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Occasionally I visit Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale in the hope of catching some rare bird flying in the pattern.
I was notified that the Airbus Guppy would be arriving at Palmdale to deliver a component of the X-33 on the morning of October 15. I arrived a short while after it landed, and it did not take off again that day, but I did get some shots of other airplanes in the pattern.
Lockheed P-3 Orion on
approach to Runway 25. Tail code PG identifies this Orion as
belonging to VP-65, the Tridents, based at Pt. Mugu NAS.
Argentine Air Force
McDonnell-Douglas OA-4AR Skyhawk carries a load of
bombs as it departs from Runway 25. The bomb racks were empty
when it returned about an hour later.
Six-bladed propellors distinguish the J-model of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
On August 26, NASA's SR-71 flew a mission to Utah. I drove out to Palmdale on the chance that it might make some passes over the field. I didn't get to see the SR-71, but there was a United Airlines 747 shooting touch and go landings.
Boeing 747-222B N152UA
belongs to United Airlines, but has had the airline's name
covered over. It was delivered to United in 1987.
The Space Shuttle Columbia was expected to arrive at Plant 42 on Friday, September 24. Unfortunately, its arrival was postponed by bad weather in New Mexico. A crowd gathered at Sierra Highway and Avenue N awaiting Coumbia. We were treated to passes by a variety of airplanes.
Lockheed C-130E Hercules
62-1851 of the California
Air National Guard made a number of low altitude departures
from Runway 25.
Lockheed C-130E Hercules
62-1851 is from the 146th Airlift Wing Channel Islands, which
is across the runway from Pt. Mugu NAWC.
Northrop B-2A Block 30 Spirit
93-1086 circled around to Runway 7 for the first of its
passes. Spirit of Kitty Hawk was originally constructed as a
Block 20.
Visit Northrop Grumman's B-2 Spirit page and Boeing's B-2 page
Northrop B-2A Block 30 Spirit 93-1086 turns into
the right hand pattern for Runway 25. The doors of the two bomb
bays can be seen just inboard of the wheel wells.
Boeing EC-135E 60-0374
Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA) of the 452nd
Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base. The number one
engine is at idle throttle for engine out practice.
Navy Lockheed C-130T Hercules
165379 of VR-55 based at Alameda NAS is one of the more
recent production examples.
Boeing
EC-135E 60-0374 was built as a C-135A transport. It was modified in
the sixties to become an EC-135N Apollo/Range Instrumentation
Aircraft (A/RIA) with the installation of a 7-foot diameter radar
dish in a large nose radome.
Later, the Air Force acquired a
number of retired 707 airliners to install their engines and
vertical stabilizers on C-135 Stratotankers. With the
installation of the more efficient and powerful fanjet engines,
the designation of the EC-135N
changed to EC-135E.
Boeing 717-200 Prototype
N717XB. The small cone trailing from the tail is a precision
air speed instrument. Note the large diameter of the BMW/Rolls-Royce BR715 high-bypass-ratio engines. Visit the Boeing web site for more information about the
717-200.
Lockheed C-130H Hercules
165379 departs from Runway 25.
Boeing EC-135E 60-0374.
The nose art shows a cartoon EC-135E sheparding an advanced
cruise missile. Note that the fuselage has few windows other than
the cockpit.
Boeing EC-18B 81-0892 ARIA
of the 452nd Flight Test Squadron. The passenger windows reflect
its former career as an American Airlines 707 Astrojet. Back then
it was registered N7567A.
Boeing EC-18B
81-0892 ARIA. The left wing and inboard faces of the engine
nacelles are painted black to reduce reflected glare into the
windows.
Visit the Federation of American Scientists web site for more information about the EC-18.
Visit Randy Losey's Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft History and ARIA 328 Memorial Web Site.
Lockheed C-130E Hercules
62-1851 on approach to Runway 25.
Following the arrival of the Columbia on the morning of Saturday, September 25, an F-18D Hornet from Miramar made a series of passes.
McDonnell-Douglas
F-18D-33-MC Night Attack Hornet 164228. The VK tailcode
indicates that it is from VMFA(AW)-121, the Green Knights of Marine
Air Group 11 based at Miramar MCAS.
I also went to Palmdale on Monday September 27 in another attempt to see the SR-71. I missed it again, but there was an old Douglas Skyhawk in the pattern.
Argentine Air Force McDonnell-Douglas A-4AR Skyhawks
are being upgraded at Plant 42. Note the fake cockpit canopy
painted on the underside of the fuselage. This one is carrying a
dozen little practice bombs.
Send a message to Brian.
Go to home page of the Goleta Air and Space Museum.
