Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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Most people recognize movie stars that are human; I tend to recognize movie stars that are airplanes. Back in 2005, Gene Powers, of Hawkins & Powers, Greybull, Wyoming, made several passes down runway 30 at Mojave Airport in a rare Fairchild C-119 "Flying Boxcar," for a Western Union television commercial. Other nicknames for the C-119 are: the "Dollar Nineteen" and the "Flying Spam Can." The original aircraft was designated a C-82 and was designed by North American Aviation as a heavy cargo...
Reuben H. Fleet founded Consolidated Aircraft Corporation (later Convair) in 1923, and the company became one of the most significant aircraft manufacturers in American history. For roughly 60 years, this prolific company was synonymous with San Diego. This company was responsible for building some of the most significant aircraft in aviation history, including the PBY Catalina, B-24 Liberator, F-102 Delta Dagger, as well as the reliable Atlas missile, which was vital in launching America into...
On Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-3, Mountain Valley Airport and Skylark North Gliderport will be hosting the Experimental Soaring Assn. Western Workshop. On Saturday and Sunday, the group will be holding presentations and classes revolving around sailplane design tips, engines, construction tips, testing and more. If you missed the Memorial Day Regatta, it is a great opportunity to see some vintage sailplanes which will be on display. For more information and a schedule of events, contact Mountain...
The U.S. Air Force was formed in 1947 and there was a need for a larger cargo aircraft. At the time Douglas Aircraft Co. had produced the C-74 Globemaster, which was also ordered as a commercial airliner known as the DC-7. The prototype YC-124 was basically the fifth variant of the C-74. It was designed with a new, deeper fuselage and strengthened landing gear. Powered by Pratt & Whitney R-4360-49 Wasp Major radial engines, it was flown for the first time on November 27, 1949. The type entered...
The aircraft in the photo above is a rare Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IXc/e that underwent flight testing here at Mojave Airport over a decade ago before it was shipped to the TAM Air Museum Americana in Brazil. The Supermarine Spitfire is a legend in British aviation history and along with the Hawker Hurricane, successfully defended England in the Battle of Britain (1940-1941) against Germany's Luftwaffe. We were so lucky to actually hear the 'Spit' flying over Mojave in July 2007. It was painted...
This World War II vintage twin-engine bomber was developed and test flown by Douglas Aircraft at Clover Field, now known as Santa Monica Airport and was designated as the B-23 Dragon. It was first flown in July 1939 and incorporated many features of the Douglas DC-3 commercial transport. My husband, Al Hansen and his friend and partner, Ascher Ward bought their B-23 from the University of Washington and flew it from Kingman, AZ to Mojave Airport in late 1984. The plane had served the University...
I remember a gentleman who came up to me just after the Memorial Day Ceremony held at Mojave Cemetery on May 28, 2007, and asked if he could say a few words. He apologized for being so emotional, but he was a Pearl Harbor survivor who had served aboard the USS California (BB-44) and had been in Walmart in Lancaster, wearing his jacket bearing patches from Pearl Harbor signifying he was a survivor of the attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. A teenager came up to him and wanted to know...
There are two important dates in the month of June that changed world history. June 6, 1944 D-Day, the Invasion at Normandy, France and June 5-10, 1967, The Six Day War when Israel launched Operation Focus and defeated their enemies. June 6 will mark the seventy-third anniversary of the Allied invasion of France's Normandy beaches to free Europe from Hitler's hold. In the earliest hours of the beach landings, one in every two men was wounded or killed. Some of them spent an hour in the water try...
As Memorial Day approaches, I find it interesting how enjoyable it is to hear or read about historical stories about flying, especially if it occurred in our local skies? My late friend Bruce Porter, was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Mojave during World War II flying Corsairs and Hellcats. He wrote the book called Ace! A Marine Night-Fighter Pilot in WWII. When he found out how much I liked aviation history, he contacted his fellow Marine Corps pilot friend, Charles (Pat) Weiland in...
Retired Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy, commanded the STS-120 Space Shuttle mission that delivered the Node 2 connecting module to the International Space Station (ISS). She was an active member of the Antelope Valley Ninety-Nines chapter. The Ninety-Nines, Inc. is an International Organization of Licensed Women Pilots from thirty five countries. The successful launch on Oct. 23, 2007 aboard Orbiter Discovery was the 120th space shuttle flight; the mission duration was fourteen days. But let...
This year, 2017, marked the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid and I make a point to remember the 80 brave men who flew the B-25s off of the USS Hornet on April 18, 1942. I have wonderful memories of meeting General Doolittle on several occasions. Once at the 8th Annual Barnstormers Reunion, with Pancho Barnes and Max Stanley, Northrop YB-49 test pilot as speaker, at the old Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in the late-1970s. Doolittle's wife, Josephine, was there too. She was delightful to talk...
Mark your calendar and come to a special Barnes & Noble book signing with my friend, Barbara H. Schultz. Will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2017, from 12 noon until 4 p.m., 39228 10th Street West, Palmdale, Calif. 93551. 'Endorsed by Earhart – How Amelia Financed Her Flying.' March was the month we celebrated Women in History. This year is the 80th anniversary of Amelia Earhart's flight and purchasing one of Barbara's books would be great way to celebrate 'Women in History' and a fantastic A...
My father, M. G. Hellwig, worked for TAT Airlines (Transcontinental Air Transport), predecessor to TWA (Trans World Airlines). TAT was an airline founded in 1928 by Clement Melville Keys. In 1930, TAT merged with Western Air Express to become TWA. My father often spoke of Wiley Post and the Lockheed Model 5C Vega called Winnie Mae that the famed aviator flew. A Vega painted like Winnie Mae used to be in the Tall-Manz Aviation Museum at Orange County Airport and I remember seeing slides that my...
On July 13, 2001, my husband Al and I flew over to Taft to hear Lt. Col. Charles S. "Combat" Hudson, U.S. Army Air Corps, the most decorated bombardier of World War II, give his last presentation in California. He was moving away to be closer to family and to participate in a new adventure, a research program to fight his battle with Parkinson's disease. What a distinct honor to shake hands with one of America's heroes from World War II history. Al took a picture of me with Charlie Hudson. Charl...
When I think of all the wonderful people we know in the aviation world, there are a few who truly stand out and Clay Lacy is one of those exceptional people. His name is well known in aviation circles and I know he has a special place in his heart for our wide-open skies and for Mojave Airport. He flew to Mojave Airport to honor his lifelong friend, Dan Sabovich when he retired as Mojave Airport General Manger in 2002. Clay's airplane, a magnificently restored DC-3 was a showstopper! Clay has...
I love the lines and sound of a Cessna 195! Our friends, James 'JB' Brown, (former Lockheed test pilot and this month's speaker at Plane Crazy Saturday!) and Jere Calef and his wife, Heather Benes have beautiful examples of the Cessna Airmaster! The Cessna Airmaster is the plane that rescued the Cessna Aircraft Company from oblivion in the 1930s. Clyde Cessna helped create the General Aviation industry without a pilot's license and only a fifth grade education. Born in Iowa in 1879, he grew up...
Like so many people today, I communicate with friends via email. Often I receive letters and speeches that have been forwarded to me by my friends and they are from people I don't know. After awhile you keep seeing the same name at the top of the email that has been forwarded and you get the feeling that you know this person, though you have never met formally. The content of their letters speak to your spirit and somehow you connect. Several years ago, our friend Ron Sheardown started...
Our friend, Noel Dees, was the middle child of five children. He was born November 3, 1918 – eight days before the end of WWI, in Wirt, OK, an oil boom town. His father worked in the oil fields and the family came to Calif. in 1923. His Father worked for Shell Oil Co. and they first lived in LaHabra for almost a year, then moved to Brownsville, Tex. hoping for more money. After 10 months, the family was back in Calif., this time in Long Beach, but his father always liked Mojave and when Noel was...
Voyager aircraft designer, Burt Rutan and Voyager pilot, Dick Rutan, gathered with many of the Voyager project volunteers and supporters on Saturday evening, Dec. 17, 2016 to honor the 30th anniversary of the milestone non-stop flight around the world, unrefueled, at a dinner hosted by the Mojave Transportation Museum. The many contributors made this celebration possible in the beautiful MASP Event Center and we warmly thank – Title Sponsors: Mojave Air & Space Port; Hartzell Propellers, Inc. (o...
The Voyager story is one of great emotion, courage, vision and adventure and is often referred to as "aviation's last first." The aircraft and idea of flying around the world non-stop was first discussed over a lunch with Jeana Yeager, and Burt and Dick Rutan. Ever the engineer, Burt starting sketching his idea of the aircraft on a paper napkin. The rest is history. Primarily individual contributions, and a few product equipment sponsors financed the Voyager. The project did not receive any gove...
I remember communicating with our dear late friend, Bob Grondzik, also known as, "Skyraider Bob" about the incredible Douglas AD Skyraider. Bob suffered a heart attack and passed away in October 2012, we still miss him deeply. He always flew up from Ramona to Mojave on Veterans Day to honor all who served. His daughter, Dana Mattner, flew Bob's T-28 Fennec in formation with the Skyraider and was the only Father-Daughter flying team out there. When they flew up for Veterans Day, his wife Mary...
Short Flights – We just received the sad news that another one of our dear aviation test pilot friends has passed away. Col. Jesse P. "Jake" Jacobs Jr., USAF (ret.) lived in Las Cruses, NM and was 93. Jesse decided to become a test pilot and military officer soon after his first dollar ride in an open cockpit airplane in 1935. Since he was only 12 years old at the time, he had to wait a while. World War II presented the means, even though he almost went to war with the Field Artillery as a Priva...
Over 40 years ago, my husband, Al Hansen and his good friend, Al Letcher, both owned de Havilland (English Electric) Vampire Mk IIIs. The two Vampires flew around the pylons at the 1978 Mojave Air Races as a demonstration flight before the bigger jets took to the race course. Bob Hoover, Clay Lacy, Dick Hunt and Bob Laidlaw raced F-86 Sabres, T-33's and a Temco TT-1 Pinto. This Mark III Vampire (serial number 17031) first served the RAF with Sea Island 442 Squadron in British Columbia in 1948....
In 2006, I photographed this odd looking helicopter sitting on the ramp at Tehachapi Airport. It was a Kaman K-Max. This odd looking "heavy-lift" helicopter in the photograph was developed by Charles Kaman. The Kaman K-MAX is the first helicopter designed specifically for the external load/lifting market. Look closely at the picture and you will see there is no tail rotor. The K-MAX "aerial truck," a light-weight craft designed to carry heavy cargo rather than persons was originally designed...
This specialized Kaman K-MAX helicopter operated by Rainier Heli-Lift of Kirkland, Washington was based at Tehachapi Airport ten years ago in 2006. The K-MAX is powered with a Lycoming T-53-17A gas turbine engine and develops 1800 shaft horsepower. The rotor system consists of two intermeshing all composite blades; 48-feet, 4-inches total span. The empty weight is 5,100 pounds and its gross weight is 12,000 pounds. Everyone knows that I am a spirit loving person and Charles H. Kaman is a...
