The things you see on a road trip.......

[Odie]

The wife and I recently drove to Virginia Beach for the 2015 NAS Oceana airshow, as we have since 2003, (flying there in 2005 after I had heart surgery). It's not a bad trip and the route that we take goes up thru Arkansas and Tenn. The scenery isn't bad and going thru the mountains at this time of year is nice and colorful. It's a spend-two-nights-on-the-road drive, but we roll along at 70 or 75 mph so the time passes. However, rolling along so fast leaves you little time to react when something NEAT pops up. Please forgive my lack of specific details on location and I kick myself for not writing this down when it happened.

But we're rolling along on the Interstate and after awhile you get used to entering/exiting towns without noticing their names. I do remember that at this particular spot, the road was elevated a bit to where we could see into the back lots of
the businesses that were facing the service road that ran beside the highway, putting the back lots next to the highway. As we move down the highway, I notice something odd in the back lot of one business. It had wings and a tail and took up nearly the entire back lot. As we neared it, I immediately recognized it as an F-111. Swept wings, long nose.....yup. It was intact and sitting on its landing gear. It had not a bit of paint on it.

Another oddity, was there was no visible way in our quick look to discern how it got into the back lot or would be removed. The type of business wasn't indicated on any signage that we could see.

Again, we were on it and passed it so quickly, it was hard to get any minute details. I want to say it was in Tenn, but it could've been Arkansas.

Still, it made for a memorable (if quick) moment on the trip.

[TARPSBird]

One of the guys on the F-8 Gunfighters email list was driving along a local road in Florida and saw a MiG-23 Flogger parked in the front yard of some local industry. I found it on Google Earth, and what the guy could not see from the road was a AN-2 Colt out in back. Unfortunately I am in the same boat as you, can't recall offhand where it was in FL.

[CG_1976]

One of the guys on the F-8 Gunfighters email list was driving along a local road in Florida and saw a MiG-23 Flogger parked in the front yard of some local industry. I found it on Google Earth, and what the guy could not see from the road was a AN-2 Colt out in back. Unfortunately I am in the same boat as you, can't recall offhand where it was in FL.

If you can ID mark them and if there Cuban, so I can look into it? I collect Cuban Military stuff and that includes parts.

[Odie]

One of the guys on the F-8 Gunfighters email list was driving along a local road in Florida and saw a MiG-23 Flogger parked in the front yard of some local industry. I found it on Google Earth, and what the guy could not see from the road was a AN-2 Colt out in back. Unfortunately I am in the same boat as you, can't recall offhand where it was in FL.

There is a MIG-17 (or 19) that has for years been sitting in the front lot of an antique shop on the outskirts of Dallas as you are coming in from the Louisiana side. Whenever we go to see the relations in LA we try to come back via this route to check on it.

Personally i I would love to have an F-14 parked on the back half-acre, but would settle for a tail fin to put up beside the flagpole in the front yard!!:adoration:

[TARPSBird]

If you can ID mark them and if there Cuban, so I can look into it? I collect Cuban Military stuff and that includes parts.
I'll be happy to do that if my "vacuum tube" era brain can remember where the Flogger was. I may have to post on the F-8 list to get the location again.

[FAC257]

Wonder if the Mig-23 was this one sitting here at KSRQ a few years back???
https://youtu.be/62BWhklqWE8

It made the local news at the time.

FAC

[TARPSBird]

Wonder if the Mig-23 was this one sitting here at KSRQ a few years back???
https://youtu.be/62BWhklqWE8
It made the local news at the time.
FAC
I would not be surprised if it was one of those jets, especially if one or both are no longer at KSRQ. I emailed the F-8 List moderator and hopefully the guy who originally posted about the roadside jet will give me the location again. It's clearly visible on Google Earth and GE Street View.
I experienced an interesting airplane sighting (more like a partial airplane sighting) here in Norfolk some years back when I went to pick up a replacement fan motor for my heat pump. I was looking for the street where the electrical supply place was, and saw two A-6 Intruder rear fuselage assemblies in a fenced-in area at a scrap yard. This place was nowhere near Norfolk International or NAS Norfolk so I had no clue how they got there.

[FAC257]

Back in the mid-70's I was living on the Intercoastal, in a small one stoplight size town. One afternoon I was sitting on my dock, when a tug pushing a barge came by. Sitting on top of the barge was a small Navy jet. I'm pretty sure I remember it being an A-4. It looked like we were getting our own mini aircraft carrier.

FAC

[TARPSBird]

Got responses from several guys on the F-8 List confirming the location of the MiG-23 Flogger I mentioned. The jet is parked about 3 miles south of Baker, FL along a road called Galiver Cutoff. I've attached a couple pics from Google Earth, one overhead and one street view. The geo coordinates are on the overhead pic for anybody who wants to do a road trip to check out the bird. Notice the bright red An-2 Colt parked out in back with the port side wings removed. I'm sure there's an interesting story behind THAT bird as well as the MiG-23.