  Location within California | |
Former name | Air Force Flight Test Center Museum [lower-alpha 1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Rosamond, California |
| Coordinates | 34°54′43″N117°55′16″W / 34.912°N 117.921°W |
| Type | Military aviation museum |
| Website | flighttestmuseum |
The Air Force Flight Test Museum is an aviation museum located at Edwards Air Force Base near Rosamond, California focused on the history of the Air Force Flight Test Center.
The Flight Test Museum Foundation was founded in 1983 by Carol Odgers, Chuck Yeager, Robert Cardenas, and William J. Knight. [3] A 335-acre site on Rosamond Boulevard was given to the foundation in 1984 to build a museum, but construction was delayed for many years. In the intervening time, the museum moved forward with the creation of the Blackbird Airpark at Air Force Plant 42 in 1991 and began collaborating with a group of amateur archaeologists to display pieces of wreckage of crashed x-planes recovered from the desert. [4] [5] [6] [7]
By 1997, the museum had raised enough money to begin construction on a new 8,500 sq ft (790 m2) building, which was fitted out in 1999 and opened in July 2000. [8] [9] [10] Further efforts led to the opening of a Century Circle outside the west gate in August 2007 made up of six Century Series airplanes and the top of the former Edwards Air Force Base control tower. [11] [12] The museum's longtime chief historian, Dr. Jim Young, retired in 2011. [13]
Efforts to move aircraft to better storage conditions began in March 2012, when the museum cleaned up its storage yard. [14] This was followed by a number of significant moves in 2013, with the restoration shop being relocated to a new hangar with better equipment in February, three aircraft being towed to the museum grounds in August, and a VH-34 being transferred to a museum in Texas in September. [15] [16] [17]
After its closure in 2015, an XB-47 was acquired from the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum. [18]
The museum broke ground on a new location outside the gate to the base in March 2018. [19] [20] Following site preparation, the first concrete was poured in June 2020. [21] The first phase of construction was completed in May 2023. [22]
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all-weather multirole aircraft in the early 1960s and produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States.
The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather day/night interceptor aircraft designed and produced by Lockheed Corporation. It was the first operational United States Air Force (USAF) fighter equipped with an afterburner as well as being the first jet-powered all-weather fighter to enter combat during the Korean War.
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The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 is an American single-seat, twin-engine, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition, battling the Lockheed YF-22 for a production contract. Two YF-23 prototype air vehicles were built.
The Lockheed YF-12 was an American Mach 3+ capable, high-altitude interceptor prototype, developed and manufactured by American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation.
The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was a program undertaken by the United States Air Force to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter to counter emerging worldwide threats, including Soviet Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters under development in the 1980s, Beriev A-50 airborne warning and control system (AWACS), and increasingly sophisticated surface-to-air missile systems. Lockheed and Northrop were selected in 1986 to respectively develop the YF-22 and the YF-23 technology demonstrator aircraft for the program's demonstration and validation (Dem/Val) phase. These aircraft were evaluated in 1991 and the Lockheed design was selected for full-scale development, or engineering and manufacturing development (EMD), and later developed into the F-22 Raptor for production and operational service.
The Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22 is an American single-seat, twin-engine fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter competition, and two prototypes were built for the demonstration/validation phase of the competition. The YF-22 won the contest against the Northrop YF-23, and was developed into the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The YF-22 has a similar aerodynamic layout and configuration as the F-22, but with differences in the position and design of the cockpit, tail fins and wings, and in internal structural layout.
The General Electric J79 is an axial-flow turbojet engine built for use in a variety of fighter and bomber aircraft and a supersonic cruise missile. The J79 was produced by General Electric Aircraft Engines in the United States, and under license by several other companies worldwide. Among its major uses was the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, Convair B-58 Hustler, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, North American A-5 Vigilante and IAI Kfir.
The Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program was a United States Air Force technology evaluation program initiated in the late 1960s by a group of officers and defense analysts known as the "Fighter Mafia". It was spurred by then-Major John Boyd's 'energy-maneuverability' (E-M) theory, which indicated that excessive weight would have severely debilitating consequences on the maneuverability of an aircraft. Boyd's design called for a light-weight fighter with a high thrust-to-weight ratio, high maneuverability, and a gross weight of less than 20,000 lb (9,100 kg), half that of its counterpart, the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. It resulted in the development of the General Dynamics YF-16 and Northrop YF-17. Late in the program, in 1974, with the promise of European sales, the Air Force changed the program name to Air Combat Fighter (ACF), and committed to purchasing 650 models of the YF-16, adopted as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The U.S. Navy adopted a modified version of the YF-17 as the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.
The Canadair CF-5 is a Canadian licensed-built Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter, a light, supersonic, twin engine, daylight air superiority fighter primarily for the Canadian Forces and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The CF-5 was upgraded periodically throughout its service career in Canada. The Canadian Forces retired the aircraft in 1995, although the CF-5 continues to be used by other countries.
Hill Aerospace Museum is a military aviation museum located at Hill Air Force Base in Roy, Utah. It is dedicated to the history of the base and aviation in Utah.
The 412th Test Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
The Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter was a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor prototype for a United States Air Force (USAF) series of lightweight and simple fighters. Only two aircraft were built; one aircraft was used primarily for aerodynamic research and the other served as an armament testbed, both aircraft being destroyed in accidents during testing. The XF-104s were forerunners of over 2,500 production Lockheed F-104 Starfighters.
A zoom climb is a climb where the rate of climb is greater than the maximum climb rate using only the thrust of the aircraft's engines. The additional climb rate is attained by reduction of horizontal speed. Before a zoom climb, the aircraft accelerates to a high air speed at an altitude at which it can operate in sustained level flight. The pilot then pulls steeply upward, trading the kinetic energy of forward motion for altitude. This is different from a steady climb, where the increase in potential energy comes from mechanical work done by the engines.
The Lockheed NF-104A was an American mixed-power, high-performance, supersonic aerospace trainer that served as a low-cost astronaut training vehicle for the North American X-15 and projected Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar programs.
There are many examples of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs on display around the world, often in aviation museums and at facilities that once operated the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. A few F-4s are also preserved as gate guardians, and some are also owned privately.
The 411th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron assigned to the 412th Operations Group of Air Force Materiel Command, stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It conducted the Advanced Tactical Fighter program flyoff competition between the Lockheed YF-22 and Northrop YF-23 prototypes. Following the completion of the competition, the squadron has conducted testing of the Lockheed Martin F-22.
The 445th Test Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron. It is assigned to the 412th Operations Group at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The 445th is part of the Air Force Test Center. Originally constituted in 1943 as the 445th Fighter Squadron, it was involved in the early testing of the first U.S. jets, the Bell P-59 Airacomet and later the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. The squadron would also be involved in flight-testing captured enemy aircraft, such as the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. During the Cold War, the unit served under the Air Defense Command as the 445th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flying various interceptor aircraft in defense of the Continental United States. De-activated in 1968 following a draw-down of active duty interceptor units, it was re-activated as the 6512th Test Squadron Squadron in 1969, beginning its official flight-testing mission. The unit was de-activated, re-activated, and re-designated multiple times over its life, being most recently re-activated with its current name in 2022.
