From: john@newave.newave.mn.org (John A. Weeks III)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.misc
Subject: Re: visiting LA (Edwards??)
Date: 10 Jan 93 03:08:13 GMT
Organization: Newave Communications, Ltd, Lake Wobegon, MN

In <C0K30G.9n5@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> mjoseph@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Mark Joseph) writes:
> My wife and I will be visiting Los Angeles in March, and I was wondering
> if we'd be able to see any of the facilities at Edwards.  Any idea
> who I should contact?  I don't even know what there is to see, really.

Edwards AFB itself has no buildings open to the public, but you can drive
through if you have business on base (going to the NASA gift shop for
instance).  There is an airpark open to the public with 6 or so planes
including a B-52 and an F-111.  Call public affairs to find out the
photography rules in advance.  Photography of the flightline area is not
allowed.

NASA Dryden has tours twice a day.  Call the public affairs office.  You
must have tour reservations at least one day in advance.  Depending upon
what is going on at Edwards, the NASA tour can be anything from a 15 minute
walk-through to a 90 minute bus tour.  I saw the two SR-71's on the last
tour--the trainer model was not on public display.  My brother reports that
he saw the NB-52 and the X-15 on his last tour.  NASA has a few planes
on static display including an F-8 and X-1.  The NASA Dryden gift shop is
well stocked and reasonably priced.

While in the Antelope Valley, there are a few other must see items:

1. Airliner boneyard at the Mojave Airport (downtown Mojave).  The have
hundreds of jetlines in storage at the airport.  A newly opened public road
allows you to drive part way into the airplane parking area.  The MD-11's
are also being tested at Mojave, as is a new Rutan plane (look for a 
company called Scaled Composites).  There is an F-4 under the control tower
on static display.  You will probably several other Military planes and
warbirds while poking around.

2. Lancaster Airport has a fire bomber base that is interesting to look at.

3. Palmdale Airport.  The Blackbird Airpark is located on the south side
of the airport near the Rockwell plant.  There is an A-12 and SR-71 on
display.  With a good set of field glasses, you should be able to see B-1's
at the Rockwell plant in for engine mods, AC-130U's at the Lockheed plant,
and who knows what at Airforce Plant #42.  The Space Shuttle demate
facility is located on the north side of the Palmdale Airport.

>Any pointers to Los Angeles area "aviation-must-sees" would be appreciated.

There is a bunch of other interesting things to see in the LA area.

- Santa Monica Museum Of Flying at the Santa Monica airport.

- Planes of Fame West at the Chino Airport.  Also see the Combat Jets museum
at the same location.  There is a third warbird museum at Chino whose name
escapes me at the moment.  Their building is a new K-mart sized building
with no sign outside, and an immaculate collection of warbirds inside.  It 
might be called the Yankee Air Force.

- California Aerospace Museum at the California Museum of Science.

- LAX (there are several good spots to watch planes from providing the smog
isn't too thick).

- March Airforce Base - has an excellent airplane collection including a
U-2 and one of only two A-9's produced.  As I recall, they recently put a
SR-71 on display.  I beleive that you need to make prior arrangements to
visit March because of an ongoing construction project (as I recall, the
road to the museum is detoured across an active runway).

Smaller aircraft attractions include:

- Northrup Museum at the Hawthorn Airport (called the Western Museum Of
Flight).

- F-104 static display at Burbank Historical Museum (on West Olive Street)

- Van Nuys Airport (a fun plane to watch GA aircraft, home of the Condor
Squadron of T-6 trainers, plus Huges Aircraft)

- F-105 static display at the San Bernardino County Museum

Other Items:

- there is a DC-2 rumored to be at the Long Beach airport

- El Toro Marine Air Station has a number of static displays, but I don't
know if it is open to the public

- Van Nuys Air Guard Base is rumored to have a F-104, but I was unable
to locate either.

- Travel Town no longer has any airplanes.

If anyone knows of anything to add to this list, please let me know.  
And if you run out of airplane stuff to do in LA, San Diego is only a short
drive to the south.

-john-

-- 
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John A. Weeks III		(612) 942-6969		    john@newave.mn.org
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