Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 190
I am easily diverted when I start looking at some of the old photos on my computer and realize that my husband Al and I shared a wonderful life together. Al and I enjoyed the community of aerospace pilots and engineers who seem to gravitate to Mojave Air and Space Port. We met so many famous people in the aerospace community. One such person was William "Bill" Dana, a native of California. He graduated the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served four years in the U. S. Air Force. Bill...
On June 26, Universal Hydrogen completed a ferry flight of its hydrogen fuel cell-powered turboprop aircraft to the Mojave Air & Space Port from Moses Lake, Washington, where it plans to build a substantial presence and continue its test flight efforts. The Dash-8 test aircraft has been dubbed "Lightning McClean" and flew down the west coast with four stops across Oregon and California, covering a distance of over 800 nautical miles before landing at Mojave. A few Mojave tenants were told in...
I always enjoy reading this poem titled "Because I fly" by retired Air Force pilot and Vietnam Veteran, Major Brian Shul: Because I fly, I laugh more than other men. I look up and see more than they. I know how the clouds feel, what it's like to have the blue in my lap, to look down on birds, to feel freedom in a thing called the stick . . . Who but I can slice between God's billowed legs, and feel them laugh and crash with His step? Who else has seen the unclimbed peaks? The rainbow's secret? T...
Let's take a look at the recent Memorial Day event at Mojave Cemetery. Paul Holzer, general manager of the East Kern Cemetery District said, "Remembering those who gave their all is why we are here today." He thanked the many volunteers who helped with the ceremony and Travis Mullins for the preparation of the cemetery grounds. Holzer said, "Tami Kelly organized Mojave High School students to help place American Flags on each grave of a military veteran who served our country. The Mojave...
We had a great Plane Crazy Saturday on May 20! Many pilots flew in to enjoy the calm air and camaraderie with other pilots. Since it was so close to Memorial Day, the organizers at Mojave Transportation Museum decided to invite a speaker to talk about operations during the Vietnam War. Roy Martin has 45 years flying experience with over 10,800 flight hours in over 70 aircraft types. He was a military test pilot at Edwards AFB and USAF Test Pilot School instructor. He is retired Chief Test Pilot...
Let me take you back a few decades. Do you remember where you were and what you were doing in 1965 through 1968? In December 1965, Boeing and Pan Am agreed to build a jumbo-sized airliner – the model 747. It would dwarf every airliner in operation at that time and quickly became known as a "wide-body" because it would have an internal cabin width of about 20-feet, almost twice that of the Boeing 707. It could be configured to carry 490 passengers! On April 13, 1966, Boeing announced an order w...
MASP Director of Operations Mojave Air & Space Port (MASP) at Rutan Field has welcomed, Arielle Sewell, new Director of Operations. She previously worked for the City of Fresno with Airport Safety Management Systems and Airports Operations Manager. She earned a MS in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, with a focus in Aerospace Safety Program Management, a BS in Technical Management, as well as several certifications in SMS, emergency management, accident investigation and...
On April 1, Stratolaunch gracefully lifted from runway 30 at Mojave Air and Space Port to begin routine flight operations in Vandenberg Space Force Base's Western Range off California's central coast. ROC was carrying Talon-A separation test vehicle, TA-0 and the flight was the 10th for the company's launch platform. According to a press release by Stratolaunch, "The flight, which lasted a total of five hours, performed risk reduction by practicing a variety of separation profiles and...
From a press release posted on March 30 on Scaled Composites website, "Scaled Composites is pleased to announce that Greg Morris has been named new Company President and Jennifer Santiago named as Executive Vice President/General Manager, effective April 1, 2023." "Greg Morris brings a fresh perspective into Scaled Composites while understanding what makes the company unique; working with Jennifer Santiago, he'll lead Scaled in continuing to bring innovative, challenging, and creative projects...
We at Mojave Air & Space Port have the wonderful opportunity of knowing so many unique individuals who make a big impression in the aerospace community. Our friend William "Bill" Scott is one of those people. He is currently a full-time author and consultant but has a long history in this area. He served in the U.S. Air Force and is a Flight Test Engineer graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. He also served as aircrew on classified airborne-sampling missions...
The Airmanship Foundation hosted a four day jet formation training event Jan. 26-29. The Mojo-Jet Event at Mojave Air & Space Port was a huge success with over 20 jets participating from all over the United States. The ramp under the original Marine Corps Air Station Mojave tower was full of vintage jets. Mostly L-39s were present, but there was one MiG-17, a Fouga Magister and a CF-5 (Canadair F-5). The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced in Czechoslovakia...
Last year, Terra-Gen Power asked the Mojave Transportation Museum Foundation (MTM) if there was any project that they might want help with financially. Mojave Air & Space Port has visitors from around the world and the board members of the museum thought it would be great to be able to show them some of the exciting history in videos, including a video of when the U.S. Marines that were here in 1942. After Jason Buck, director of technology, researched the cost of equipment and materials...
A perfect day for flying with calm air and lots of blue sky welcomed many pilots at the January Plane Crazy Saturday. The flightline in front of Voyager Restaurant was full of exciting aircraft for the Mojave Transportation Museum Foundation's historic display day at Mojave Air & Space Port. The presentation in the MASP Board Room was well received. The Kern Community College District and Cerro Coso Community College wants to support the aerospace and defense industries in their service area....
Former Vice President at Scaled Composites and Chief Test Pilot, SpaceShipOne pilot and America's First Commercial Astronaut, Mike Melvill and Vietnam fighter pilot/record setting Voyager aircraft pilot, Dick Rutan, have been friends for over 50 years! These guys are true friends and they always could bounce ideas off of each other and come up with sound solutions. They built their Long EZ aircraft side by side in Mojave and when the planes were completed, they flew them side by side in the...
According to a press release by the National Test Pilot School, exciting news was announced at Mojave Air & Space Port at the end of 2022. The release stated, "On behalf of the NTPS Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors of Flight Research, Inc., we are pleased to announce the acquisition of Flight Research, Inc. assets and the creation of a new NTPS not for profit Business Unit, Flight Research International LLC (FRI)." According to the release, "NTPS is The World's Test Pilot School....
At the December Board meeting of the Mojave Air & Space Port, Tim Reid was selected to fill the position of general manager/CEO. In April 2022, Reid came to Mojave Air & Space Port as the Operations Manager and Todd Lindner was selected by the MASP board to serve as the new general manager/CEO. Formerly, Lindner was the Jacksonville Aviation Authority Director, at Cecil Spaceport. After less than a year, Lindner's wife became very ill and they returned to their home in Florida to be near...
As everyone knows, the Reno Air Races, held each year in September, is a gathering of veteran aircraft and the elite pilots of the ages! When Dick Rutan sent this photo to me this year, my mind started racing with memories of these great men of aviation. I must confess that the HU-16 Albatross in the background stirred recollections of times with my husband, Al Hansen, too. Clay Lacy Everyone recognizes Clay Lacy's name and connects it with Lacy Aviation, LearJets and Van Nuys Airport. When I th...
I have been trying to touch on some of the exciting happenings and new projects that have spread their wings at Mojave Airport over the last 50 years. The airport district was formed in 1972 when Dan Sabovich served as airport manager. This is the last of the series of articles. I left off last time when Brian Binnie rocketed SpaceShipOne into history, becoming the first private manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 feet twice within the span of a 14 day period, thus claiming the...
I began this series of articles by telling you that Mojave Air & Space Port District at Rutan Field is celebrating 50 years of success this year. This airport was built in 1935 by Kern County to help the local gold mine transport the gold ore to Sacramento for processing. It began life as a small dirt strip, until 1942 when General William J. Fox, USMC selected the field as a Marine Corps Air Station. Part two told how the airport district was formed in 1972, when Dan Sabovich was the General...
Mojave Airport starts to grow in the 1970s and 1980s - Several small businesses were already established at Mojave Airport, but the major lessee was the General Electric Engine Test facility. They had recently moved from Edwards Air Force Base to Mojave Airport and they employed 100 people. One of GE's first engine flight test programs in 1971 at Mojave was a North American Sabreliner fitted with GE engines that provided 200 pounds more thrust than the original engines. Later they used a Boeing...
Mojave Air & Space Port District at Rutan Field is celebrating 50 years of success this year. This airport was built in 1935 by Kern County to help the local gold mine transport the gold ore to Sacramento for processing. It began as a small dirt strip, until 1942 when General William J. Fox, USMC selected the field as a Marine Corps Air Station. It became a major training facility for the Marines who flew Chance-Vought F4U Corsairs during World War II. The Marines moved to Yuma in 1959. The orig...
The push to name Mojave Airport "Rutan Field" began in August 2018, when a letter was written to then General Manager/CEO Karina Drees, requesting an opportunity to address the Mojave Air & Space Port Board of Directors. Cory Bird, now President of Scaled Composites, was the first person to make a presentation requesting that this historic airport be named "Rutan Field" noting all of the achievements of Burt Rutan since he located his first business, Rutan Aircraft Factory at Mojave Airport in...
Virgin Orbit originally planned to launch on June 29, but postponed the flight after finding the temperature of its rocket propellant were slightly out of bounds. The mission was rescheduled for Friday, July 1. Takeoff from runway 30 at Mojave Air & Space Port was at 10:50 p.m. Launcher One was dropped at 11:53 p.m. Stage one and Stage two rockets fired as scheduled over the Pacific Ocean and second engine shutdown was at 12:01 a.m. This is the fourth orbital satellite launch and the first one...
In a press release, Stratolaunch announced the completion of its sixth flight test of Roc, the world's largest flying aircraft by wingspan. The aircraft flew for one hour and 26 minutes over the Mojave Desert and reached an altitude of 15,000 feet. The original test flight was planned to be 3.5 hours. A sensor malfunctioned near the airplane's left elevator on the left fuselage and the flight crew made a decision to return to home base and land on runway 30 at Mojave Air & Space Port. The sixth...
Each year on Memorial Day, Mojave residents gather to honor the men and women who gave their all for our country. Strong winds from the west greeted everyone, but the winds didn't diminish their strong attitudes of patriotism and desire to take time to remember and thank those who died in service to our nation. Victor Yaw, Chairman East Kern Cemetery District Board of Trustees and U.S. Army veteran of Vietnam, said, "This is not just another 3-day weekend or another day to shop. This is...
