Here at the Sci Fi Air Show we were excited to receive an email from our friends Michael and Lorelei telling us that they had recently visited the Eagle Boneyard near Peach Springs, Arizona. Through a family connection they were able to gain access to the secured site from caretaker, J.J. Smith. Happily, Michael and Lorelei have agreed to share with us some of the photos they took on their visit.
The Eagle Boneyard is located in the desert southwest of the United States. This location is ideal for storing aircraft components because of its arid conditions. There were many flying Eagles used for the “Space 1999” series and the modular design of the ships made the interchanging of the component pieces relatively easy. At the completion of the series the cheapest way to deal with these components was to store them in the Arizona desert. After a few months, it was clear that souvenir seekers and vandals were taking their toll on the remaining Eagle parts. A more secure fence was erected and a security guard was assigned to the site to try and preserve the remaining pieces. “Eagle 4” owned by Jonathan Simpson, (See Eagle Four) makes use of the Boneyard to replace failing parts on his beautifully restored Eagle.
Eagle Boneyard
Click on the images to see a larger version.
Lorelei: “It took a while to get J.J.’s attention as he had “Kashmir” by the House Jacks blaring from the stereo in his trailer.
Once the gate was opened, the first thing we saw was one of the landing legs. Although there was a sign warning us about the dog, she (Lexi) was actually very sweet.”
Michael: “We counted seven cockpits, that were close to complete. They were beaten and bruised but they still looked very graceful. I guess that’s a mark of great design.”
Lorelei: “This is one of my favorite pieces that we saw, a passenger module. The door was open enough that we could get inside and look around. Much of the interior was intact but it was too dark to take photos.”
Michael: “We were passing by another passenger section when Lorelei saw something half buried in the dirt. We gently brushed the dirt aside to dig it out.”
Michael: “What a find! It was Bill Fraser’s comlock from series 2.”
Lorelei: “J.J. was great tour guide and we realize how lucky we were to have gotten the chance to visit the Boneyard. What an awesome day that was.”