April 24, 2018 This week in Edwards history On April 25, 1996, the NC-141A Electric Starlifter made its first flight since it had been converted to power-by-wire/fly-by-wire aileron controls. The Electric Starlifter program explored the use of these controls in order to save weight and increase serviceability rates of line aircraft.
Aug. 7, 2018 This week in Edwards history On Aug. 6, 1980, a B-1 Combined Test Force crew completed an 11-hour sortie in B-1 No. 4. This was the longest nonstop flight ever logged by a B-1 Lancer.
June 25, 2018 This week in Edwards history On June 29, 1965, Capt. Joe Engle reached 280,600 feet (53 miles) in X-15 No. 3, becoming the third Air Force winged astronaut and the youngest pilot to receive astronaut wings. In this Edwards History Office file photo above, Engle is with his wife, Mary, daughter Laurie and son, Jon.
July 17, 2018 This week in Edwards history On July 17, 1989, the Northrop B-2 Spirit made its first flight, a two-hour sortie from U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, to Edwards Air Force Base. Northrop test pilot Bruce Hinds and Col. Richard S. Couch, the B-2 Combined Test Force director, flew the “stealth” bomber. This marked
July 3, 2018 This week in Edwards history On July 4, 1982, Space Shuttle Columbia landed in view of President Ronald Reagan, First Lady Nancy Reagan and some 500,000 visitors and guests. The shuttle’s fourth orbital flight was its first landing on a concrete runway and marked the end of its formal flight test program. Later that very same
June 7, 2018 This week in Edwards history On June 6, 1959, the first ground test of Thiokol’s XLR-99 liquid fueled rocket engine for the X-15 took place at the Static Test Stand. Delivering 50,000 lbs of thrust at ground level, it was the most powerful and complex throttleable rocket propulsion system in the world.
June 13, 2018 This week in Edwards history On June 13, 1962, a test team conducted the first flights of Project Rough Road, an evaluation of the short-field takeoff and landing capabilities of the production C-130B. Test aircraft were loaded to a gross weight of 101,000 lbs and subjected to a variety of hard and soft sand and clay runways.
May 16, 2018 This week in Edwards history On May 17, 1946, the highly innovative XB-43 Jetmaster made its first flight with Douglas test pilot Bob Brush at the controls. The XB-43 was the nation’s first prototype jet bomber. Captured at a later date, this Edwards History Office file photo shows the XB-43 sharing the Edwards ramp with two
May 31, 2018 This week in Edwards history One June 1, 1951, Air Force aeromedical researcher Maj. John Stapp was strapped into a rocket sled that was poised on a 2,000 foot deceleration track at North Base. Moments later, 4,000 pounds of rocket thrust blasted him down the track and into the braking system (from 88.6 mph to a full stop in 18
May 24, 2018 This week in Edwards history On May 26, 1950, the Douglas XA2D-1 Skyshark, an experimental turboprop-powered version of the company’s AD-1 Skyraider, made its first flight, flown by George Jansen. The aircraft’s turboprop engine transmitted power to two large counterrotating three-bladed propellers through a complicated