AFFTC Stoliker

Long time Air Force Flight Test Center engineer and former AFFTC Technical Director Frederick “Fred” N. Stoliker passed away February 16 in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 85 years old. (Courtesy photo)

Houses in the Wherry Housing area at Edwards AFB

The Bell X-1A in flight. Bell test pilot Jean E. “Skip” Ziegler made the first glide flight of the X- 1A at Edwards AFB on Feb. 14, 1953. (Courtesy Photo)

Moments in Time

Actress Rita Moreno seen here with several Edwards test pilots, including Capt. Iven C. Kincheloe in 1956. (Courtesy Photo)

First Female Space Shuttle Pilot Candidate

U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School student Maj. Eileen M. Collins, (Class 89B), was selected by NASA as a Space Shuttle pilot candidate on January 17, 1990. Major Collins was the first woman to be selected for the job, and went on to both pilot, and command the Space Shuttle. (Courtesy Photo)

Tennessee Ernie Ford

NASA test pilot John A. Manke, shown here in August 1959 with the HL 10 lifting body. Manke made the first successful rocket-powered flight of the HL 10 on November 13, 1968, attaining Mach 0.80 at 43,000 ft. (Photo courtesy of NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.)

Tennessee Ernie Ford

Popular entertainer “Tennessee Ernie” Ford filmed an episode of his NBC television program on the ramp in front of the maintenance and modification hangar (Hangar 1600) on November 10, 1960. (Photo courtesy of AFFTC History Office)

Capt. Fulton

Capt. Fitz Fulton, just beginning his career, is shown here using the radio at Flight Test Operations in April 1951. (Air Force photo)

X-planes

X-planes at Edwards: In the center is the Douglas X-3 Stiletto research aircraft. Clockwise from the top: The Bell X-5 variable-sweep wing jet research aircraft; the Navy’s Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket swept-wing aircraft; the Northrop X-4, the Douglas D-558-I Skystreak and the Convair experimental XF-92A Dart. These aircraft were being tested a little before the birth of the Air Force Flight Test Center, June 25, 1951. (Air Force photo)

XF-92A

Maj. Chuck Yeager and the delta-wing Convair XF‐92A. As an experimental test pilot, Major Yeager flew up to 50 hours per month in 37 different aircraft types and models in 1951. (Air Force photo)

Al Boyd

Brig. Gen. Al Boyd, considered the father of modern Air Force flight testing, was the first Air Force Flight Test Center commander in 1951. (Air Force photo)

Vietnam Veteran recounts ?MiG-bagging? experience

Then-Navy Lt. Bill Freckleton (left) receives a congratulation from Adm. Bernard Clarey after receiving his Silver Star Medal. Lieutenant Freckleton helped in the shotdown of a North Vietnam MiG-17 on March 6, 1972, near Quang Lang airfield. Now, Mr. Freckleton is a 412th Range Squadron range control officer assigned to the F-22 Raptor Combined Test Force. (Courtesy photo)

Vietnam Veteran recounts ?MiG-bagging? experience

Bill Freckleton (right) poses for a photo with Gary Weigand during a dedication ceremony of a VF-111 Sundowners F-4 Phantom, which Mr. Freckleton and Mr. Weigand used to shutdown a North Vietnam MiG-17 during Vietnam War. Mr. Freckleton is a 412th Range Squadron range control officer assigned to the F-22 Raptor Combined Test Force. (Courtesy photo)

YC-15 moves to new home

Contractors transport a YC-15 fuselage near the West Gate here April 4. The aircraft returned to Edwards to be part of the Century Circle museum annex at the gate. (Air Force photo by Fred Johnsen)

YC-15 moves to new home

Contractors tow a YC-15 fuselage down Rosamond Boulevard here April 4. The aircraft will become part of the Century Circle museum annex at the West Gate. The YC-15 was one of only two prototypes built by McDonnell Douglas in response to an Air Force interest in developing an advanced medium short takeoff and landing transport to replace the C-130 Hercules. (Air Force photo by Fred Johnsen)

Edwards celebrates Global Hawk's 10-year birthday

The Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle lands here Feb. 28 after an eight-hour mission. The flight marked the 10th anniversary of the Global Hawk's first flight where the aircraft flew for one hour and reached an altitude of 32,000 feet above Edwards skies. Today, the Global Hawk has logged more than 20,000 flight hours, of which 15,000 were flown supporting warfighters in the Global War on Terror. (Air Force photo by Jim Shryne)

Buff in the rough

Volunteers move the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum's B-52 to the North Gate on Oct. 1. Maintainers from 912th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron towed the aircraft from the museum's maintenance hangar at North Base. Personnel from the 95th Civil Engineering and Transportation Directorate provided the expertise and equipment to move the static display almost half a mile across the desert on a tow road they had previously graded. Future improvements to the display area will include a small parking lot, walkways, signage and concrete pads under the landing gear. (Photo by Doug Nelson)

Century Circle display opens to public

Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke, Air Force Flight Test Center commander, welcomes attendees to the new Century Circle display during the its opening ceremony at the West Gate on Rosamond Boulevard on Monday. The Century Circle display features a restored 18-foot high and 28-foot wide control tower and six Century Series aircraft, the F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, F-105 and F-106. (Photo by Mike Cassidy)

Cloak and Dagger

Edwards motorists wait at the West Gate during the transportation of an F-102 Delta Dagger to the Century Circle display outside the gate July 24. The display is scheduled to open in late August. Century Circle will feature Century Series aircraft and the old Edwards Control Tower. (Photo by Jim Shryne)

Air Force Flight Test Center Museum preserves past

The Air Force Flight Test Center Museum features a variety of exhibits including aircraft, election seats, weapons, models and engines. (Photo by Senior Airman Jason Hernandez)

After nearly 60 years, EOD helps old bomb explode

A large hole developed in the casing of a '40s-era bomb after Edwards' Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit detonated a charge on top of it. The sand-filled bomb, manufactured in 1943, was discovered in an undeveloped area east of Lancaster, Calif. (Photo by Capt. Vince King)