• October 21, 1960: Aircraft Arresting Barrier Absorber

    Final testing began on the BAK-6 Aircraft Arresting Barrier Absorber on the South Base runway. Dubbed the “water squeezer,” the hydraulic energy absorber was designed to arrest fighter type aircraft on the overrun at speeds up to 160 knots. Test arrestments at various weights and speeds were

  • October 20, 1998: Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System

    The 445th Flight Test Squadron conducted its first sortie testing the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System, a project that would allow an F‑15 pilot to track a target and aim his missiles by movements of his head.The Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) is a modular helmet display mounted on a

  • October 19, 1949: AEDC and the Unitary Plan

    An amended version of bill S.1267 authorizing the Unitary Plan and the Arnold Engineering Development Complex was passed by the House and Senate as Public Law 415 - 81st Congress.  The  sum of $100 million was authorized for the Arnold Engineering Development Complex.The Unitary Plan Act that was

  • October 18, 1985: Advanced Flight Technology Integrator Testing

    The first flight of the Advanced Flight Technology Integrator (AFTI) F-111 took place. The AFTI program was a joint Air Force/NASA effort to explore the concept of a Mission Adaptive Wing (MAW). An F-111 was equipped with a “variable camber” wing that would smoothly change its shape in response to

  • October 17, 2009: Edwards Air Show "Flight Test Nation 2009"

    Over 100,000 aviation enthusiasts streamed onto Edwards Air Force Base for “Flight Test Nation 2009,” the first Air Force Flight Test Center Open House and Air Show in three years. Pent-up demand was evident in the long lines of cars backed up as far as the town of Rosamond on California highway 14.

  • October 16, 1945: Muroc Army Airfield Changes Control Unit

    Control of Muroc Army Air Field passed from the Fourth Air Force to the Air Technical Service Command. This effectively combined the Muroc Army Air Field, South Base with Muroc Flight Test Base, North Base. At the same time, the 421st Army Air Forces Base Unit redesignated as the 4144th Army Air

  • October 15, 1936: Illegal Unexploded Ordnance Retrieval

    Two Antelope Valley ranchers searching for souvenir unexploded bombs on the gunnery range were apprehended by March Field personnel after a short vehicle chase involving gunfire. Two bombs were recovered and subsequently detonated.Unexploded ordnance, unexploded bombs, and explosive remnants of

  • October 14, 2011: Flight Test Team Honored at Gathering of Eagles

    The Flight Test Historical Foundation’s 2011 Gathering of Eagles theme was “Salute to the Space Shuttle.” Five shuttle teams were honored: National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Approach and Landing Test and Orbital Flight Phase team, Dryden’s Space Shuttle Operations team, Boeing’s Space

  • October 13, 1989: Flight Test Center and Luz International Agreement

    The Air Force Flight Test Center and LUZ International Unlimited signed a navigation easement that held the Air Force exempt from any damages to LUZ facilities resulting from normal sonic boom overpressures. LUZ had planned to construct several solar plants near Harpers Dry Lake, within the Center’s

  • October 12, 1973: Remotely Piloted F-15 Testing

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Flight Research Center conducted the first flight of a 3/8-scale model F-15. The remotely controlled model was launched from a helicopter and was used to study high angles of attack and other extreme flight maneuvers without jeopardizing a pilot.

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