By popular demand, here are some images of the jets parked around town that I go and take pictures of often. Living in the high desert and in close proximity to both Edwards AFB, Plant 42, Lockheed and a variety of other aviation corporations, the rich history of aviation is spread thick throughout town!!! I so love where I live and have such admiration and respect for all the incredible achievements that have been made here. So with that, Happy Friday to all and thanks again for coming by to visit and especially for all the notes & prayers to Carlene.
Be sure to get your “Right Stuff” soundtrack out and play it as you look at these pictures!
from the Edward's archives comes this shot of the X-1 pit
now it's a parking lot and a few years ago it was to be filled in for more parking but a bunch of folks on the base made it a historical monument so it was saved from destruction and will be around forever!
the last of the NF-104's with the rocket pack attached to the tail, this is the one Yeager flew and is recreated in the "Right Stuff"
another shot of my all time fav jet
here's a little trainer on the other side of the test flight school
the X-15 outside of Nasa-Dryden
the F-104 chase plane with the Nasa Color scheme
the HL-10 Lifting body!!! I so loved this one as a kid and it was seen in a couple of shots during the opening credit Sequence of the "Six Million Dollar Man"
the Blackbird over at Blackbird park in Palmdale
the F-117
the U2 spyplane
U2
F-101 Voo-Doo
and we'll end todays jet series with this bare metaled beauty
John
Great pics! I love century series fighters and it doesn’t get any better than long pointy jet fighters with razor thin wings designed by Kelly Johnson.
Also have a thing for the f-100.
Nice shot of the hl-10…I always thought your Enterprise Shuttle pods reminded me of the lifting body designs.
Jets baby, ya!! There’s just something about an SR-71 that makes me stare…mach 3 ain’t bad, either!
This is one impressive lineup of jet aviation history. I feel like a kid in a candy store! I’m of fan of the NF-104, too, nice shots. But really – F-117, U2, HL-10, X-15…X-1 in the pit!!
Good golly, Miss Molly!! A nice start to the day.
BTW, I just watched the Right Stuff yesterday…first time in quite a while, great movie!
I also happened to catch a Military Channel show about the Blackbird last week. I didn’t sit and watch it, but I kept my eyes of the TV to get a good look at her from all angles.
Dea
It is a very cool place indeed.
here is a link from my trip there in 2005, with Robb, Brad and my adorable daughter.
http://commiesmodeling.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=46&g2_itemId=1128
hey Dea,
We have a SR-71 at the Kansas Cosmosphere, and the Apollo 13 CM.
Pretty cool for a little air and space museum in the middle of Kansas.
http://www.cosmo.org/
Very cool collection of space “stuff”!! I could find the Blackbird, but it seems a bit difficult to find my way around on their site a bit. I wanted to see Gus Grissom’s Mercury capsule that they salvaged a decade ago up closer, but it was an unclickable thumbnail…guess they want you to come take a look in person.
I’d love to see this place sometime!
Nice! I painted the NASA F-104 paint-scheme onto my Capt. Christopher 104 mesh. Had to.
That’s a nice F-100 Super Sabre too in the last shot. I can’t recall what the heck that lil’ trainer is though…
Thanks for the great pic brother, I gotta make it out there, eh!
LLP,
deg
AH, that a T-33 Silver Star “Ace Maker”, eh.
LLP,
deg
I *like* the name of that one! – hands deg a banana -
;9 thanks, dea.
What no Sabre, John you gotta show that one!
Last pic is a F-100 Super Sabre, Pacal.
You must be referring to the F-86 then, correct?
LLP,
deg
Correct the F-86.
Ever been to the Proud Bird restaurant?
http://www.theproudbird.com
There’s some planes there, not in the greatest condition, but . . . it’s in town at least. LA that is.
I have and got a lot of pictures too,,, putting those up next week. thanks for the link and i found this place driving down Aviation BLVD a few months back!!!!
Very nice pictures, Mr. Eaves.
Also, what is that thing at the tail of the F-104? I’ve never seen that before.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_NF-104A
here is a link to the whole story!! fascinating story!
http://www.thexhunters.com/xpeditions/nf-104a.html
and yet another great story link
The Blackbird is without a doubt in my mind one of the greatest all time warbirds and given the need for rapid deployed intelligence gathering assets, I cannot understand why they’re not back in service overflying potential terrorist hideouts.
I’m behind you on that one, Barrie! But from what I understand, they are costly to maintain – not at all budget efficient…again the fate of a great aircraft falls prey to the almighty dollar.
The answer is that unmanned craft have those duties covered. It is not only an efficiency issue, but also involves safety concerns. Remember how many SR-71s were lost to accidents.
John, my compliments on the Voodoo photo; it emphasizes her clean lines, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that particular aircraft look better.
For fans of the T-33 trainer featured in one of John’s photos, I might point out that Mr. Worf himself, Michael Dorn, owns one of these jets! The design first flew in the 1940s, but they’re still making themselves useful in the skies
Thanks John great pics,
When I was a boy I got to see a SR-71 flyby, I was at the Dayton Air Show at Wright Patt and right after seeing the USS Wisconsin firing her 16″ guns, one of the most awesome things I have ever seen. I’m with Pascal, where is the F-86 love at.
Terry
Actually the T-33 is a two seat trainer adapted from the F-80 Shooting Star and like it is officially called the T-33 Shooting Star. Unofficially, it is called the T-Bird. In the late 70′s when I was assigned to the 318th FIS at McChord AFB, Tacoma, WA our unit flew the F-106 Delta Dart as part of NORAD. The half dozen T-33s we had flew as targets simulating Soviet Bombers, for aerial training and for swapping crews that were TDY at auxillary airfields.
Although it is a beautiful bird and did things no other aircraft could, the SR-71 required too much support to keep it flying. It didnt’ burn standard jet fuel so it required dedicated tankers (the KC-135Q), which also had to have uprated engines in order to fly fast enough that the SR-71 wouldn’t stall while taking on fuel. No other aircraft could accept fuel from these tankers as the blend (JP-7) that the SR-71 required was not suitable for their engines.
While I was at McChord, Mt St Helens blew up and a SR-71 was vectored in to film the eruption. The bird flew through the ash cloud and ash melted into every external surface and at the same time trashed the engines. It barely made a landing and was at depot for a very long time.
Greetings from Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait or E*M*F*K
Jets and Spy planes? Bah Humbug…
The Spitfire and the P-51….are in my own humble opinion were the most beautiful aircraft to have graced this planets atmosphere. If you’ve seen Christian Bale’s first film debut “The Empire of the Sun” Spielberg shot an airstrike over a Japanese installation using 3 P-51 Mustangs. Augmented with John Williams music with a children’s chorus, flames adn smoke in the background with the Mustang flying by our protagonist Jim, it made an indelible mark on one’s imagination. Not to mention the thrill of the pilot waving at the kid whilst he did his fly by…
In all fairness the film really has something to do with a child’s fascination with flying machines. From Jim’s imaginary dogfight in a crashed Zero, to his first contact with a fully working Zero Sen and saluting the Japanese Pilots, to the lasst of the Kamikaze Planes flying itno the sunset and at the perfect moment exploding in a magnificent explosion.
Buaty in warfare on celluliod, this was no better example…. I can understand Picard’s momnet when he touched the Phoenix, or Kirk’s sadness when the 1701 fell at Genesis….
v/r
HM2 P
I love the jets and planes of the military! It’s been a special treat watching Steve Canyon these past few weeks with all the aircraft featured in the episodes. Great photos John!!
My first experience on an Air Force base was Hill AFB in Salt Lake City, UT. We went there for a Cub Scout trip and I remember eating a cheeseburger at the Officer’s club and getting to sit in the cockpit of an F-16 that was being repaired. I’ll also never forget the grill that was sitting on the observation platform on the control tower. We thought that was hilarious then, but now that I’m older and love to grill, I understand all to well!
A few years ago, I got to go to Mountain Home AFB in Idaho where they service F-15 and F-16′s. Didn’t get quite the same access as they give when they are taking a group out, but it was cool to see the jets take off and land. Even got to see some A-10′s doing training over Boise. Fun stuff!!
growing up I always was interested in planes and flying, the budget seemed to get in the way tho, What i would give just to sit inside the cockpit of any one of these old warriors.
The next time you’re in Berlin, look up the Luftwaffen Museum near Gatow. It’s about an hour’s journey from the center of the city by train then bus, but it’s worth the trip.
It’s very similar to Chino, but with the added bonus of Soviet designs – Migs and Ilyushins – prevalent around the airfield from Polish, East German and Czech pre-Glasnost livery. Many NATO designs are represented; Starfighters and Sabres in postwar Luftwaffe markings, French and UK marques such as the Mystere, Lightning and Hunter. Not to mention the Nike and Snark missiles…
It’s a fascinating look into frontline Cold War Europe displayed in a former RAF base instrumental in the Berlin Airlift, and also has some WW2 exhibits. I spent a hot early summer afternoon there and I was virtually the only one there! It’s free of charge to enter but they do accept donations!
Just visited Mike Okuda’s blog and read about the upcoming retirement of the current USS Enterprise.
There’s a petition to ensure one of the Gerald R. Ford class carriers, due to be commissioned in 2018 to bear that historic name.
http://ussntrprs.epetitions.net/
Tender thanks you for details. It helped me in my responsibility
Nice pictures, I bet that F117 is pretty eerie looking in person. I saw the B52 that was outfitted to carry the X15 at Pima Air Museum, they still had the hard point on the wing where the X-15 would be attached. And also cameras along the fuselage to record it all!
Hi John:
I know this is an old post but had to tell you I love the old planes. They don’t make’em like that anymore.
Trivia time… did you know they artists at DC used the VooDoo as the basis for the mid to late 70′s Batplane? Slight angle change on your shot and a paint-job and … voila!
GOD Bless You and yours. I really appreciate the stand you take for the Faith.
See ya theere or in the air!
Dan Banks