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[vtrelut]

The Joe Davies Heritage Airpark is an outdoor museum nearby the Blackbird Airpark, where cold war American jets are the kings, with C-130 Hercules of the nearby Palmdale airport flying above:

http://www.cityofpalmdale.org/airpark/































F-14D Tomcat: anytime baby! One of the last flying Tomcats:













A Burt Rutan design:


More here:

http://s233.beta.photobucket.com/user/vtrelut/library/Joe%20Davies%20Heritage%20Airpark%20at%20Palmdale%20Plant%2042?view=media#/user/vtrelut/library/Joe%20Davies%20Heritage%20Airpark%20at%20Palmdale%20Plant%2042?&_suid=136173558370805096377856919043

[BravoFxTrt]

Beautiful shots, thanks again Vtrelut

[vtrelut]

After Palmdale, Brian/Wheels and I headed for Lancaster, further North. We visited the Milestones of Flight Air Museum in Lancaster:

http://www.ruudleeuw.com/usa08-lancaster.htm

http://www.aviationmuseum.eu/World/North_America/USA/California/Lancaster/Milestones_of_Flight_Museum.htm

A few remarkable stuff in this museum:

This one flew on the same day we visited:


A 3/4 scale Fw-190 replica:


A North American BT-14 "Yale" (I did not know about it before, just check the landing gear and you will realize it is not a T-6):


Armstrong-Whitworth AW.660 "Argosy":


Boeing KC-97G "Stratofreighter":


Pietenpol "Air Camper":


From Wikipedia: the Pietenpol Air Camper was a simple parasol wing, homebuilt aircraft designed by Bernard H. Pietenpol, in the 1930s. The Air Camper was designed to be built of spruce and plywood. Father of home built aircraft, Pietenpol was a self-taught mechanic who lived most of his life in the small community of Cherry Grove in southeastern Minnesota. One of Pietenpol's goals was to create a plane that was affordable and easy to construct for home builders... It was interesting to see this one; there are several still airworthy in California and other states.

This B-25 "Mitchell" was owned by Howard Hughes and converted to an executive business aircraft:

This aircraft would have been flown and then left on the way in Kansas City by Howard Hughes, during his honeymoon trip (with Terry Moore?).

She (the B-25) is begging for parts to assemble her wings.


Last but not least: a mock-up of the AIM-47 air-to-air high performance long range missile, designed by Hughes for the North American XF-108 Rapier which was never built, then tested successfully on the Lockheed YF-12, brother of the A-12 and the SR-71.


This missile became the basis for the development of the AIM-54 Phoenix missile carried by the Tomcat. The radar of the YF-12 was also the basis for the development of the Hughes AN/AWG-9 Fire Control System of the F-111B and later the F-14A Tomcat.

[vtrelut]

After such an exotic stopover in the world of propellers, we headed towards Edwards Air Force Base. There is a museum inside Edwards AFB, unfortunately I could not access on that date.

http://www.afftcmuseum.org/


However the drive from Lancaster to the West gate of Edwards, through Rosamond and along the Rosamond dry lake, reminded me clearly of Gordon Cooper driving to Edwards in "The Right Stuff" movie. At the entrance, we could admire the Century Circle.

That is the 2nd prototype of the North American F-100 "Super Sabre".


F-101:





F-102:



F-104:



F-105:



F-106B:



Mc Donnell Douglas YC-15, a STOL tactical transport aircraft which was tested but not produced, and can be considered as a predecessor to the C-17 Globemaster III:


After that it started to become dark and we headed quickly to Mojave, and the North gate of Edwards AFB...

[vtrelut]

We drove in the Mojave desert, and after passing by the town of Mojave, known as the Air & Space Port (http://mojaveairport.com/) - just in case you want to become a tourist in space -, we arrived at the North gate of Edwards Air Force Base, where we admired the Boeing NB-52B; NASA's workhorse:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/X-Press/stories/123104_b-52b_remembered.html

As a mother ship, for nearly 50 years she carried and launched many test aircraft, including the North American X-15.






Her history is written on the right side of her fuselage:






A truly historical aircraft!


After that the sun went down and we headed back to L.A. I really enjoyed that day in the Mojave desert, and thank a lot Brian/Wheelsup_cavu for having shared these precious moments.

[vtrelut]

The next day I had to board a flight from LAX, and say goodbye to California. Nevertheless I took a couple of hours to visit the California Science Center: 
http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/Exhibits/AirAndSpace/AirAndSpace.php

It is the host to a very nice collection, such as the only TA-12 ever built, to train A-12 pilots:



The Gemini 11 capsule:


The actual Apollo capsule that docked with Russia's Soyuz space craft in July 1975:


Wright glider from 1902:


Northrop T-38 Talon and Northrop F-20 Tigershark:






The highlight was the space shuttle Endeavour:

[vtrelut]

Finally, before getting on my plane I paid a short visit to the Flight Path Learning Center museum, right by LAX airport:
http://www.flightpath.us/

Civilian air transportation and air war memorabilia, lots of airline uniforms, plus nice models:




And there was a Douglas DC-3, which I could board and visit inside. Highly recommended before taking a flight from LAX, or after arriving at LAX, on the way from, or to Los Angeles.

[HotelAlpha]

  Vtrelut you have seen it all in California! NICE pictures, I really like them, especially the Planes of fame museum's A6M with an oil pan

[vtrelut]

Yes it is nice to see oil pans under warbirds in museums, because it means they are alive!

I did not see all in California: there is still plenty to see, around San Diego, El Cajon, San Martin, in the North of San Francisco, etc: the Flying leathernecks museum, the Gillespie airfield museums, the Wings of History museum, the Travis AFB and McClellan AFB museums, the Pacific Coast air museum, and so on...