Page 16 - Aerospace Valley Heritage - Aerotech News and Review, October 15, 2021

AV Rural Museum: Aerospace history takes flight

by Alisha Semchuk Most of the flight test work was handled by
staff writer the contractors. P-59s were deemed “not combat
worthy,” but suitable as a training aircraft ñ the
Ultimately the Antelope Valley Rural Museum evaluation determined in 1944. Still the Antelope
shines a light on the triumphs of men when Valley possessed a bright future as a hub for the
equipped with the right flying machines, but also aerospace industry with the successful testing
acknowledges women who soar sky high. of the Lockheed XP-80 program in early 1944.
AV Rural Museum stands as a passport to the From there until the present day, the Antelope
past, where visitors of tomorrow can glimpse into Valley gained and maintains its identity as the
the lives of area homesteaders dating as far back Aerospace Valley.
as turn-of-the-century 1900s and earlier, as well Other World War II test flights included the
as the residents of more recent times. Northrop JB-1 Bat.
Given the vast display of memorabilia which When World War II ended, the Fourth Air
museum organizers have collected since opening Force relinquished command of Muroc Army
the doors in 2009, including items reflecting Airfield. On Oct. 16, 1945, the jurisdiction
this Valley’s deep aerospace roots, the facility switched to Air Technical Service Command.
now bursts at the seams, so a new building was Testing of Lockheed’s P-80 Shooting Star
constructed to accommodate priceless treasures was the main mission in the fall of 1945. The
like the restored Gilbarco 996 gas pump from Consolidated Vultee XP-81 single-seat, long-
Carl Bergman’s Union 76 fuel station, that years range escort fighter and the Republic XP-84
ago, operated at Sierra Highway and Lancaster Thunderjet Fighter reached the base in early
Boulevard or the F-15 cockpit currently on loan 1946. Officials recognized that the Army Air
from NASA. Force desert station would inevitably become the
Ed Houtz, a friend of the late Berman, initially “proving ground for aircraft and a testing site for
loaned the gas pump to the museum for a 2012 experimental airplanes.”
Antelope Valley Fair & Alfalfa Festival exhibit. More and more advances in aviation took
Houtz then donated that item to the museum. place. On Oct. 14, 1947, Capt. Charles “Chuck”
With museum doors currently closed to the Yeager flew the Bell X-1 #1, a small bullet-
public because of social distancing and mask Photographs by Evelyn Kristo shaped plane, making him the first person to
requirements, made necessary to try and slow the The Antelope Valley Rural Museum, located at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster, surpass the speed of sound. On Feb. 10, 1948, the
spread of the COVID virus, only online photos Calif., has set up their aerospace collection, celebrating the industry’s history and achievements facility name officially became Muroc Air Force
of some exhibits provide the public with an idea in the Antelope Valley. Base. At that time, the United States Air Force
of the facility’s inventory. became a separate military service. In December
A photo of the F-15 cockpit, with two blazing, heated war or peacetime Cold War an existing community called Coram. 1949, Muroc’s name changed to Edwards Air
occupants seated inside, has a caption that states, conflicts. All branches of the U.S. military must In 1932, prior to the arrival of the Corum Force Base as a posthumous tribute to Capt. Glen
“A tight squeeze, but the NASA F-15 fits like be ready at a moment’s notice and they often family, 1st Wing commander Lt. Col. Henry H. Edwards, who died the prior year in the crash
a glove at the Antelope Valley Rural Museum depend on the right flying machines to make their “Hap” Arnold began the process of acquiring of the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing, on June 5,
aviation display. Thank you, NASA, and to mission possible. land in the area, next to what eventually became 1948, near Muroc AFB. Edwards became a test
MOAH/City of Lancaster for the delivery ... It So, where to begin? A place called Muroc known as Muroc Dry Lake, to create a bombing pilot in 1943 and spent a great deal of time at the
looks great.” Field. That’s how it used to be known. range away from heavily populated areas in Army Airfield.
One of the occupants is seated in the front, The homesteading family of Ralph, Clifford Southern California. The proximity of West Coast aircraft
where flight control panels would normally be in and Effie Corum laid down roots when they built Arnold realized the need for expansion when manufacturers to the Edwards site contributed
an aircraft. The other occupant is in a rear seat, a house at the edge of Rogers Lake in 1910 — a March Field in Riverside County experienced to the base’s growth with firms such as
adjacent to the front. This aircraft only seats two desolate desert area that seemed like the middle increasing growth, so he sought a site for Douglas Aircraft Company, which merged
people and they look crammed in like sardines of nowhere. Nearly 30 years prior to the family’s bombing and gunnery ranges where his military with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967, forming
in a can. There is a clear, bubble-like door that decision to settle at that spot, since 1882, the site units could practice. He acquired the final tract in McDonnell Douglas, which then merged with
would close overhead, allowing visibility for the had been viewed merely as a water stop along the 1939. Initially he called it Mohave Field because Boeing in 1997. Of course, Northrop Grumman
flight crew. path of the Santa Fe Railroad. of the nearby community of that same name. and Lockheed Martin both played significant
Aerospace Valley, as some folks have dubbed The Corums played a significant role For two years, beginning in October 1935, roles in the continued advancement of aircraft
the region, certainly possesses a treasure trove in attracting other settlers and building aircraft flew back and forth between Muroc Dry and they are still working on projects in the
of aviation and flight test history waiting to be infrastructure — regardless how meager in Lake and March Field for bombing practice. not-so-new millennium. Aerojet Rocketdyne
discovered, and the museum holds the key to those times — for increased development. But Around that same time, pilot Pancho Barnes is around, having completed two successful
unlocking valued memories. the population remained somewhat minimal, by built her famed Rancho Oro Verde Fly-Inn Dude hot-fire tests of a motor, conditioned to mimic
It’s nearly impossible to discuss this Valley’s today’s standards, in the Kern County portion of Ranch in the area — the site of much social extreme cold- and hot-soak conditions for air-
aerospace history without mentioning its military the Antelope Valley. activity. launch application. These tests were conducted
ties. Aerospace firms design and manufacture the Once a post office was commissioned in the The first major aerial activity at Muroc took in 2018 at the Air Force Research Laboratory at
aircraft necessary for the military to perform its area, the family named the site Muroc — Corum place in 1937, when the entire Army Air Corps Edwards. Previously Rocketdyne, an American
tasks of keeping this nation safe, whether during spelled backwards so as not to be confused with performed a large-scale maneuver. After that, the rocket engine design and production company,
bombing range expanded. also had a presence at Edwards. The Rocketdyne
The Antelope In 1938, Arnold was named Chief of the Air Division, founded by North American Aviation
Valley Rural
Museum, Corps and the area gained a new purpose as a site in 1955 became part of Rockwell International
located at for research and development. Because the dry from 1967ñ1996.
the Antelope lake was so flat, it made the perfect giant runway In 1951, Bill Bridgeman, a test pilot for
Valley — ideal for flight testing. Almost always blue Douglas, flew the D-558-11 Douglas Skyrocket
Fairgrounds skies year-round provided the best flying weather. to a top speed of Mach 1.88 or 1,431.07 miles per
in Lancaster, In July 1942, Muroc Army Airfield detached hour at an altitude of 74,494 feet. In 1953, Marine
Calif., has from March Field and came under the jurisdiction Corps test pilot Lt. Col. Marion Carl reached an
set up their of the Fourth Air Force. altitude of 83,235 feet in the same plane.
aerospace In November 1951, NACA’s Scott Crossfield,
collection, In 1942, as World War II raged, officials became the first man to attain Mach 2 or
celebrating selected the Mojave Desert as the location to test
the industry’s America’s first jet, the super-secret Bell Aircraft 1,526.220 mph in the Skyrocket. Then Yeager
history and P-59 Airacomet jet fighter. An urgent need beat his previous record, achieving a speed
achievements existed to complete the program without delay. of Mach 2.44 or 1,857.35 mph in the second-
in the They conducted the tests at Rogers Dry Lake, generation Bell X-1A. Test pilots continued
Antelope six miles away from the training base at Muroc. striving for new heights and faster speeds when
Valley. They initiated ground tests five days after the on Oct. 3, 1967, Maj. William J. “Pete” Knight
first XP-59 arrived, in September 1942. Oct. 1 took a modified X-15A-2 to a speed of Mach 6.7
of that year was slated for the first official flight, or 5,115.31 mph — a speed that’s the highest ever
with personnel from the National Advisory attained in an airplane.
Committee for Aeronautics, NACA; the Navy Other innovations at the military base include
Bureau of Aeronautics; the Royal Air Force; the Lockheed’s U-2, a high-altitude reconnaissance
Army; Bell; and General Electric on site. See RURAL, Page 17

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