Aviation View Jan 2023

125 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4 a beautiful national park but also home to the White Sands Missile Range, a testing area where the first atomic bomb was detonated. The Virgin Spaceport is within driving distance as is Blue Origin. The Carlsbad Caverns are not too far away and then if we want to go the cowboy route, Lincoln is close, and then the mountains and the skiing…Then there are the arts. We have the Contemporary Art Museum, the Roswell Art Museum, and a flourishing art community. It is just a really unique place, and if you come, you will never be bored here. There is always something and you will always leave having not seen it all.” Roswell Air Centre (ROW) traces its history back to the Air Force as well. The airport was known as the Roswell Army International Airfield during World War II and Walker Air Force Base during the Cold War. When it closed, the 4,600-acre base was the largest of the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command. Walker Air Force Base closed in 1967 in the wake of the outcry over the Vietnam War, and the airport was renamed the Roswell International Air Center. ROW is also known for the Roswell UFO incident, an event that allegedly occurred on July 4, 1947. It is alleged that a “flying disk” crashed during a severe thunderstorm near the base at Corona, New Mexico. For a few years, stratospheric balloons for Air Force projects were launched at the airport as well. ROW also serves as a storage facility for several retired Airbus A300-600R wide-body jetliners formerly run by American Airlines. The property has gone through highs and lows since the beginning – but they are currently able to supply services across the aviation sector. It covers 5,029 acres and has two paved runways, 3/21 which is 13,001 ft × 150 ft, and 17/35 at 9,999 ft × 100 ft. The 13,000-foot runway is one of the longest in the United States and a holdover from the military days, but it is a drawing factor in terms of research and experimentation. “It was the largest United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base prior to us taking it over,” explains Lanfor, “fast forward to what we are today, and we currently house three MRO operations (maintenance, repair, overhaul) as ROSWELL A I R CENTER