Albuquerque Sunport Tour

Saturday morning March 2nd 27 NMCA members gathered at the Albuquerque Sunport for a behind-the-scenes tour. Because we were on the airport grounds on the apron, the first stop was to see TSA. Once through security with clothes back on, our guides Doug and David spent almost 2 hours providing history of the current Sunport, as well as the original Sunport terminal.

Part of our tour involved a close up look at a retired B-727, which we each had a chance to visit the cockpit. This retired Federal Express cargo plane is now used for tours as well as a wide variety of movies. When a movie needs a particular airline or custom look, they actually spend time to put decals on the exterior, making it look as an actual, in service airplane. This plane can also be used for interior scenes - they just pop the seats back into place, and instantly you have a good inside the plane setting.

Our tour involved a stop at the old, original Sunport terminal. This building is actually very well maintained and is used for various private functions, as well as a tour stop.

Many members elected to stay and have lunch at the Sunport. After all, our parking was validated!

A big thank you to Bob and Maggie Kitts for arranging this special tour. The number of participants was capped due to the available seating in the shuttle buses. So if you missed out this time - who knows, another opportunity may surface down the road.

Source: Phil Ellison

Posted 3/2/19