Wreckchasing.com

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The source for aviation archaeology information

Aviation holds a certain intrigue in people's minds. Everyone has heard the stories of airplane wrecks. They are much like the tales of sunken ships. Wreck Chasing provides the thrill of discovery mixed with the romance of flight.

Wreckchasing is the book that teaches the basics on how to research an aircraft mishap, how to document one's findings, and how to locate an aircraft's final resting place --
both civil and military aircraft are covered.

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Shoshone SR-71A Expedition Reports & Found Aircraft
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474 posts theronmoon 474 posts
theronmoon

Today I was able visit the SR-71A site near Shoshone. It was a warm sunny day and was able to locate tons of little fragments, some with numbers but no prefixes. Check out my pictures if you like.

 

http://theronmoon.smugmug.com/gallery/4821213_8hcyT#286750896_PuAt5
Check out my smugmug account for over a thousand pictures of classic aircraft and wreck site visits.
http://theronmoon.smugmug.com/
NORCALWRECKCHASER 99 posts
NORCALWRECKCHASER

Definitely a micro site, thanks for the photo's and research.
theronmoon 474 posts
theronmoon

Thanks for the words and visit NORCAL. I can't say I did much research just putting a few pieces together from others past visits.

Check out my smugmug account for over a thousand pictures of classic aircraft and wreck site visits.
http://theronmoon.smugmug.com/
XHunter Moderator 970 posts
XHunter
  Nice photos and a good find, it's a cool site to check out. I still remember being very new to wreckchasing and really wanting to find that SR-71 I'd seen in "Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of California" so I called Pat Macha to ask if he knew anything of the 71's location. He told me all he knew about it was in the book and said to give the locals a try. So I called 411 and asked for the Death Valley Chamber of Commerce (Yes, there actually is one) and then asked them for the name of the oldest person in Shoshone, which turned out to be a lady named Stella. I found her with a few calls and was soon talking to what turned out to be an eyewitness to the actual event. She told me she remembered seeing the aircraft plummeting to earth north of town "like a meteor" and telling her husband, who had the town fire truck, "I think your about to go to work". She then went on to tell me how it had cut the power to town during their Christmas play which, at the time, helped answer a debate about the actual accident date. I remember the whole search being especially fun because the SR's were still flying and classified when Peter Merlin and I went looking for this site
 
                                                  Tony
 
  And just for safety's sake, a word of caution to anyone who visits an SR-71 site. The leading edges and other components of the aircraft were made of an asbestos/fiberglass composite that can be dangerous in its weathered/broken condition and you should avoid any piece of gray/white fibrous material altogether.
 
http://www.thexhunters.com - Searching for the lost aircraft of Edwards AFB
theronmoon 474 posts
theronmoon
Thanks for the good story Tony. I was really stoked to see that little old firetruck you speak of. I kept trying to imagine that Blackbird falling from the sky breaking up and impacting. Must have been quite a site.

At the site there was still a lot of fiber glass debris. That gray white fibrous material, does it resemble that sponge looking object in my 10 picture?

This wreck was pretty high on my hit list. Now I have visited sites for all four types of American manned atmospheric winged vehicles that can go Mach 3 or more. If I could only visit a Mig 25 site!
Check out my smugmug account for over a thousand pictures of classic aircraft and wreck site visits.
http://theronmoon.smugmug.com/
XHunter Moderator 970 posts
XHunter

 The fragment in your photo is a piece of phenolic resin honeycomb that was sandwiched in between the asbestos/fiberglass composite leading edge. The pieces to avoid are a grayish white fiberglass with fuzzy, almost powdery edges often having remnants of black paint on one side.

http://www.thexhunters.com - Searching for the lost aircraft of Edwards AFB
theronmoon 474 posts
theronmoon

Thanks again Tony! Definitely saw lots of the fiberglass with black paint on one side. Very good to know. Man I miss watching Blackbirds fly!
Check out my smugmug account for over a thousand pictures of classic aircraft and wreck site visits.
http://theronmoon.smugmug.com/
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