REACH BEYOND THE HORIZON

This ancient dry lake in California's Analopee Valley is not where man first experience the awesome thrill of flight. [Music] But it is where he continued to seek the unknown, where he continued to try the untested, where he continued to reach beyond the horizon. It was just a railroad water stop in the early 1900s known as Murok, a reversal of the name of the Cororum brothers who settled the area next to Rodriguez or Rogers Dry Lake. A small community grew out of the desolation. In 1934, airplanes based at Marchfield near Riverside, California, commanded by Colonel Hap Arnold, began flying north to the Mojave Desert Lake for bombing and gunnery practice. As a result, what came to be called Miro Lake fell under frequent mock attack. In 1937, virtually the entire Army Airore, some 200 aircraft, took part in maneuvers over its 65 square mile concrete hard surface. [Music] This preparation was indeed timely for the winds of war blew strongly in other parts of the world. Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy. The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked. The United States entry into World War II brought bombardment and reconnaissance units to Murk. The thousands of men and women who were assigned served with dedication, and as the importance of the base grew, so did the facilities needed to sustain operations. A primary mission was bomber crew and fighter pilot training. The Muro Maru, often appearing as a mirage on the lake bed, was there to prepare flyers for anti-shipping strikes. [Music] Lead crews flying the mighty B29 Superfortress also called Murac home for a time during the war. Meanwhile, a new era was dawning at the north end of the lake. This was the United States first jet aircraft. The Bell XP59A era comet first flew in October 1942. The project was a well-guarded secret, as were many that followed. Some would remain anonymous, others would become famous. Later, they would be joined by a series of flying wing designs that would come to have a special meaning. [Music] They were both propellerdriven and jet and rocket powered. One was actually a flying bomb. Other pusher type aircraft were also being evaluated. Of course, some were not stable and they met with a fate man had experienced since his first feeble attempts at flight. [Music] Postwar testing even included advanced models developed by our former foes as well as our own designs, many not even imagined a few years earlier. including one that could kneel for Navy carrier operations. And a new rocket plane began ground testing along with the fighters, bombers, and larger, more complex versions of the flying wing. Other large craft came to the dry lake. The B-45 was assembled in a Murok hanger. The B-46 and the B-47 Strat Jet, sleek by any standard, were especially so in comparison with the stubby XF85 Parasite fighter, which folded its wings so that it could be launched and recovered by its B29 mothership. The early F86 gave little hint of the many variations that would follow. Yet some aircraft would never number more than one or two. Just 5 years after America's first jet flight, Captain Chuck Joerger climbed into an experimental rocket craft that was to achieve a significant first for man. The plane was the X1. The milestone, supersonic flight. On October 14th, 1947, the sound barrier was broken. Man had exceeded Mach 1, though it was just a start. In 6 years, the speed would be doubled, and in 16, a craft would pass six times the speed of sound. But these achievements would make the taste of this first Triumph no less sweet. [Music] As testing continued, the variety of models grew. But the XF85 remained one of the most unusual. When the little plane was finally tested in the late 1940s, it suffered a major setback. Its canopy was damaged in a contest with a mother ship's trapeze apparatus. It would return to fly again to join craft like the F92, which would set design standards for later models. The experimental F88 looked much like its F101 successor. The D558-2 Skyrocket was the first craft to fly at twice the speed of sound, while the X4 provided data on stability and control at speeds under Mach 1. Failure challenged the ingenuity and determination of Murok engineers and test pilots. Eventually, the parasite fighter concept was made a success, [Music] as were other prototypes. Yet, the risk of reaching beyond the horizon was always present. It was never more deeply felt than in June 1948 when a jet version of the flying wing went down with its crew of five. The pilot was Major Daniel Forbes of Kansas. And the co-pilot from California, Captain Glenn Edwards, in whose honor the base was renamed in January 1950. A reconnaissance wing was among the new aircraft of the new decade, as was the Regulus, a pilotless vehicle that could be controlled from the ground. Of course, the need for highly skilled pilots was ever present. [Music] In early 1951, the test pilot school of the fledgling air force was moved from Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio to Edwards. The job of the test pilot was becoming more complex and demanding, even in the Hollywood movies filmed at the base in the 50s. In June 1951, the Air Force Flight Test Center was officially established. The assortment of craft being tested and evaluated had grown tremendously in nine short years. Small trainer aircraft were being put through their paces as were the heavy giants of the sky. This XB-51 starred in a movie Toward the Unknown. [Music] Prototypes of the B-52, first flown in 1952, were brought to the center to be rung out. And so it was with each later modification of the mighty Strato Fortress. The B60 was adapted from the B-36 and the Navajo, whose engines were also developed and tested at Edwards, continued the exploration of pilotless flight. Fighter aircraft development kept pace during the 50s with the Super Saber. The numbers had reached 100. The F-100, also demonstrated in zero length launch, signaled the first of the line known as the Century series, followed by the F101 Voodoo, the F-102 Delta Dagger, and the F104 Starf Fighter. [Music] The F105 Thunder Chief exceeded Mach 1 on its maiden flight. The F-106 Delta Dart was an extensive modification of the F-102, while the F-107, a radical redesign of the F-100. [Music] This jet came complete with a supersonic propeller. The C123 provider's name described its capabilities. The C130 was called Hercules and the C133 Cargo Master. The KC135 Strato tanker ushered in a new era for air refueling, as the unusual U2 did for weather and photo reconnaissance. [Music] From the air, the growth of Edwards was becoming more evident as the first housing foundations were cut into the dry earth. The area was made more habitable and the joys of desert living became clearer. In the mid50s, the base continued to grow in both size and importance. Major facilities were moved from their original site to a new, more northerly location on the lake shore. Other buildings, including large hangers and support facilities, were added, and the base area was expanded to over 300,000 acres. sweetheart. While across the way on Craggy Layman Ridge, the cent's rocket branch was conducting very different kinds of tests begun, of course, with the traditional countdown. Come on over, baby. Baby, you can't go wrong. We ain't faking whole lot of cake going on all [Music] in another part of the base. Joshua trees bloom next to the rocket sled track where until 1963 aircraft components and ejection systems were tested. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Human endurance was also challenged by Colonel John Stat, who rode test sleds at hundreds of miles hour and withtood a force over 40 times gravity. [Music] He returned to tell about it. However, instrumented dummies like Sierra SAM were used for the more destructive types of testing. [Music] Each sled mission was methodically prepared. The rocket bottles were carefully placed and our friend Sam, all 200 lb of him was made comfortable for the ride, which in this case was to test an ejection system. Cameras were ready to record the run at various speeds and from many angles. [Music] [Music] Although it appears that this mission ended in failure, it was successful in that it led to the development of an improved ejection system. As for Sam, he survived to become an attraction at a 50s Armed Forces Day on the flight line along with some of the sleds being used for testing. A working miniature sled track drew the interest of the crowd inside one of the large hangers. Outside, folks had come for many miles to see some of the test aircraft on static display, [Music] especially the research vehicles, which represented man's continuing quest to conquer near space. One such craft was the X2 which before its untimely end in 1956 made the world's first Mach 3 manned flight. Its test program was the responsibility of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics whose facility was also located on the edge of the lake. Other research craft were being flown and evaluated by the NACA in the 50s. [Music] Technology was expanding rapidly. [Music] Late 1958 marked the arrival of the X-15. At the time Edwards became its home, the NACA became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA. Meanwhile, Air Force flight tests continue to tax not only the airworthiness of new and experimental craft, but also the courage of those who flew them. This prototype, first flown in 1959, paved the way for both the F5 Freedom Fighter and this trainer, the T-38 Talon, which was used to set world records at Edwards in 1961. A different record was set when the first class of astronauts graduated from the test pilot school's aerospace research pilot course. They and those who followed would go on to realize many of the space travel dreams of the early 60s. Some of the concepts would not endure, but the people these dreams touched would. Like a young NASA test pilot, Neil Armstrong, then working with the X-15. While across the lake bed, the F1 rocket engine that would start man on his journey to the moon was being fired for the first time. Other Air Force and NASA pilots would earn their astronaut wings in the X-15. The craft was carried aloft by a B-52 mother ship. Precision instruments would track its flight. The X-15 was carried well over 200 miles from Edwards and released at 45,000 ft, returning to the lake bed in less than 10 minutes. [Music] [Applause] Its flight data would be analyzed for years afterwards. The three X-15 vehicles flew a total of 199 missions. It was ironic that the 200th and last flight of the rocket ship was cancelled due to a rare desert snowfall. In 1963, the X-21 Laminer flow aircraft tested concepts which still hold promise and the F4C Phantom began a program which included stall tests like this one. Even with the advent of new fighters, planes of the century series continued to be modified. This rocket augmented version of the F104 with reaction jet controls was used as an aerospace trainer for future astronauts. [Music] The Aerospace Research Pilot School, as it was then called, was in full swing in the early 60s with a highly technical curriculum that included thrilling aircraft maneuvers, moments of weightlessness, [Music] and simulated space flight and docking. [Music] All followed by a well- earned graduation and possible selection for programs such as the man orbiting laboratory and the chance to view the Earth as few men had. The center also played an important role in space capsule recovery. Its parachute test squadron checked out the Apollo spacecraft Earth landing system. The squadron, which tested a variety of recovery and deceleration devices, also explored this unique approach to picking up down pilots using a parachute and balloon system. In the early60s, a contingent of army aviation was established at Edwards, primarily to test helicopters. Craft with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities were not new to the dry lake. Some of these test aircraft used propellers or rotors for lift. [Music] [Applause] In 1964, Edwards was visited by President Johnson. He was greeted by the base's military and civilian leaders and their families. The president reviewed several of the aircraft undergoing testing, including the Air Force's new purejet cargo carrier, the C141 Starlifter. A few months later, the first of two XV70 Valkyrie triple sonic bombers arrived for testing. On a later flight, the multi-million dollar craft experienced landing gear trouble and would not have been able to land safely except for the ingenuity of pilot Al White and Colonel Joe Cotton, who crawled to a relay box in the plane structure and remedied the problem with a carefully placed paperclip. [Applause] The craft was lost soon afterward, but the remaining XP70 continued experimental research and later became part of the Air Force Museum. [Music] At about the same time the Great White Bird was being tested, the Blackbird SR71 and its predecessor, the YIF12 also sliced through the deep blue Edward sky [Music] and rocket testing continued. The activity was designated the first air force laboratory [Music] where by mishap and on purpose great explosions shook layman ridge. [Music] And just as in the late 50s when the Minuteman missile silo launch concept was first tested, the laboratory developed new rocket technologies and refined proven concepts for present and future applications. with large engines for mighty boosters and minute thrust devices [Music] across the lake bed. In April 1965, the flight line was poised for a visit by the nation's vice president. Mr. Humphrey toured the aerospace research pilot school and later visited the NASA flight research center which was involved with such strange looking vehicles as the parasev towed a loft this predecessor of the hang glider tested a concept for possible applications in the space program. Another craft that was towed in its early flights was the wingless M2F1, the first in a series of lifting bodies that included the HL10, which would later be used in filming a television series about a bionic man. During the latter part of the 60s, proven swing wing technology was incorporated in the F-111. Once known as the TFX, this aircraft also demonstrated its terrain following capability. Tests of the F-111 included water ingestion and arresting gear runs. Important because the planes of the period were landing at speeds faster than the top speeds of World War I aircraft. Usually the arresting barrier did its job well. Sometimes there were complications. [Music] [Applause] [Music] A tangle could have been a real problem during this balloon pickup from a C130. This retrieval system is one way to get a jump on the morning rush hour. The C5 Galaxy was first tested during the late60s. The huge plane demonstrated its capability for operating from unimproved surfaces. During the same period, a new attack aircraft, the A7D, was being evaluated and widebody jetliners used Edwards for certification testing. Once again, the worth of the facility was demonstrated, as was the skill of the commercial test pilots. The NF 104 was placed by the test pilot school as a silent monument to this kind of skill. developed through a rigorous curriculum that required each handpicked student to learn more about a wider variety of subjects than ever before. [Music] The test pilots were being readied for the 1970s crop of new aircraft like the A9 close air support prototype [Music] and the A10 which could carry up to 16,000 lbs of mixed ordinance. It was later fitted with a 30 mm GA8 gun that could fire thousands of rounds per minute, fast, even when filmed in slow motion. New fighter airplanes also came to the lake for testing, including the F5E Tiger 2 [Music] and the F-15 Eagle, which was first flown in July 1972. The unknowns of testing were always present. That winter morning in 1974 was no exception. A mishap was averted when the skilled contractor test pilot turned this seemingly ill- fated high-speed taxi test into the YF-16's unofficial first flight. After some adjustments, the plane's official takeoff took place two weeks later. The fighter went on to become one of the most successful craft of its type ever. The YF-16 had competed for continued development with the YF17, which came on the scene later in 1974. Although the twin tail twin engine craft was not chosen for the Air Force, this prototype was to set the basic design for the Navy F18. This variation of a Boeing 707 with an extensive airborne warning and control capability was one of the several heavy craft tested at Edwards in the first half of the 70s. Another, the B1 bomber was flown to Edwards from a nearby Air Force production facility in December 1974. [Music] While this YC15, a wide-bodied cargo aircraft prototype, flew to Edwards from its Long Beach, California plant in August 1975. Its engines and wing flaps were configured to provide lift for short takeoffs and landings. Meanwhile, a variation of the same lift technology was being developed for the YC14, which was first flown a year later. [Music] Modified space engines were tested and novel approaches to rocketry continued to be explored at the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory. [Music] A reusable solid propellant test motor called Super Hippo was first fired in 1975 and each day brought with it flight test missions like this one. The aircraft stands ready. Center commander astronaut Thomas Stafford is briefed. Vital instruments are checked out. And the hundreds of people and pieces of equipment needed for the test become involved as the mission gets underway. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. [Music] Aerial refueling, as important to flight testing as it was in the early days, had come a long way since it was pioneered. appeared. [Music] A special water carrying tanker was used to test the effects of icing on new aircraft. The base and its services continued to grow, a far cry from the days when it was no more than a tent city. [Music] The activities at Edwards attracted many and varied visitors from the local area and from great distances. as the South American chiefs of staff who came to view the latest test craft and to watch them perform. [Music] in the mid70s. The YF12 was flown for research. Concepts such as a flybywire computerized control system were tested, as was a super critical wing. Remotely piloted vehicles continue to be flown over the dry lake and a detachment of the center tested air launched tactical drones. Unpiloted drop models were used to evaluate extreme performance characteristics of the full-size craft. [Music]