Commander hosts reception following air show Published Oct. 23, 2009 By Diane Betzler EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Edwards Air Force Base opened it gates Oct. 17 and invited the public to come see what the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center is all about. The public accepted that invitation in a big way and nearly 225,000 visitors swarmed the base and became a part of the celebration of Flight Test Nation 2009 Air Show & Open House. To celebrate the success of the event Maj. Gen. David Eichhorn, commander of the AFFTC hosted a private reception at the end of the day at the AFFTC Museum where he gathered with close friends, some family and other Air Force officials to bask in the success of the day. Among the general's special guests were two of America's most well-known test pilots, Brig. Gen. Charles "Chuck" Yeager, the first test pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound, and Maj. Gen. Joe Engle, who flew 16 flights in the X-15 reaching speeds of Mach 5.71, approximately 3,888 mph. Both generals relived a blast from the past as they once again climbed into an Air Force F-16 and soared high and fast, and back into the wild blue Air Force yonder to recreate the sonic booms that made them famous so many years ago. Also joining in the general's private celebration was celebrity guest Olympic gold medalist, Mark Spitz. Spitz held the record for most Olympic medal wins at a single Olympic game, for 36 years. At 86, General Yeager remains active in the air and still maintains a mischievous twinkle in those baby blues. When chatting with the general, one senses that he's a no-nonsense kind of a guy and you'd better have your facts straight when talking about flight testing. When asked how he felt about Tom Wolfe's 1979 novel, "The Right Stuff," a story about American test pilots and the flight testing they were involved in for experimental rocket-engine, high-speed aircraft, Yeager said Wolfe's original intention was to write about the Project Mercury astronauts, "But once he began researching, he found that it was the Air Force test pilots who were out there doing the most research and risking their lives testing the aircraft for NASA." He reminisced some about the old days and recalled that Uncle Sam was paying him $260 a month to test fly the rocket-powered Bell X-1, the experimental aircraft he flew while making the famous flight that broke through the sound barrier. "I flew four flights in the X-1 doing 1.5 Mach back in 1947 and 1948," he recalled. Yeager said that although he flew out of Edwards many times in the early years, he didn't actually transfer to the base until 1949 and said he's been here in the Antelope Valley ever since. The general doesn't man the controls of an aircraft as much as he use to and said he does most of his flying on commercial airplanes these days. When asked how he feels about flying with someone else at the helm he said he has a lot of confidence in the airline pilots, "They like their neck as well as I like mine," he chuckled. Maj. Gen. Joe Engle, who test flew the X-15 for two years said he feels very fortunate and blessed to have had that opportunity. He said the thing that people cannot imagine is what it was like to work with the X team. "They were an entire team of true professionals, we all worked together," he said. Winner of a total of nine gold medals, one silver and one bronze, Olympic athlete Mark Spitz was considered the best swimmer of all time until last year when Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, putting him one win higher at a single Olympic game than Spitz. Spitz told the Desert Eagle reporter how he came to be an invited guest at General Eichhorn's private celebration reception. He said he was driving through Mojave on his way to Los Angeles when he heard on the radio that the space shuttle Discovery was about to land at Edwards. "I was so close to the base, I couldn't pass up the chance to watch it land," he said. His plan to do that was looking pretty grim, however, when the Air Force guards were refusing him entry onto the base. Spitz said while stopped at the gate, the car behind him turned out to be General Eichhorn's. He said after a short delay the general, who didn't want to miss the landing, went to check with the guard about what was causing the delay. "General Eichhorn recognized me and when I told him I was hoping to get to watch the shuttle land, he signed me in and escorted me to the landing site." Spitz said the general later invited him to attend the open house and air show. "I wouldn't have missed it," he said. Spitz said he thought the Flight Test Nation 2009 event put on a marvelous show and he was so glad that he had the opportunity to be there. Col. William Thornton, commander of the 412th Test Wing, flew in the F-16 with General Engle and said it was an awesome experience. The colonel said that Yeager and Engle were his idols and said that never in his wildest imagination did he ever think that one day he would get to fly with them. "Today's experience went beyond my dreams," he said, adding that both former test pilots did so much for this country. Also a guest at the general's reception was California State Assemblyman Steve Knight. Knight also raved about the air show and said he loved every bit of it. "Some of the best pilots in the world were flying today, and we got to watch it!" he said. Knight, whose father, the late Senator William J. "Pete" Knight was rated right up there as one of the best test pilots in the world, said one of the highlights of the air show for him was watching the F-22 in flight. "If a tear doesn't come out of your eye when you see the F-22 fly, you're not an American," he said. When asked if he ever considered a career in flight testing, Knight said, "I don't know if I could ever follow in Pete Knight's footsteps, he was a phenomenal pilot," the assemblyman said of his famous father. General Eichhorn said he had an awesome time at the air show and gave special thanks to Generals Yeager and Engle for their part in the show's success. The general said the show was a tremendous success and it appeared to him that everyone had a good time. The general thanked the Air Base Wing and the Test Wing and the FTC staff for the great job they did in helping put on the open house and air show. He said the show was a first class act from start to finish and commented about the overwhelming attendance. He said they estimated that 180,000 visitors made it through the gates and many more people would have attended had it not been for the line of cars that was backed up from the west gate on Rosamond all the way to Avenue D on the 14 Freeway. That, he said, prompted a lot of people to turn around and go home. "When you consider that the last air show three years ago brought in 35,000 people one day and 25,000 the next, 60,000 people over all, and here we had tripled that in one day, so I think the event was a tremendous success," he said. General Eichhorn said he's glad the event was such a big success because Edwards will be highlighting Flight Test Nation again to let people know what flight testing is all about and said it's about taking intelligent risks and advancing technology in aerospace, and in aviation in particular. About 60 invited guests attended the general's post open house and air show reception and much to the general's delight, all raved about the day's events. The general's guests were entertained by the Air Mobility Command Band of the Golden West, the only active duty Air Force band west of the Rockies.