Edwards Air Force Base Open House
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I attended the Edwards Air Force Base Open House with my father, Richard Lockett, on May 17, 1972 which marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Air Force.. The displays featured the HL-10 lifting body, and pre-production models of the Northrop YA-9A and Fairchild-Republic YA-10A Thunderbolt II.
NASA Northrop HL-10 N804NA lifting body had made the last of its thirty-seven flights on July 17, 1970, with Major Peter Hoag at the controls. He had been launched by Majors Fornell and Bowline. Photographer: Richard Lockett.
The maximum speed attained during the HL-10 program was mach 1.86 (1228 miles per hour) on the thirty-fourth flight on February 18, 1970 with Major Peter Hoag as the pilot. He had been launched from the NB-52B by Captain Fritz and Squadron Leader Fisher.
The maximum altitude of the program was 90,303 feet, achieved on February 27, 1970, during the thirty-fifth flight of the program, with Bill Dana as the pilot. The pilots of the NB-52B were Major Bowline and Captain Larson.
The HL-10 survives on a pylon in front of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB.
NASA Northrop HL-10 N804NA lifting body
Prototype Northrop YA-9A 71-1367 made it first flight two weeks after the oen house on May 30, 1972. After the cancellation of the program, it was displayed at the Castle Air Museum. It is now in storage at Edwards Air Force Base awaiting the construction of the new Air Force Flight Test Center Museum.
Prototype Fairchild-Republic YA-10A Thunderbolt II 71-1369 made its first flight a week before the open house, on May 10, 1972.
Sikorsky CH-53B Jolly Green Giant rigged for the retrieval of a Ryan BQM-34 Firebee target drone.
Sikorsky CH-53B Jolly Green Giant after retrieval of a Ryan BQM-34 Firebee target drone.
Edwards AFB displays.
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