Google Earth: World's Largest Plane Necropolis

For the first time, Google Earth has recently released this incredible view of a retired aircraft facility via satellite.  It's the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration (AMARG), aka the Boneyard.  It's four square miles of 4,000 retired aircraft located in Arizona, including nearly every plane the US armed forces have flown since WWII.

"Among the aircraft are B-52 Cold War-era bombers that were retired in the 1990s under the the terms of the SALT disarmament treaties signed between the US and the Soviet Union.  Also, on show are dozens of F-14 fighter planes which were retired from the US Navy in 2006 and featured in the Hollywood movie, Top Gun. The Boneyard has also featured in a series of films, the most recent being Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

Officials at the base claims that for every tax dollar spent, $11 are returned through salvaged parts, so this should be one place that our tax dollars aren't going to waste.  Check it out in-depth for yourself via Google Maps.

[BBC via Gizmodo]