Tucson Region

Aviation training in Marana

BENJIE SANDERS / ARIZONA DAILY STAR 1982 Marana Air Park was preparing to become the home of the Western Army Aviation Training Site. On April 21, 1982, reporters and local politicians took an air tour of the area. National Guardsmen, shown here, check over one of the Army attack helicopters used for the tour. The Arizona National Guard was to operate the new center, which would serve as an advanced training center for combat helicopter pilots in the western half of the nation. Construction was scheduled to begin later that year on the $12 million project, which included an Army aviation-training building, a flight-simulator building and an armory. The site was expected to bring in $8 million annually to the local economy and have about 100 full-time employees.