Edwards Base tour highlights history

Valley Press ^ | Friday, June 27, 2008. | ALLISON GATLIN

[BenLurkin]

EDWARDS AFB - Encompassing 301,000 acres of desert land, the vast reaches of Edwards Air Force Base are a treasure trove for much more than its well-known cutting-edge aviation history. Although many are fluent in the historic milestones achieved in the skies over the storied base, fewer are familiar with the history on its grounds.

"People have been occupying this area for 10,000 years," said Kathleen Loetzerich , an environmental resource specialist with the base's Environmental Management office.

Loetzerich presented some of the base's little-known history Monday as part of a tour for 20 members of the Edwards Civilian-Military Support Group.

The group is an organization of businesspeople, community leaders and base personnel dedicated to forging friendly ties between the base and surrounding civilian communities.

The organization was created 20 years ago when base leadership feared Edwards could be vulnerable to closure without active support from the local community, founder Aida O'Connor said.

Activities help provide a two-way means of communication between the military and civilian communities.

Members gathered this week to meet base leaders and take part in an off-road tour of some of Edwards' lesser-known landmarks.

"To appreciate this place, you have to fly the things tested here," said Col. Jerry Gandy, newly installed commander of the 95th Air Base Wing, in welcoming the visitors. With more than 2,500 flight hours in F-4 and F-15 aircraft, Gandy has seen the results of the flight test effort at Edwards firsthand.

He praised the work performed at the base in providing support for the pilots on the front lines, as well as the more local efforts to improve the base and benefit the surrounding community.

[Northern Yankee]

Wasn't it called Muroc at one time?

Wish I could have had a steak and beer at Pancho's. It would have been a lot of fun to mix it up with the likes of Yeager, Hoover, Bud Anderson and Jack Ridley.

[RayChuang88]

The US Army had an Air Corps training base out at Muroc as early as the late 1930’s, since all that flat lake bed made it ideal to training pilots with plentiful room to land the plane in case of an emergency. That very fact made it ideal to do test flying there, and during World War II a number of highly-secret flight test programs occurred at Muroc, including the P-59A Aircomet flight tests and the early tests of the P-80 Shooting Star.