Beale Air Force Base Open House
October 31, 1981



I attended the Beale Air Force Base Open House with my father, Richard Lockett, on October 31, 1981. The static displays featured the Lockheed SR-71A Blckbird, Boeing KC-97L Stratofreighter, and McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender. Flying demonstrations included a Lockheed SR-71A Blckbird, Lockheed U-2R, and Boeing KC-135Q Stratotanker.

SR-71A 61-7971 was assigned to NASA fro 1991 to 1994. It is now on display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. . Photogapher: Richard Lockett

SR-71A 61-7971.

SR-71A 61-7971. Photogapher: Richard Lockett

SR-71A 61-7971.

Tennessee Air National Guard KC-97L 53-0230 on static display shortly after its retirement. It was built as a KC-97G Stratotanker, and its construction number is 17012. It later went on display near the flightline at Beale Air Force Base.

Tennessee Air National Guard KC-97L 53-0230. Photogapher: Richard Lockett

Tennessee Air National Guard KC-97L 53-0230.

Tennessee Air National Guard KC-97L 53-0230.

Tennessee Air National Guard KC-97L 53-0230.

Tennessee Air National Guard KC-97L 53-0230.

McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender 79-0433 was retired to AMARC as FG0408 on January 31, 1997. Photogapher: Richard Lockett

McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender 79-0433. Photogapher: Richard Lockett

Lockheed SR-71A 61-7974 departed the airshow early in order to appear at two other airshows that day.

Lockheed SR-71A 61-7974 was lost on April 21, 1989 following an engine explosion and complete hydraulic failure while outbound from Kadena AB, Okinawa. Pilot Dan E. House and RSO Blair L. Bozek ejected safely.

Lockheed SR-71A 61-7974.

Long trails of shock diamonds appear in the exhaust flame as the afterburners ignite. They disappear after just a few seconds.

Fire Truck demonstration. Photogapher: Richard Lockett

Lockheed U-2R. Photogapher: Richard Lockett

Lockheed U-2R. Photogapher: Richard Lockett

Boeing KC-135Q Stratotanker 59-1504 was later converted to a KC-135T and assigned to the 171st ARW of the Pennsylvania ANG. Photogapher: Richard Lockett

Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased Array Warning System (PAVE PAWS) is an elaborate Cold War early warning radar and computer system developed in 1980 to "detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States". With the first solid-state phased array deployed, the system at the perimeter of the contiguous United States used a pair of Raytheon AN/FPS-115 radar sets at each site (two sites in 1980, then two more used 1987–95) as part of the United States Space Surveillance Network.


More Beale Air Force Base displays

Beale Air Force Base airshows.



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Lockheed SR-71

2020 calendar

You can buy a 2020 calendar featuring my photographs of Lockheed SR-71s.

Lockett Books Calendar Catalog: Lockheed SR-71

Lockett Books Calendar Catalog: Lockheed SR-71

A dozen photos of Lockheed SR-71s in flight or taxiing, taken between 1980 and 1999.

Lockheed SR-71s pictured include:

SR-71A 61-7964, Beale Air Force Base, May 31, 1980;
SR-71A 61-7965, March Air Force Base, November 3, 1980;
SR-71A 61-7964, Beale Air Force Base, October 31, 1981;
SR-71A 61-7968, March Air Force Base, November 3, 1988;
SR-71A 61-7976, Beale Air Force Base, October 14, 1989;
SR-71A 61-7972, Edwards Air Force Base, October 29, 1989;
SR-71A 61-7971, Nellis Air Force Base, March 26, 1997;
NASA SR-71B N831NA, Edwards Air Force Base, October 18, 1997;
NASA SR-71A N844NA, Edwards Air Force Base, October 9, 1999

Buy my Lockheed SR-71: 2020 calendar at Lulu! Put a copy of the Lockheed SR-71: 2020 calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $14.95.


Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter/Stratotanker

2020 calendar

You can buy a 2020 calendar featuring my photographs of Boeing C-97 Stratofreighters and Stratotankers.

Lockett Books Calendar Catalog: Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter/Stratotanker

Lockett Books Calendar Catalog: Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter/Stratotanker

A dozen photos of Boeing C-97 Stratofreighters and Stratotankers:

HC-97G 52-2714 of the 303rd ARRS in storage at MASDC on April 24, 1972
Arizona Air Guard KC-97L 53-0200 at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on November 10, 1973
Arizona Air Guard KC-97L 53-0200 at Sky Harbor on December 7, 1974
Arizona Air Guard KC-97L 52-2761 at Sky Harbor on November 14, 1974
Arizona Air Guard C-97G 52-0924 at Sky Harbor on November 14, 1974
Arizona Air Guard KC-97L 52-2696 at Sky Harbor on December 7, 1974
Arizona Air Guard KC-97L at Sky Harbor on February 8, 1975
EC-97G 53-0106 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on March 16, 1975
Arizona Air Guard C-97G 52-0923 at Sky Harbor in May 1975
Utah Air Guard KC-97Ls 52-0839, 53-0287, and others at MASDC on December 18, 1979
Texas Air Guard KC-97G 53-0363 at March Air Force Base on November 2 1980
KC-97L 53-0230 at Beale Air Force Base on October 31, 1981

Buy my Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter/Stratotanker: 2020 calendar at Lulu! Put a copy of the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter/Stratotanker: 2020 calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $14.95.

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