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2005 Edwards AFB Open House
Rehearsal
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The Edwards Air Force Base Open House was held the weekend of October 22-23. During the two-day event, visitors saw new and unique aircraft in the Air Force inventory, and some of the best aerial demonstration pilots performing today. The various demonstrations included Air Force aircraft such as the F/A-22, F-117, F-16, KC-135, C-17, B-1, B-2, several NASA aircraft including the NF-15B, F/A-18A, T-34C and ER-2. This was an opportunity for taxpayers to see the kind of equipment they buy for the Air Force and NASA, and the abilities of the people who test, fly and maintain this equipment. Airplanes scheduled to perform at the Open House rehearsed their flights on Friday, October 21.
Lockheed-Martin F-22A Engineering, Manufacture Development (EMD) Raptor, 91-4006 of the 412th Test Wing based at Edwards Air Force Base takes off from Runway 22.
F-22A EMD Raptor, 91-4006 is the sixth F-22A.
Condensation of water vapor reveals the vortices streaming from the wing tips of F-22A EMD Raptor, 91-4006. The rectanguler, vectored-thrust nozzles of its F119-PW-100 engines are highlighted by the flames of the afterburners
General Chuck Yeager, the first man to pilot a plane faster than the speed of sound, taxis North American P-51D Mustang, NL334FS Red Dog XII on Runway 22 after the rehearsal of the opening of the airshow.
Link to the web site of General Chuck Yeager.
F-22A EMD Raptor, 91-4006 with its payload bay doors open.
F-22A EMD Raptor, 91-4006.
F-22A EMD Raptor, 91-4006.
F-22A EMD Raptor, 91-4006.
X-15 pilot and Space Shuttle astronaut Colonel Joe Engle occupies the rear seat of General Dynamics F-16D Block 50A Fighting Falcon, 90-0385 of the 412th Test Wing as it taxis along Runway 22 following the sonic boom pass that marked the beginning of the rehearsal.
Link to the NASA Biography of Colonel Joe Engle.
Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas C-17A Globemaster III, 03-3121 of the 412th Test Wing passes overhead after taking off from Runway 04.
C-17A Globemaster III, 03-3121 streams a drogue chute in preparation to drop a palletized payload..
The drogue chute pulls the payload out of the payload bay of C-17A Globemaster III, 03-3121.
The payload swings as the large cargo parachutes inflate following the drop.
The parachutes collapse after the payload lands.
C-17A Globemaster III, 03-3121 in a steeply banked turn, showing off its nimble handling characteristics.
C-17A Globemaster III, 03-3121 descends to land on Runway 22 at the conclusion of its performance.
Ho Jo's Giles G-202, N94AX taxis along Runway 22.
Captain Gert Jan, "Goofy" Vooren of the Royal Netherlands Air Force Solo Display takes off in General Dynamics F-16A Block 15 Fighting Falcon, 80-0564 of the 412th Test Wing at the beginning of a dynamic, turning and burning aerobatic performance. Smoke streams from smoke generators on its wing tips. Ed de Bruijn, Head of the RNLAF Air Display Office stated, "The Royal Netherlands Air Force Solo Display was very honnoured to receive an invitation for the Edwards Air Show. It was pretty expensive to bring the, awesome painted, RNLAF F16 to Edwards, thats is why we used an Edwards based USAF MLU F16. The RNLAF F16 Solo Display displayed at 30 major European Airshows in 2005."
F-16A Block 15 Fighting Falcon, 80-0564 turning and burning.
Water vapor condenses in the vortices streaming from the strakes of F-16A Block 15 Fighting Falcon, 80-0564.
F-16A Block 15 Fighting Falcon, 80-0564.
Karen Willat in Cessna 180H, N91470 tows Bret Willat in the Sensa Sailplane Magic Grob 103 Acro.
Link to the Sensa Sailplane Magic web site.
Karen Willat taxis Cessna 180H, N91470 along Runway 22.
NASA's Lockheed ER-2, N809NA passes high overhead at mid-runway after taking off from Runway 22.
NASA Lockheed ER-2, N809NA makes a low, dirty pass over Runway 22.
NASA Beech T-34C Mentor, N865NA takes off from Runway 22. It carries Navy BuNo 160266.
NASA McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18A-8 Hornet, N850NA takes off from Runway 22. It carries Navy BuNo 161703.
McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B Eagle, NASA 837 takes off from Runway 22. It is equipped with close-coupled canards made from F/A-18 horizontal stabilizers. It is the Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) flight research project testbed aircraft.
McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B Eagle, NASA 837 was the first F-15B. It carries Air Force serial number 71-0290.
The Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engines of McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B Eagle, NASA 837 are equipped with 360-degree thrust vectoring nozzles.
Link to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center fact sheet about the Intelligent Flight Control System flight research project.
Link to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Photo Gallery for McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B Eagle, NASA 837.
NASA McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18A-8 Hornet, N850NA and Beech T-34C Mentor, N865NA fly in formation.
NASA Beech T-34C Mentor, N865NA breaks away from McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18A-8 Hornet, N850NA.
McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B Eagle, NASA 837 uses its canards to keep its nose up as it decelerates to very low speed.
NASA McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18A-8 Hornet, N850NA lands on Runway 22.
NASA Beech T-34C Mentor, N865NA lands on Runway 22.
Julie Clark taxis Beech A45 (T-34A), N134JC Free Spirit along Runway 22.
Link to Julie Clark's site.
Boeing B-52H Stratofortress 60-0050 Dragon's Inferno of the 412th Test Wing taxis from the south base facility at mid-field.
Smoke billows from the eight TF-33 low-bypass, turbo-fan engines of B-52H Stratofortress 60-0050 Dragon's Inferno as it starts its take-off roll.
B-52H Stratofortress 60-0050 Dragon's Inferno takes off from Runway 22.
B-52H Stratofortress 60-0050 Dragon's Inferno retracts its landing gear.
Boeing-Rockwell B-1B Lancer, 85-0075 Ghost Rider of the 412th Test Wing taxis from the south base facility at mid-field as B-52H Stratofortress 60-0050 completes a pass by the flightline.
B-1B Lancer, 85-0075 Ghost Rider taxis to the end of the runway.
B-52H Stratofortress 60-0050 Dragon's Inferno makes a pass along the fly-by line.
Boeing-Rockwell B-1B Lancer 85-0075 Ghost Rider takes off from Runway 22.
B-1B Lancer, 85-0075 Ghost Rider uses the afterburners of its four F101-GE-102 turbofan engines to climb away from the runway.
NASA Lockheed ER-2, N809NA lands on Runway 22.
It is a delicate balancing act to keep the wing tips of Lockheed ER-2, N809NA from dragging on the runway as it slows to a stop.
The NASA ground crew installs the right outrigger landing gear on Lockheed ER-2, N809NA. The outriggers fall off of the airplane shortly after it starts its take-off roll.
The NASA ground crew installs the left outrigger landing gear on Lockheed ER-2, N809NA.
Once the outriggers are in place, Lockheed ER-2, N809NA can taxi at low speed.
B-1B Lancer, 85-0075 makes a dirty pass along the fly-by line.
B-1B Lancer, 85-0075.
B-1B Lancer, 85-0075 has its bomb bay doors open for the practice pyrotechnics pass.
B-1B Lancer, 85-0075.
B-1B Lancer, 85-0075.
C-17A Globemaster III, 03-3121 takes off from Runway 04.
Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker 61-0320 of the 412th Test Wing takes off from Runway 04.
Lockheed MC-130E Combat Talon I, 64-0572 taxis to mid-field Runway 04 on taxiway Bravo.
Link to the Air Force Link web page about the MC-130 Combat Talon.
Reproduction "Zeros", Canadian Car & Foundry Harvard Mk IV, N4447 and Harvard Mk IV, NX15799 practice for the Tora, Tora, Tora Pearl Harbor reenactment. The Harvards were modified to resemble Mitsubishi A6M Zeros for the 1971 movie Tora, Tora, Tora. The actual performance on Saturday included five "Zeros", two "Vals", and two "Kates".
Canadian Car & Foundry Harvard Mk IV, N4447 lands on Runway 22.
Canadian Car & Foundry Harvard Mk IV, NX15799 lands on Runway 22.
Link to the Tora, Tora, Tora Pearl Harbor reenactment web site.
Lockheed-Martin F-22A EMD Raptor, 91-4009 of the 412th Test Wing takes off from Runway 22.
F-22A EMD Raptor, 91-4009.
General Dynamics F-16B Block 15AQ OCU Fighting Falcon, 92-0452 of the 412th Test Wing takes off from Runway 22. It was manufactured for the Pakistani Air Force, but the airplanes were embargoed. It was placed in storage at AMARC on August 25, 1993 as FG0026. It was leased to New Zealand in 1999 and then delivered to the 412th Test Wing in January 2003.
Northrop T-38A-55 Talon, 64-13302 of the 412th Test Wing takes off from Runway 22.
General Dynamics F-16D Block 40A Fighting Falcon, 87-0392 of the 412th Test Wing takes off from Runway 22.
Northrop T-38A-55 Talon, 70-1559 of the 412th Test Wing takes off from Runway 22.
Lockheed-Martin F-117A FSD Stealth Fighter, 79-10782 of the 412th Test Wing makes a pass intended to reveal its underside to the crowd on the flightline. It was the third F-117A. It will be retired and placed on display at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.
Raytheon T-6A Texan II, 03-0681 of the 12th Flying Training Wing based at Randolph AFB, Texas flies at very low altitude along Runway 22.
North American AT-6G Texan, N49939 flies over Runway 22.
T-6A Texan II, 03-0681 and AT-6G Texan, N49939 break formation.
General Dynamics F-16C Block 40C Fighting Falcon, 88-0492 of the 4th Fighter Squadron Fighting Fuujins of the 388th Fighter Wing based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah takes off from Runway 22.
F-16C Block 40C Fighting Falcon, 88-0492 starts its aerobatic performance.
F-16C Block 40C Fighting Falcon, 88-0492 lands on Runway 22 at the conclusion of its aerobatic performance.
Link to the web site of the 388th Fighter Wing.
On Tuesday, October 18, the Edward Air Force Base Public Affairs Office provided representatives of the media with a glimpse of some of the equipment to be displayed at this weekend's Open House. A 25-year-old Norwegion General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon undergoing European Participating Air Forces (EPAF) mid-life update will be displayed with three different short-range, infra-red seeking missiles. NASA will be showing off Lockheed ER-2, N809NA and one of the presure suits used by the ER-2 pilots.
The Air Force Flight Test Center Museum boasts a collection of airplanes and helicopters that have contributed to the vast history of flight testing that has occurred at Edwards Air Force Base. The AFFTC Museum is part of the tours hosted by Edwards AFB public affairs on the first and third Fridays of each month.
Static Displays and Arrivals
Airshow Page 1
Airshow Page 2
More Edwards AFB displays.
You can buy a 2020 calendar featuring my photographs of Lockheed-Martin F/A-22A Raptors at Edwards Air Force Base.
A dozen photos of Lockheed-Martin F/A-22A Raptors at Edwards Air Force Base. Raptors pictured include F-22A Engineering, Manufacture Development (EMD) Raptors, 91-4003, 91-4005, 91-4006, 91-4007, and 91-4009 of the 412th Test Wing and F/A-22A Production Representative Test Vehicle (PRTV) Raptor, 99-4010 of the 53rd Test and Evaluation Group.
Put a copy of the Lockheed-Martin F/A-22A Raptors at Edwards Air Force Base: 2020 Calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $14.95.
Go to the Airshow Page of the Goleta Air and Space Museum.
Send a message to Brian.