The next two days of our holiday involved hiking, followed by our move to Boston. During that we passed Concord, so a quick stop was made there.
Concord (8-10)
07-20037 HH-60M no mks (C/3-238 Avn)
17-20951 HH-60M NH-NG (C/3-238 Avn)
84-00173 C-12U3 no mks (Det.18 OSACOM)
69-15395 UH-1H pr, NH-NG mks
Not too much, but nice anyway. Next to the C-12 on the ANG ramp was another Beech 350 type, with N1323A on a sticker (plus a small other registration I couldn’t read due to heat waves). I presume this is c/n FL-1323, that is to become Cape Verde Coast Guard FACV-7101. A rather exotic surprise.
FAA Boston Center, Nashua (8-10)
142777/QR-00 A-4B pr, VMA-322 mks
This Skyhawk is preserved behind the gate. Access was not allowed, but a good picture could be taken from outside the premises.
Hanscom AFB (8-10)
(?) HU-25 GIA, ex USCG
Target here was the preserved F-86, but I had misjudged the situation (it is well behind the gate) and I didn’t succeed in seeing it from the outsie. Surprise though was the presence of the Coast Guard Falcon, that is unfortunately rather weathered and carries no serial anymore. Anybody for the id? It is visible on Google Earth for the first time on October 2020, and the only antenna it has (left) is the disc-shaped one at the end of the spine. See my picture at https://www.flickr.com/photos/30165261@N08/54080152518/ . EDIT: this is probably 2140, but confirmation is still required.
The next two days were spent in Boston and Cambridge with the family again, and after that when we had dropped off my father in law at the local airport for his flight home, Michelle and I headed for Maine. Doing so we passed Portsmouth, so a stop had to be made at the local airport.
Portsmouth-Pease IAP (10-10)
KC-46, 133 ARS: 16-46013, 16-46015,16-46018, 16-46019, 17-46029, 17-46034 (spec c/s), 18-46047, 18-46050, 18-46051, 18-46053
18-46055 KC-46A no mks, see below
(170015)/015 P-8A no mks (should be VP-45)
57-1455 KC-135E pr gate, 133 ARS mks
2x A-10C 23 FW
We arrived here just before dark, but still managed to read off all the active aircraft apart from two A-10s coded FT. A long shot, but anybody for those? Getting the preserved KC-135 at the gate on the other side of the airfield proved to be much more difficult, as it was completely dark by now, but we succeeded in the end. The unmarked KC-46 is said to be from 77 ARS, but has been flying from Pease as well recently according to ADSB. It was active with callsigns FLAM12 and VINYL81, does that identify the unit or are these typical general KC-46 callsigns (as they seem to be)?
Next morning we visited two light houses along the coast, and while at the first one, KC-46 (16-46013) was seen doing an approach to Portland airport. That was present at Pease yesterday, so nothing too interesting. However I managed to miss the USCG C-130 that also did an approach only five minutes later, which was a bit annoying.
Brunswick (11-10)
128392/LH SP-2E pr, VP-21 mks
“152757”/LC-85 P-3A pr (ex 152156), VP-8 mks
On our way to the next stop we passed this former Naval Air Station, and these two patrol aircraft are preserved along the main road towards the now civil airfield. Note that the SP-2 has lost code 1 by the way, only the letters remain after a repaint.
The botanical garden we spent the afternoon was very pretty, even while the season was getting to an end.
Next day we had quite a long drive to do, to the Acadia National Park. On our way there we passed Bangor (where we would be staying later) and two locations that were on my list for later could already be ticked off.
Land Transportation Museum, Bangor (12-10)
65-9915 UH-1H pr, no mks
This is preserved on a pole next to the museum and is already visible from the Interstate.
Maine Military Supply, Holden (12-10)
2213 MiG-21R pr, no mks, ex Polish AF
This one is in the parking lot of the shop. The plate in the nose wheel bay has c/n 22 213 on it, while the “ceiling” of the nose wheel bay has line number 21 05 stamped in it.
The hike we did next in Acadia was challenging but also very rewarding, a great park. Really recommended.
American Legion Post #80, Millinocket (13-10)
(64-13678) UH-1H pr, no mks
Today we wanted to do an even more challenging hike in Baxter State Park, a park a bit less “polished” compared to Acadia. Along the route is this unmarked Huey on a pole, that allegedly served with the ME-NG (which unit should that be?).
The hike was both challenging indeed and gorgeous, another highly recommended park to visit if you are ever in the area.
Where we had taken the Interstate on the way in, we had decided we wanted to take the scenic route back. This would also lead us via Greenville airport where a Dakota should still be stored. This turned out to be a big, big mistake though, thanks to Google Maps. This route was supposed to take an hour extra compared to the I-95, which should have been no problem. But it turned out the road was unpaved, and getting worse by the mile. Google Maps thought we could drive some 40 miles an hour on average, but we didn’t even get to an average of 15! As said the road got worse and worse, more potholes (filled with water) than road at times, and after driving for 1,5 hours it was also getting dark. To top things off our car suddenly gave a low pressure warning for one of the tyres. A bit stressed by now, as we were really in the middle of nowhere, we decided to turn back and hope we could make it into the civilized world again without the tyre going flat. Luckily we made it indeed, and after a stop at some diner we found a gas station where we could fill up the tyre (all of them turned out to be soft, but there was no puncture). An interesting experience, looking back….
Next day was the only other rainy day of the trip, so we did a scenic drive along the south coast including another part of Acadia instead of hiking. At the end of the day I tried to read off the based stuff at Bangor airport, but as the weather was too crappy and it was (again) getting dark, that was not too successful. However next day we started with sightseeing in Bangor (amongst others the house of author Stephen King), and when done the airport was visited again.
Maine Air Museum, Bangor IAP (14-10)
66-0941 UH-1H pr, ME-NG mks and American flag c/s
This one is outside the small museum and easily visible from the road. Is this the real id though? Some sources say it is actually 71-20317 with the tail of 73-21661??
Bangor IAP (15-10)
KC-135, 132 ARS: 58-0021, 58-0030, 58-0098 (spec tail), 58-0107 (no mks), 59-1446, 59-1488, 59-1498, 63-8872, 63-8873
94-0070 C-17A 167 AS
58-0018 KC-135R 22 ARW, no tailband
84-00167 C-12U3 no mks (A/2-641 Avn? Left with callsign PAT510)
89-26158 UH-60A+ red cross mks (G/3-126 Avn?)
20-21144 UH-60M mks not noted (inside hangar)
20-21174 UH-60M no mks (C/3-142 Avn?)
71-20317 UH-1H pr, no mks (see remark at Maine Air Museum)
A lot more result now, thanks to the much improved weather, with nine out of ten based tankers in the pocket. While reading off the 135s a Hercules came overhead, which was (19-5945) according to ADSB.
After this stop we had another drive ahead of us, during which for the second time we passed a group of anti-abortion maniacs outside a public health center. So annoying these people, as were the Trumpists we also encountered a couple of times waving flags and signs and stuff in groups along the roads. A country of contradictions, the USA!
But back to aircraft, we paused our journey in Lewiston for a nice walk in a local park. And, oh coincidence, nearby is another aircraft preserved.
Veterans Memorial Park, Lewiston (15-10)
70-1040/OH A-7D pr, 112 FS mks
The colourscheme it is painted in is far from original, but the large “040” on the tail is very fitting for a plane spotter from Eindhoven!
Our last full day in the US was spent hiking in the White Mountains, again a great State park. And as we spent our last night next to Portsmouth, next morning we took another quick look at the local airfield before doing some sightseeing in town.
Portsmouth-Pease (17-10)
KC-46, 133 ARS: 16-46013, 16-46015,16-46019, 16-46020, 17-46034 (spec c/s), 18-46050, 18-46053
58-0027 KC-135R 191 ARS
60-0323 KC-135R 314 ARS
Last week I got 10 out of twelve based aircraft, and I had seen the 11th one (46020) had arrived back since. Indeed it was parked on the ramp today, nice. The two KC-135s were a bonus, having arrived yesterday evening. A few hours later, while doing the sightseeing in Portsmouth, KC-135 (62-3502) was seen arriving here.
And that was the last aircraft stop of the trip, at the end of the afternoon we returned our rental car at Boston IAP and got ready for the flight home.
If you have made it to here: well done! As always, additions, corrections and comments are welcome.
That’s all folks!
Patrick Dirksen
Tristar Aviation
