FedEx, 910, Albuquerque Sunport

From our international sunport, a couple of interesting sights these days:

A Boeing 727-200F aircraft from FedEx Express, N485FE, sits astride what used to be runway 17-35. (The runway has been closed to use, but the pavement still exists.)

Since 2000, FedEx has donated 67 of its Boeing 727 aircraft to aviation schools, municipal and airport fire departments, colleges and museums for training and education. 

It is one of the original “workhorse freighters” a FedEx official said, having flown for 20 years all across the country. 

A city of Albuquerque news release said it’s expected the ol’ workhorse will be used for emergency preparedness training (as reported in the local paper recently) and eventually, an interpretive and learning center for the children of our community."

  

And, on the other side near the area where freight planes load and unload every day is this:

This DC-10 Air Tanker is one of two converted McDonnell Douglas DC-10 airliners.  The plane carries up to 12,000 US gallons of water or fire retardant in an exterior belly-mounted tank, the contents of which can be released in eight seconds.  Call-sign Tanker 910.  The aircraft is capable of applying a line of retardant or water 300 ft wide by 1 mile long.

Albuquerque may be in fact a new headquarters for the plane which at one time was stationed in Victorville, CA and has been rumored to be “living” in Wyoming or Montana.

At least one of these two airplanes will "fly on" someday.