Tractor racing returned to the
Rural Olympics with the introduction
of the Antique Tractor Race in 1982.
Red Dog won in 1984 and set a new
record in 1986.
He won this race eight times and was
in the top three places nearly every
year.
Leesa . . . — — Map (db m245908) HM
Site of ancient Indian villages.
It was built in 1928 by H.A. Edwards.
It was purchased and enlarged, 1938-1941, by Grace Oliver.
The museum opened in 1941. — — Map (db m152544) HM
Arthur B. "Art" Ripley came to the Antelope Valley in 1929. Mr.
Ripley grew wheat and barley on a portion of his property
until he retired in 1972. However, he did not develop a
significant part of the land, thereby preserving a stand of . . . — — Map (db m242086) HM
Arthur Warren "Kit" Murray was instrumental in pioneering the techniques of air-to-air fueling and the development of talk-down techniques for landing experimental aircraft. As a flight test pilot at Edwards AFB, he flew programs on the X-1A and . . . — — Map (db m188678) HM
Chuck Yeager logged over 10,000 hours in 180 different military aircraft, including foreign and experimental rocket aircraft.
In 1947 Yeager, piloting the X-1, broke Mach 1 at Edwards AFB. He continued to fly the X-1 as a research vehicle and . . . — — Map (db m123598) HM
In the 1940s Jane S. Pinheiro, a local resident and self-taught wildflower artist, became concerned that rapid growth in the Antelope Valley was
endangering wildflower fields. Jane's dream was to have a "Poppy Park" to protect the official . . . — — Map (db m189239) HM
Edwards Air Force Base is
named for Captain Glen W.
Edwards who died in 1948 in
the crash of a YB-49 Flying
Wing experimental bomber
he was testing.
As a pilot of an A-20 "Havoc"
bomber during World War II,
he flew more than 50 . . . — — Map (db m278267) HM
Iven Carl Kincheloe was the
"first of the Spacemen". In
September 1956, he was the
first human to fly beyond
100,000 feet when he piloted
the Bell X-2 (#1) to 126,200 feet
(23.9 miles). He was the holder
of several X-2 records.
A . . . — — Map (db m223398) HM
Colonel Stephens distinguished himself in flight test, flying nearly all of the jet fighter aircraft from the F-80 Shooting Star to the F-106 Delta Dart. He graduated from the Experimental Test Pilot School in 1949.
Called the . . . — — Map (db m79153) HM
Colonel Frank Borman led the first American astronauts to circle the moon, extending
man's horizons into space as Commander of Apollo 8 in 1968. He had commanded
Gemini 7 to the first rendezvous of spacecraft in orbit.
After his 1960 . . . — — Map (db m223402) HM
The Flight Test Mission Control Center at Edwards Air Force Base is named for Colonel Ridley who lost his life in 1957 in the crash of a C-47 aircraft while serving on the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group in Japan.
Ridley was a pioneer . . . — — Map (db m66504) HM
Colonel Jacobs received the Legion of Merit for meritorious service as Director and test pilot on the C-5A Test Force. It was at the time, one of the world's largest aircraft.
During his 46 years in aerospace, Jacobs logged more than 10,600 . . . — — Map (db m66503) HM
Pete Knight was one of four Air Force pilots selected to pilot the Dyna-Soar (X-20) aircraft, the first Air Force space program. He was one of eight X-15 pilots to earn his astronaut wings by flying an airplane in space (280,000 feet).
Knight . . . — — Map (db m123639) HM WM
This large wiry creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) before you, the only creosote bush in this woodland, is about 10 feet high and 20 feet in diameter; it has been estimated to be nearly 800 years old by botanists. This may be the oldest . . . — — Map (db m145769) HM
D-558-II Skyrocket, sister
aircraft of the first aircraft
to fly faster than twice
the speed of sound,
established many aeronautical
advances in the skies over
the Antelope Valley.
Three of these aircraft
were manufactured by . . . — — Map (db m217006) HM
Panel 1: On loan from the United States Air Force, this F-4 Phantom II was acquired on November 7, 2001 from Edwards Air Force Base and transported to the Boeing Company facility at USAF Plant 42. Boeing volunteers worked many hours to . . . — — Map (db m51280) HM
This F/A-18 Hornet (bureau number 161214) is a pre-production A-Model airplane whose first prototype rolled out of the McDonnell Douglas Plant on September 13, 1978. The Carrier-based Naval strike fighter did not become operational for several . . . — — Map (db m114757) HM
Lt. Colonel Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton, Jr., USAF
Fitz Fulton flew more than
16,000 flight hours in 235 different aircraft types. He tested
most of the military bombers
and transports developed between 1950 and 1990.
Some . . . — — Map (db m278491) HM
Fred Haise is best known as the Lunar Module Pilot who, in 1970, was a crewmember on the dramatic Apollo 13 aborted lunar mission. Due to an oxygen tank explosion, the crew had to utilize the Lunar Module "Aquarius" as a lifeboat. This mission will . . . — — Map (db m69508) HM
As Northrop’s Chief Test Pilot for advanced fighter aircraft, Hank Chouteau helped develop dozens of new or modified aircraft, participating in aircraft design, development, test flights and marketing.
Chouteau logged more than 7,300 flight . . . — — Map (db m66501) HM
Salmon was a natural as a
test pilot. He was best known
for his special ability to "out
guess" troubled aircraft and to
"feel" with the plane. Salmon
was a specialist in structural
integrity tests on fighter-type
aircraft.
Born in . . . — — Map (db m278259) HM
Jacqueline Cochran (1906-1980), a pioneer in women's
aviation, held more distance and speed records during
her lifetime than any pilot living or dead. In 1971, she
was the first living woman to be inducted into the
National Aviation Hall of . . . — — Map (db m223403) HM
John Manke was a NASA Research Pilot for more than 11 years and has flown over 4,500 hours. His career was highlighted by NASA research flights to test lifting body aircraft, preparing the way for the Space Shuttle and follow-on space programs. . . . — — Map (db m66505) HM
Jack McKay died in 1975--20 years to the day after his first rocket flight. He had retired from NASA four years earlier, climaxing a 20-year flying career at Edwards in which he become one of the Center’s most experienced rocket pilots. In the 50's . . . — — Map (db m66496) HM
This monument is dedicated to
the brave men and women that honorable served
in the Armed Forces of the United States of America
in time of peace, wars and conflict.
The freedom of this great nation is only possible
because of the sacrifice of . . . — — Map (db m66336) WM
Water Wagon ca. 1908-1913
This water wagon
was used by George W. Lane
during the construction of
the Los Angeles Aqueduct
through the Antelope Valley.
George moved to the
Antelope Valley in 1908 and
was a mule skinner by . . . — — Map (db m245924) HM
Colonel Ferry distinguished himself in helicopters. Although he began his career as a fighter pilot, he became expert in helicopters, where he made his mark in 24 years of flight testing. He has flown 10,800 hours in 125 different aircraft, nearly . . . — — Map (db m79154) HM
Jimmy Doolittle played an important role in the development of Air Force research at Edwards AFB. He was one of the founding fathers of Systems Command (Air Force Research and Development Command). Through the late 1980's, Doolittle made annual . . . — — Map (db m120207) HM
Max R. Stanley logged more
than 8,000 flight hours to become known as the "Dean of
Northrop Test Pilots." He flew
the first flights of all models of
the Northrop P-61 Black Widow
except the initial XP-61.
Stanley flew for . . . — — Map (db m278263) HM
Neil Armstrong is best known as commander of the three-man team who, in 1969, piloted the first lunar landing module to the Moon’s surface. “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” was the phrase Armstrong used to describe the . . . — — Map (db m117496) HM
Brig. General Frank Kendall "Pete" Everest, Jr. (USAF Retired)
Pete Everest has played an
active part in testing and developing all USAF planes at
Edwards AFB. He was Chief of
the Flight Test Operations Division from 1950-1956. . . . — — Map (db m278483) HM
In remembrance of those who lost their lives in the St. Francis Dam disaster March 12-13, 1928. This was one of California’s greatest disasters with over 400 lives lost; five of whom were laid to rest at Lancaster Cemetery. — — Map (db m143730) HM
Thomas McMurtry logged over 11,000 hours of flying time since earning his pilot's wings in 1958. A graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School, he flew the U-2, X-246, F-8A, AD-1, YF-12C, F-104, F-15 and NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. . . . — — Map (db m66507) HM
"....the privileges of being an American" belong to those brave enough to fight for them."
Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
In our tradition of honoring American aviators who have flown into the pages of history, the City of Lancaster . . . — — Map (db m53030) HM
This buiding, erected by the Gilroy family in 1876, this building was purchased in 1902 by George T. Webber, who operated it as the Western Hotel. The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce was organized in its dining room. Between 1905 and 1913, . . . — — Map (db m53028) HM
William H. Dana piloted the
famed X-15 research airplane.
He flew the rocket-powered
aircraft 16 times, reaching a top
speed of 3,897 miles per hour
and a peak altitude of 307,000
feet (over 58 miles).
Dana served as a pilot in . . . — — Map (db m263681) HM
