Edwards AFB

Friday, Mar 1

Today, we started moving north a little.  Bill and Jan had spent the night near Apple Valley getting work done on their RV, and we met up with them around noon In Barstow.

I never imagined so much desert in California.  We've been in the desert since we crossed the border.

Then we had another desert drive to Edwards AFB.  Edwards AFB is legendary for all the flight testing that has been done over the years.  It is also the alternative landing site for the non defunct space shuttle.

Edwards is the home of the Air Force Flight Test Center.  They conduct and support research and development flight test and evaluation systems from concept to combat.  It operates the U. S. Air Force Test Pilot School.

SR-71

The base has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II.

Notable occurrences at Edwards include Chuck Yeager's flight that broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, test flights of the North American X-15, the first landings of the Space Shuttle, and the 1986 around-the-world flight of the Rutan Voyager.

We set up camp in the real nice park on base.

Bill and I visited their on-site museum this afternoon, and hope to get back for more time tomorrow - they were closing when we got there, but they have some outside displays.  There seems to be a B-52 in most every museums display.

Our neighbors for the night are Gerry and Theta Brentnall from Loomis, Calif, both retired from the Air Force.  We all enjoyed a nice afternoon chatting with them.

I had trouble with my electric cord for the RV - it had sparked when I connected it and I couldn't get power to the RV.  After some investigation, we found that the wires had become separated in the plug.  The Camp Host, Andy Meyer came by and offered to fix it - now we have power.  Nice guy!  He also offered to take us on a tour of the base tomorrow morning.

Saturday, Mar 2

Wow! What a tour.  Andy had worked at the base for several years and was born nearby.  He seemed to know everything about the base.  We spend 3 hours with him and saw things we would never have seen on our on, along with a narration of the history of many of the historic events that have occurred.  He calls it his nickle tour.  We gave him a quarter - which he reluctantly accepted.

There are over 40 combinations of runways on the salt flats of the base

This B-52 (now retired) carried hundreds of different aircraft aloft for testing.

Each mark on the side of the aircraft represents a separate mission carrying test aircraft and weapons systems aloft.

The X-29 test airplane.  The wings are swept forward - very unusual.

Another NASA test airplane

Snoopy flying the X-29

C-141 test aircraft

B-1 Test aircraft.  That's me by the right engine.

Our camp host and guide, a great guy - Andy Meyer

Andy had suggested a Mexican restaurant in the town of Boran (where borax is mined), about 15 miles away.  We drove to Domingo's and enjoyed a great dinner.  The restaurant's walls are covered with pictures and mementos of many of the people and events that have occurred at Edwards.