain it once it's in the Airpark. Your Airpark should already have some sort of MoA or MoU describing who's responsible for upkeep, the Historian should have it or be able to point you in the right direction (also very possible that the agencies appointed for upkeep aren't adhering to the agreement). DAFI 84-103 is the AF reg that governs/discusses Airparks, might be worth reviewing. Third thing they'll probably ask it some version of "why". This is a want to do, not a have to do, and it's going to require work from multiple agencies to make it happen.

If you have higher level leadership buy-in (min O-6/base commander, ideally MAJCOM GO or higher) it will make this project and your life a lot easier. Good luck, I hope you're able to make it happen.