We stayed at the Best Western Space Age Lodge after research into other locations in the area.
The Space Age is really a nice place!! More Show less Forget about staying in Ajo, the motels there are horrible. I never though I would eat in a coffee shop with a HUGE painting of the starship Enterprise in front of me! This is by far the best place in Gila Bend and a good choice for a side trip to Organ Pipe Cactus, which takes a day if you are serious about the cactus like I am. I spent about $2.00 on both days (anything over the $10, you pay). I could deal with it, but you have been warned! They give you a $10 voucher for breakfast in the adjoining restaurant, which is enough for most orders, unless you start ordering a bunch of extra stuff. However, a main rail line runs behind the motel and trains come through 24/7. The rooms are pretty quiet, I couldn't hear my neighbors at all. In fact, my plans were to just stay here one night on my way to Organ Pipe Cactus, but I decided to stay an additional night on my way out of the monument. Large TV, really good mattress, great WiFi, etc. But I was pleasantly surprised! The rooms are really nice! They have been MAJORLY upgraded. In fact, who knows, I may have even stayed here in 1970! So my expectations were not that high when I checked in.
The Space Age Lodge looks just like 100 other motels that I stayed in with my parents when we traveled around the country in the 1960s and 1970s. This is by far the best place in Gila Bend and a good choice for a side trip to Organ Pipe Cactus, which takes a day if. I never though I would eat in a coffee shop with a HUGE painting of the starship Enterprise in front of me! They give you a $10 voucher for breakfast in the adjoining restaurant, which is enough for most orders, unless you start ordering a bunch of extra stuff. I could deal with it, but you have been warned!
So my expectations were not that high when I checked in. In fact, who knows, I may have even stayed here in 1970! In service, the RF-101C was nicknamed "Long Bird " it was the only Voodoo to see combat.The Space Age Lodge looks just like 100 other motels that I stayed in with my parents when we traveled around the country in the 1960s and 1970s. One hundred and sixty-six RF-101C were built, including 96 originally scheduled to be F-101C fighter-bombers. Unlike the RF-101A, the RF-101C retained the ability to carry a single nuclear weapon on the centerline pylon. Like the RF-101A, the RF-101C had six cameras in place of radar and cannons in the reshaped nose. Using the reinforced airframe of the F-101C, the RF-101C first flew on 12 July 1957, entering service in 1958. Reconnaissance Voodoos saw extensive service during the Vietnam War. Initially designed as a long-range bomber escort (known as a penetration fighter) for the Strategic Air Command, the Voodoo served in a variety of other roles, including the fighter bomber, all-weather interceptor aircraft and photo reconnaissance roles. The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military fighter flown by the USAF and the RCAF. In service, the RF-101C was nicknamed "Long Bird " it was the only Voodoo to see combat. Although the Voodoo was again able to operate at medium altitudes, the added drag decreased the speed enough to make RF-101 vulnerable to MiGs and thus requiring fighter escort.Īfter withdrawal from Vietnam, the RF-101C continued to serve with USAF units through 1979. In April 1967, ALQ-71 ECM pods were fitted to provide some protection against SAMs. The RF-101C's speed made it largely immune to MiG interception. In some 35,000 sorties, 44 aircraft were lost - 31 to anti-aircraft fire, five to SAMs, one to an airfield attack, six to operational accidents, and one in air combat to a MiG-21 in September 1967. From 1965 through November 1970, its role was gradually taken over by the RF-4C Phantom II. RF-101C saw heavy service during the Vietnam War, losing the first F-101 in November 1964 to ground fire. The RF-101C saw service during the Cuban Missile Crisis and was sent to Vietnam in 1961, becoming the first USAF jet aircraft to serve there.
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