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Occasionally I visit Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale in the hope of catching some rare bird flying in the pattern.
On August 26, NASA's SR-71 flew a mission to Utah. I drove out to Palmdale on the chance that it might make some passes over the field. I didn't get to see the SR-71, but there was a United Airlines 747 shooting touch and go landings.
Boeing 747-222B N152UA belongs to United Airlines, but has had the airline's name
covered over. It first flew on March 1, 1987. Its construction number is 23737. It was delivered to United on April 2, 1987. Northwest registered it as N645NW on July 3, 2000. It was merged into the Delta fleet on October 29, 2008. Kalitta Air acquired it on August 19, 2010 and registered it as N739CK on November 3, 2010. The Cargo Airline registered it as 4L-GEL on June 9, 2017.
The Space Shuttle Columbia was expected to arrive at Plant 42 on Friday, September 24. Unfortunately, its arrival was postponed by bad weather in New Mexico. A crowd gathered at Sierra Highway and Avenue N awaiting Coumbia. We were treated to passes by a variety of airplanes.
California Air National Guard Lockheed C-130E Hercules 62-1851 of the 146th Airlift Wing Channel Islands made a number of departures from Runway 25.
California Air National Guard Lockheed C-130E Hercules 62-1851 of the 146th Airlift Wing Channel Islands based across the runway from Pt. Mugu NAWC.
Northrop B-2A Block 30 Spirit
93-1086 circled around to Runway 7 for the first of its
passes. Spirit of Kitty Hawk was originally constructed as a
Block 20.
Northrop B-2A Block 30 Spirit
93-1086
Visit Northrop Grumman's B-2 Spirit page and Boeing's B-2 page
Northrop B-2A Block 30 Spirit 93-1086 turns into
the right hand pattern for Runway 25. The doors of the two bomb
bays can be seen just inboard of the wheel wells.
Boeing EC-135E 60-0374
Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA) of the 452nd
Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base. The number one
engine is at idle throttle for engine out practice.
Navy Lockheed C-130T Hercules
165379 of VR-55 based at Alameda NAS is one of the more
recent production examples.
Boeing
EC-135E 60-0374 was built as a C-135A transport. It was modified in
the sixties to become an EC-135N Apollo/Range Instrumentation
Aircraft (A/RIA) with the installation of a 7-foot diameter telemetry
dish in a large nose radome.
Boeing EC-135E 60-0374
Later, the Air Force acquired a
number of retired 707 airliners to install their engines and
vertical stabilizers on C-135 Stratotankers. With the
installation of the more efficient and powerful fanjet engines,
the designation of the EC-135N
changed to EC-135E.
Visit
the Federation of American Scientists web site for
more information about the EC-18. Visit Randy Losey's Advanced Range
Instrumentation Aircraft History and ARIA 328 Memorial Web Site. Following the arrival of the Columbia on the morning of
Saturday, September 25, an F-18D Hornet from Miramar made a
series of passes. I also went to Palmdale on Monday September 27 in another
attempt to see the SR-71. I missed it again, but there was an old
Douglas Skyhawk in the pattern. I was notified that the Airbus Guppy would be arriving at
Palmdale to deliver a component of the X-33 on the morning of
October 15. I arrived a short while after it landed, and it did
not take off again that day, but I did get some shots of other
airplanes in the pattern. Send a message to Brian. Go to home page of the Goleta Air and
Space Museum. 
Boeing 717-200 Prototype
N717XB. The small cone trailing from the tail is a precision
air speed instrument. Note the large diameter of the BMW/Rolls-Royce BR715 high-bypass-ratio engines. It was delivered to Impulse Airlines as VH-VQA on February 7, 2001. It was transferred to QANTSlink on May 23, 2001 and then to Jetstar Airways on May 25, 2004. National Jet/QANTASlink registered it as VH-NXF on July 11, 2005. Hawaiian Airlines registered it as N488HA on December 29, 2008.
Lockheed C-130H Hercules BuNo 165379 of VR-55 based at Alameda NAS departs from Runway 25.
Boeing EC-135E 60-0374.
The nose art shows a cartoon EC-135E sheparding an advanced
cruise missile. Note that the fuselage has few windows other than
the cockpit.
EC-18B 81-0892 of the 452nd Flight Test Squadron on approach to Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale on September 24, 1999. It carries Boeing construction number 17636 and was delivered to American Airlines as 707-323C N7567A on October 2, 1967. The Air Force acquired it on February 2, 1982.
EC-18B 81-0892 on approach to Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale on September 24, 1999. The left wing and inboard faces of the engine
nacelles are painted black to reduce reflected glare into the
windows.
California Air National Guard Lockheed C-130E Hercules 62-1851 of the 146th Airlift Wing Channel Islands on approach to Runway 25.
September 25, 1999
McDonnell-Douglas
F-18D-33-MC Night Attack Hornet 164228. The VK tailcode
indicates that it is from VMFA(AW)-121, the Green Knights of Marine
Air Group 11 based at Miramar MCAS.
September 27, 1999
Argentine Air Force McDonnell-Douglas A-4AR Skyhawks
are being upgraded at Plant 42. Note the fake cockpit canopy
painted on the underside of the fuselage. This one is carrying a
dozen little practice bombs.October 15, 1999
Lockheed P-3 Orion on
approach to Runway 25. Tail code PG identifies this Orion as
belonging to VP-65, the Tridents, based at Pt. Mugu NAS.
Argentine Air Force
McDonnell-Douglas OA-4AR Skyhawk carries a load of
bombs as it departs from Runway 25. The bomb racks were empty
when it returned about an hour later.
Six-bladed propellors distinguish the J-model of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
