October 29, 1999 X-Press Issue

AFFTC and NASA Open House and Air Show is a success

NASA Photo by Tony Landis

More than 200,000 people attended the 1999 Air Force Flight Test Center and NASA Open House and Air Show.

NASA Photo by Jim Ross

NASA's SR-71 flies at the AFFTC and NASA Open House and Air Show.

NASA Photo by Tony Landis

Dryden Director Kevin Petersen and Air Force Flight Test Center Commander Maj. Gen. Richard V. Reynolds open the open house.

NASA Photo by Jim Ross

Former X-15 pilots talked about their experiences at the Gathering of Eagles. X-15 pilots Bill Dana, center, and Ret. Maj. Gen. Joe H. Engle, a former astronaut, also signed autographs at the air show. In the upper left is former Air Force and Dryden pilot Fitz Fulton.

NASA Photo Tony Landis

Dryden's F-16XL, left, and F-15 Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) put on a show.

NASA Photo by Tony Landis

The Air Force Thunderbirds wow onlookers with a breath-taking show attended by more than 200,000 people.

NASA Photo by Tony Landis

A B-2 radar-evading bomber makes an appearance.

NASA Photo by Tony Landis

The F-22 Advanced Tactical Fighter flew its first public appearance at the AFFTC and Dryden Open House and Air Show Oct. 9.

NASA Photo by Tony Landis

Dryden's B-52 was flanked by the X-38 Technology Demonstrator on one side and an Air Force funded recreation of the X-15 on the other side.

NASA Photo by Tony Landis

Onlookers learn about the ER-2.

NASA Photo by Peter Merlin

Dryden Research Engineering Director and SR-71 flight research engineer Bob Meyer signs some autographs.

By Jay Levine
X-Press Editor

NASA's SR-71 Blackbird flew at what could be one of its last public appearances Oct. 9 at the Air Force Flight Test Center and NASA Open House and Air Show. The triple supersonic aircraft did not fly the second day of the event, but a second NASA Blackbird was on static display both days.

NASA pilots also flew the F-16XL Ship 1, the F-15 Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE), an F-18 and the Lear Jet.

Aside from a rare public flight of NASA's Mach 3 bird, the event marked the first public flight of the F-22 Raptor. Also during the open house was a celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the X-15's first powered flight and a special ceremony commemorating 50 years since Muroc Air Force Base was renamed in honor of Capt. Glen Edwards. Capt. Edwards and his crew perished while testing the Northrop YB-49 aircraft.

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the renaming of the base, representatives of Edward's family attended a special ceremony at the event.

Dryden and the Air Force collaborated to bring four former X-15 pilots to the open house opening ceremonies and to sign autographs both days. The X-15 pilots included Scott Crossfield, Bill Dana, Ret. Maj. Gen. Joe H. Engle, a former astronaut, and Ret. Col. William J. "Pete" Knight, who is a California Senator from Palmdale.

More than 80 Dryden volunteers supported the exhibits and displays at the open house. Dryden's B-52 also was on display, flanked on one side by an X-15 full-size mockup brought in by the Air Force and the other side by an X-38. Also on display were the F-18 and the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

And in Hangar 1600, Dryden featured an F-15B, a YO-3A, the M2-F1, 1/8-scale models of the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator and the X-34 single-engine rocket plane. Also on display were a full-scale model of the hypersonic aircraft prototype X-43, Proteus, a high-flying aircraft, the ER-2 and 1/5-scale model of the X-38. The X-38 is expected to demonstrate the technology for a crew return vehicle (CRV) to transport astronauts in an emergency situation from the International Space Station to Earth.

And Former X-15 pilots talked about their experiences at the Gathering of Eagles, a get together for pilots, the night before the AFFTC and Dryden Open House and Air Show.