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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Flying High on Aviation, Officials Push Museum

They flew faster, higher and farther than any group of men in history. They did it in aircraft with the prefix of X, F, and D; aircraft born of the Cold War and later adapted to the peaceful purpose of space exploration. Some aged gracefully, living to see not one but two or three generations of pilots succeed them, while others succumbed to early death in fireballs on the desert floor. Today their names and their flying machines are memorialized throughout the Antelope Valley at museums, on a walk of honors, plaques, in airparks, on street signs, schools, and sculptures. Now officials from the Antelope Valley muster support from throughout California for the biggest tribute yet to its aerospace and aviation heritage bringing back a Space Shuttle orbiter for permanent display in a specially built, climate-controlled museum. The Smithsonian Institution in the nation’s capital makes the final decision on the placement of the orbiters, scheduled for retirement in 2010. The Antelope Valley, however, calls itself the home of the shuttle. The spacecraft was assembled and tested there. Edwards Air Force Base north of Lancaster becomes the alternative landing site in case of bad weather in Florida. Being located outside the Los Angeles area gives a future museum access to millions of visitors. “We have all the elements in place to make it an easy decision,” Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said. An expensive decision as well, one that the cities in the Valley cannot do alone. Congressman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon` will work with the state’s congressional delegation to sign a letter of support to bring an orbiter back to the Valley. In Sacramento, the governor and state legislators are being enlisted to do the same. The Palmdale City Council got the ball rolling in April by approving an application to obtain shuttle artifacts remaining at Plant 42, the super-sized hangar where all six shuttles were built. Military aircraft are on display at the city-owned Joe Davies Heritage Airpark, an outdoor museum open to the public three days a week. The collection includes aircraft on loan, donated to or purchased by the city that were designed, built or modified at Plant 42. The long-term goal is filling the 26 acres with about 40 aircraft. For a space vehicle with the importance of the shuttle, more needs to be done. “The space shuttle is a different endeavor,” Ledford said. “You are telling the story with a museum; a story that needs to be told in perpetuity.” History abounds The isolation of the Mojave Desert and weather allowing for year round flying brought the U.S. military to the high desert following World War II. It was at Muroc Field (later re-named Edwards Air Force Base) where jet fighters and rocket aircraft were tested; where in 1947 the X-1 broke the sound barrier; and where the fighter jocks longed to go, the top of “the zuggernaut” as described by Tom Wolfe in “The Right Stuff.” To Wolfe, no one possessed the elements of that “stuff” more than Chuck Yeager, an Army Air Force pilot who that October day in 1947 went faster than any man alive and whose West Virginia drawl was adopted by pilots worldwide. That young Yeager, with the X-1 dubbed “Glamorous Glennis” (named for Yeager’s wife) in the background, stares out today from a mural in downtown Lancaster. It is one of four commissioned by the Lancaster Old Town Site to spiff up what had been the main commercial center of the city, and to recognize the importance of aviation pioneers. (The other murals are of James “Jimmy” Doolittle, of Doolittle’s Raid fame; William “Pete” Knight, an X-15 test pilot; and Joe Engle, a test pilot and shuttle astronaut.) Yeager was also among the original inductees into the Aerospace Walk of Honor along Lancaster Boulevard. Anchored by Boeing Plaza with its Phantom II high on a pedestal the Walk of Honor annually inducts test pilots associated with Edwards and the Valley. When the latest batch is added in August, 95 names will be found on plaques along the Boulevard and at the plaza. “Over time test flight has changed especially with computers,” said Laurie Butts, special events manager for the Lancaster Park, Recreation and Arts Department. “(The Walk of Honor) aims to recognize those pioneers who risked their lives in the development of that technology.” Pride in heritage Lancaster’s Walk of Honor and Palmdale’s airpark are among the more visible examples of how the Antelope Valley takes pride in its aviation heritage. Between the two cities finding other examples becomes a treasure hunt of sorts. Two main roadways have been designated Challenger Way and Columbia Way for the two shuttles destroyed during their missions. A Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket is mounted on a pole outside Antelope Valley College, while a McDonnell-Douglas Hornet stakes its position outside Clear Channel Stadium, home of the minor league Lancaster JetHawks. A middle school has been named for NASA test pilot Joe Walker, who died during a flight test.; and a high school is named after Pete Knight. Even the Desert Inn, one of the small, independent motels along Sierra Highway, has a sculpture in its parking lot and an inscription on a brick wall stating, “The Desert Inn Salutes Aerospace.” At Edwards itself visitors can arrange a visit to the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum with its collection of 80 historic aircraft representing the various test projects throughout the decades. The museum also operates Blackbird Airpark adjacent to Davies Airpark in Palmdale where aircraft from the famed Lockheed “Skunk Works” including a stealth fighter and reconnaissance drones are on display. Any story emerging from years of test flight can be touched upon by the aircraft at the museum, said its curator Fred Johnsen. As with pilots, Edwards is considered a mecca for aviation enthusiasts who come from around the world to visit. Some end up sharing anecdotes about the aircraft because of their intense interest, Johnsen said. The attraction is the glamour surrounding pilots, especially those piloting experimental aircraft designed to go higher and faster than any other. “There are layers of adulation that is accorded test pilots,” Johnsen said. AT A GLANCE Joe Davies Heritage Airpark 2001 E. Avenue P Hours: 11 a.m. 4 p.m., Friday – Sunday For information on guided tours call (661) 267-5300 Blackbird Airpark Adjacent to Davies Airpark Hours: 11 a.m. 4 p.m., Friday – Sunday Aerospace Walk of Honor Boeing Plaza Sierra Highway and Lancaster Boulevard Air Force Flight Test Center Museum Edwards Air Force Base For information on free tours conducted on the first and third Friday of the month call (661) 277-3517

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