Colourful retiree!

This 55-year old Gulfstream I (msn 175) was abandoned near a river, during the mid-2000s, after operator Phoenix Air withdrew it from service in June 2003. Since then the wings, tail, wiring, and instrument panels are no longer present.

However, the fuselage and leather seats are still inside and display the effects of more than fifteen years of exposure to the elements. It has become a canvas, as the site has gained popularity with area teenagers, intrepid hikers, and graffiti artists.

The twin turboprop was retired and scrapped by nearby Phoenix Air and dumped in the woods on city land. N173PA was cancelled in January 2005 and subsequently transferred to a Gulfstream III (msn 313) that Phoenix Air currently uses as air air ambulance.

The scrapped aircraft currently resides on land owned by the City of Cartersville (GA). There is a parking lot nearby for the put in for kayakers and tubers that connects to a walking trail and a gravel service road. Follow the gravel road past the gate that keeps vehicles out and follow the road around to the right. Go past the old shipping container and stay to the right when the road forks. Just past the fork in the road, start looking to your left. When you see an open meadow on your left next to a stand of trees, walk into the meadow about twenty yards. You will see the plane tucked in the trees on your left.

Beware of snakes and people using the fuselage as their private hangout. Also wear long pants and good shoes, and watch out for ticks.

This is the address for your satnav if you dare to venture out: 1540 West Ave, Cartersville, Georgia, 30120 and Google Maps coordinates 34.1412, -84.8351 (you will see a tiny white dot in the bushes, that will be the cockpit).

Construction number 175 spent pretty much all of its life in the US (being registered N795G, N10CR, N55AE, N578KB) before a brief spell in Venezuela (as YV-453CP) and ending up with Phoenix Air, as N173PA.

Photo by Jerrod L Meadows via AirHistory.net