Both
of the Air Force Lockheed-Martin
SR-71A Blackbirds were on static display. This one carries
serial 64-17967. Will we ever see them fly again? 3-D version.
This Schweizer
RU-38A observation aircraft operated by the Coast Guard made
its first Edwards AFB Open House appearance. It is a novel
reconnaissance aircraft capable of both low-altitude, low-noise
observation and high-altitude, long-loiter, stand-off missions.
3-D
version.
Bob Pond's Lockheed
P-38J Lightning (NX38BP) was also making its first appearance
at Edwards. Its army air corps serial was 44-23314, which it
still wears on its tail. 3-D version.
Lockheed-Martin ER-2A, NASA 806, has
been equipped with satellite uplink capability. Visit the NASA
Dryden ER-2 Photo Archive and Fact Page. The second 747 Shuttle Carrier
Aircraft, N911NA, can be seen in the background. It was
originally a Japan Air Lines 747-146SR. Visit the NASA Dryden Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Fact Page. 3-D version.
X-38 Crew Return Vehicle V-101 made
its first parachute test drop earlier this year. The second
flight vehicle will make a lifting body approach from higher
altitude before deploying its parachute when it begins testing
next year. Visit the NASA Dryden X-38 Photo Archive and the X-38 Project page. 3-D
version.
The X-38 is carried and launched by the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress, serial 52-0008. It has been launching research aircraft at Edwards AFB since the first flights of the X-15 in 1959. Visit the NASA Dryden B-52 Stratofortress Fact Page.
Lockheed-Martin F-16XL, NASA 849,
concluded its flight research program in 1992. It used the
pressurization compressor from a Boeing 707 to suck the boundary
layer of air into the leading edge glove on the left wing. Visit
the NASA Dryden F-16XL #1 Photo Archive and Fact Page. 3-D
version.
Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas
F-15B, NASA 836, carries X-33 thermal protection system
samples on the Flight Test Fixture on the centerline attachment
point. It carries U. S. Air Force serial 74-0141. Visit the NASA
Dryden F-15B Photo Archive and Project Page. 3-D
version.
Tier 3-minus, Lockheed Martin Darkstar
has over eight hours of endurance at 45,000 feet altitude. Visit
Boeing's DarkStar Product Page. 3-D version.
Tier 2-plus, Ryan Global Hawk,
serial 95-2001, has over twenty-four hours of endurance at 60,000
feet. 3-D version.
Predator has over twenty four hours
of endurance at altitudes up to 26,000 feet. Visit the General
Atomics Aeronautical Systems home page for more information
about the Predator and their other UAV products.
The plywood sheathed M2-F1 Flying Bathtub was the first of NASA's lifting body research aircraft. It has just been restored to mint condition following years of being stored outside. 3-D version.
The Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor,
serial 91-002, made its first appearance at the Edwards AFB Open
House. The second flight vehicle has joined the test force. Visit
Lockheed-Martin's F-22 Raptor pages. 3-D
version.
Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor will be
entering squadron service in about four years. 3-D version.
Boeing E-3C Sentry, serial 78-0578,
Airborne Warning and Command System (AWACS) . Visit the Air Force
E-3 Sentry fact page and Boeing's E-3 Product Page. 3-D version.
Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas
KC-10A Extender, serial 86-0037, is based at Travis AFB. The
tanker is derived from the DC-10-30 trijet airliner. Visit the KC-10 Extender entry in the Air Force Online
Encyclopedia. 3-D version.
Boeing RC-135V Rivet Joint
64-14846 SIGINT platform of the 55th Wing based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. It is based on the
KC-135 Stratotanker. It has been refitted with the JT3D fanjet engines
and vertical stabilizer from a retired 707. .
Sporting a 7-foot diameter radar
dish on its nose, the Boeing EC-18
Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA), serial 81-0891,
is based on a former 707 airliner. 3-D
version.
Visit Randy Losey's Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft History and ARIA 328 Memorial Web Site.
Go to Flying Displays
of the 1998 Edwards AFB Airshow.
Go to the Edwards AFB 1959, 1960, and 1961 Airshows photographed by my father, Richard Lockett.
Books about
Edwards Air Force Base available from 
Test Colors: The Aircraft of Muroc Army Airfield
and Edwards Air Force Base by Rene Francillon
X-Planes at Edwards (Enthusiast Color
Series) by
Steve Pace
Edwards Air Force Base : Open House at the USAF
Flight Test Center 1957-1966 : A Photo Chronicle of
Aircraft Displayed (Schiffer Military History) by Robert D. Archer
The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45: 3rd Edition
by Jay Miller
Flying Without Wings : NASA Lifting
Bodies and the Birth of the Space Shuttle by Milton O. Thompson
Lockheed Stealth by Bill Sweetman
F-22 Raptor (Enthusiast Color) by Bill Sweetman
America's Stealth Fighters and Bombers by James C. Goodall
Skunk Works : A Personal Memoir of My Years at
Lockheed by
Ben R. Rich
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works by Jay Miller
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker : More Than
Just a Tanker by
Robert S. Hopkins III
Dark Eagles by Curtis Peebles, a compact
complete history of U.S. programs to develop so-called black or
secret aircraft.
Shadow Flights by Curtis Peebles
Spyplane : The U-2 History
Declassified by
Norman Polmar
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.
Go to the home page of the Goleta Air and Space Museum.
Send a message to Brian.