New Displays

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Although it is late in the season there is a spectacular Poppy bloom in the Antelope Valley.

Slideshow of wildflower photos.

The last four Lockheed-Martin F-117A Nighthawks from the 49th Fighter Wing departed from Air Force Plant 42 at Plamdale, California for Tonopah, Nevada on Tuesday, April 22. Their wings will be removed and they will be stored in their old hangars. The four Stealth Fighters took off from Runway 25 at 2:00 PM.

Slideshow of the visit of the last Stealth Fighters at Palmdale.

The last four Lockheed-Martin F-117A Nighthawks from the 49th Fighter Wing flew from Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico to Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale, California on Monday, April 21.

Video clips and still frames from the Air Force Engineering Division film report: Experimental and Research Aircraft that feature the first flights of the Convair XB-36 42-13570 prototype of the Peacemaker and the Convair XC-99 43-52436.

The XB-36

The XC-99

A Minuteman III missile was launched on a suborbital trajectory toward Kwajalein Atoll from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:01 A.M. on Wednesday, April 2.

The Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk fleet is being retired. Here's a retrospective of photos of the Stealth Fighter.

Chase the Union Pacific Challenger class 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive 3985 from Pomona through Cajon Pass and Victorville to Yermo on August 20, 2000.

Vintage video of Boeing B-52G Stratofortresses of the 93rd Bomb Wing at Castle Air Force Base in 1992 and 1993.

Vintage video of Boeing KC=135A and KC-135R Stratotankers of the 93rd Bomb Wing at Castle Air Force Base in 1992 and 1993.

The Saline Valley is home to a great deal of military jet training and testing. I photographed several Super Hornets and Fighting Falcons during a recent visit.

Saline Valley Birdwatching: Slideshow of Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornets from NAS Lemoore and NAWS China Lake and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons from Fresno ANG and Edwards AFB flying at low altitude in the Saline Valley in March 2008.

Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale is home to Blackbird Airpark and the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42. Both airparks are located on Avenue P, adjacent to 25th Street East. Blackbird Airpark is the only place where you can see an SR-71A, an A-12, and a D-21 drone together. There will eventually be over 40 airplanes on display at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark. Blackbird Airpark recently received another black bird, Lockheed F-117A Stealth Fighter 79-0783. The Boeing B-52F Stratofortress 57-0038 that was delivered to the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark last year has been almost fully reassembled. Their Curtiss C-46 Commando is undergoing restoration.

The Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress mothership has been placed on display outside the north gate of Edwards Air Force Base, just off Highway 58 between Mojave and Boron.

I spent five days in the Saline Valley photographing scenery and jets in the wild. Two days after I returned home, the winds were gusting to 48 miles per hour where I was camping.

Panamint Valley and Saline Valley Slideshow: Slideshow of scenery in Panamint Valley and Saline Valley in March 2008.

I used some new methods to build panoramas from old slides that required a lot of perspective correction. I also straightened out some of the more recent panoramas.

On a typically windy day in the Saline Valley I spotted a most unusual cloud.

Raytheon's Convair 580 N580HH arrived at Naval Air Station Pt Mugu From Tucson, Arizona on February 25, 2008.

I recently acquired a Neuros OSD video digitizer and a big hard drive. I digitized my old VHS tapes of airshows, tankers, steam locomotives, and rocket launches. I have started producing Video Shorts and adding them to the displays of the museum.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform at the Edwards Air Force Base open house in six General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons on November 8, 1987.

Several of my short Time Lapse Video clips have been reworked into compilation videos.

Electric Eye: Different perspective of the lightning storm over Santa Maria on August 30, 2007.

The Pregnant, Mini, and Super Guppies display has been revised with bigger and better image files.

On Thursday, December 27 a flight plan was filed for Honeywell Boeing 720 N720H to fly from Williams-Gateway to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. It actually departed from Phoenix and activated its flight plan over Williams-Gateway. It was scheduled to depart at 9:50 AM MST and to return at 1:20 PM MST. I parked on the top of the Terminal 4 parking structure at 1:00 PM to wait for its return. As I waited, I photographed a number of the flights taking off and landing on Runway 26.

I stopped by the local airport on Sunday, January 13 to see what was flying. Mostly regional jets and business jets including a small fleet of Honeywell Corporate jets.

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan CVN-76 paid a visit to Santa Barbara over the weekend of January 12 - 13.

Early Boeing four-engine jet airliners, beginning with the 367-80 prototype, shared a 130-foot 10-inch wingspan. Boeing's first production jet airliner, the 707-120, was 144 feet 6 inches long. To suit QANTAS need for a longer range, the 707-138 was ten feet shorter than the standard 707-120 but kept the same take-off weight. Boeing built the 720 with a shorter, lighter fuselage for short range operations.

Airworthy Vintage Boeing Jetliners

Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B engine testbed is the oldest Boeing jet airliner that still flies in the United States. Here's a collection of pictures of some of the oldest examples of Boeing jet airliners that still fly.

New Display Archives:

2007 New Displays

2006 New Displays

2005 New Displays

2004 New Displays

2003 New Displays

2002 New Displays

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