A ride to and history of the GA Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory

WoW!

Sorry for your loss Six Foot Catfish. It's amazing how these reports can reach out and grab you.


Nice job Flux

Yo Stretch, how ya been? Haven't "seen" you around much lately!



6' Catfish, sorry also to hear about your dad. You are not the first person to mention this sort of thing to me. To be honest (and I am not one to suggest this sort of thing all the time... actually... I think it's a big part of what's wrong with this country...) but I am surprised there has never been any sort of class action lawsuit over it. Unbelievable actually.



Debandi, thanks for the kind words. You know I strive to make them as good as your reports though!

Great report Love learning about the history and seeing what these places look like now.




re the class action thing, who'd ya sue? (can't easily sue the govt - that whole sovereign immunity thing...).

I'm always around, lurking mostly.

Thanks for the words, BikePilot. As far as who to sue? I have zero experience thankfully with such things but I might start with Lockheed, for one. Like I said, I am not really for such things, but sometimes ya just have to wonder who knew what and who was putting who in danger for who. Or something like that.

You know, I THOUGHT I heard some rattling around in my bushes last night. You know anything about that?

Much of the aircraft nuclear propulsion technology was developed and tested in Idaho. It was never installed into an aircraft and the whole program was cancelled around 1960 (give or take a year), but they did build a huge hanger in anticipation of a large aircraft. It's still standing.

Here are some pictures of two nuclear reactors that were used as test beds for the propulsion concept. You can still see two jet engines attached to one of the reactors. These are located next to Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I) which is located along Highway 20 between Idaho Falls, ID, and Arco, ID, on the site of the Idaho National Laboratory.

Ah, so that's what's back there. Never bothered to check out the parking area in my 2 visits up the Dawson Forest Road, but I will next time. And I figured there had to be a way through to 53, so I guess it's via Sweetwater Church Road (I was a little put off by some of the signage past the bridge last trip up, and sans GPS).

Funny, I saw a bike just like the one in the pic below when I stopped at Pro Moto on Saturday. :)

Great thread, btw. Never noticed it until today.

Is one of the sites off I-84 in New Britain?

The rumor back in the day was that there was a decomissioned Nike site up on the ridge to he north of the interstate. It's right near the interchange/exits for Plainville and 72 and I don't remember what else (haven't been up there in many years).

If it's accessible to the public, I may check it out when I ride up to Maine this autumn.

I messed around the old Dawson Forest place a bit as a kid. ( Mid 1970's) It was known locally simply as "Lockheed." It was a silent, creepy place then, and still is the last time I was there.
To add to the mystique, there is an old church which borders the property...haunted as the day is long. :eek1

Some-Young-Guy: THANKS for those pics and the mini lesson. That is awesome. Now I need to visit that place myself... sounds like a good reason for a road trip to Idaho. Those pics really are cool. What a crazy looking machine.

Evil Ted: Hey man, I'm assuming you are the guy I met with your son putting the 200 on consignment? Good to meet you. If you ever are in the area, hit me up, I'll show ya 'round. It's really not too confusing though, there is only one road that legally cuts through the forest. Everything else is supposed to dead end.

Layabout: Yeah, it is creepy as hell. Matter of fact we rode out there at about midnight one night this week (shocked that the gate wasn't closed) and rode the main road all the way to the blown up bridge. I think we found the tunnel entrance, too, as it looked freshly bulldozed. Of course, I ain't going anywhere near the inside of it. Standing around b.s.'ing by a blown up bridge in the middle of the night in the pitch black in an area known to turn up missing people (with a huge case right now about a missing woman in nearby Blairsville) was pretty creepy. We kept hearing someone swimming in the river .

I recently asked an older retired professor who worked closely with another(E.P.Odum) in the field of Radioecology here in GA in the 60's about the "facility" in what's currently called Dawson Forest and he knew nothing about the place. He wasn't surprised that E.P. Odum knew about it though.

At the time, I think very little was known about the effects of radiation and they didn't really know how it worked but knew it was dangerous stuff. Sometimes in past history the lines between science, research, safety and national security get blurred for certain. Remember we were just out of WWII and in the cold war. I can only imagine, maybe not, what the government is doing now.

Hey Flux,

Nope, I'm a different guy. I only popped in at Pro Moto to buy some Motorex, filters and some handguards for my new (to me) 690E. And I drove the cage and was kinda' limping due to a bad sprain a few weeks ago.

And thanks for the offer. I would have ridden Sweetwater Church Road (looking at Google maps, this appears to be the through road) to the end, except having just got the 690 I had forgotten my bill of sale and insurance card and home and felt like the signage on the trees might mean I'd get hassled further up. Great thread though -- very much looking forward to poking around that area some more.

And next time I see your bike around I'll make a point to say hi. I'm sure I'll bump into you somewhere (Moto400, Pro Moto, a fire road, TWO, Vortex, etc.) later this year. I'm in Sandy Springs/Dunwoody and generally up in the mountains every weekend. Or at least on the ones I'm healthy enough to ride.

-Ted

I've lived in this area all my life, have hiked & kayaked the Dawson Wildlife Management Area in the past, and this is the first time I've ever heard of any of this. :eek1

Thanks for sharing Flux!

No problem, Stephen G. I have learned a lot more about this stuff doing this report than I would have otherwise. Glad you enjoyed it.

Ted, I do remember you coming in and heard you mention the 690E for a second. Yes, please, introduce yourself next time. I love those 690's dude. Great machine.

Moooz, I'm with ya. I think back then there was a certain innocence and ignorance even. Nowadays we all think the government is hiding alien technology behind every concrete wall. I think we as a people are much more cautious about every aspect of life these days. That is kinda good, and kinda bad, in my opinion.

This Google Maps link will point you to the site of Experimental Breeder Reactor I and the two test reactors I showed in Post #107.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.511686,-113.005511&spn=0.003315,0.008562&t=h&z=18

This Google Maps link will point you to the old hanger I mentioned in Post #107.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.857562,-112.730391&spn=0.006591,0.017123&t=h&z=17

And for those of you who like this kind of stuff, you'll like this site.

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/index.php

We kept hearing someone swimming in the river .


...more likely something...:eek1

something like this?

River otters and or beaver are pretty common to this area.

Just noticed that you are from Athens.

I went to Athens Y Camp a looooong time ago. They took us to a slippery rock one day, that was fun. A natural flume ride basically.

I didn't realize this report was from that area when I was reading it.
In fact just seeing Athens in your location reminded me of the camp.

And that reminds me that we used to go to Callaway Gardens in the summer too. Pine Mountain. Good times.

Thanks for that memory jar.