"Home of Jet Flight and Aviation History!!" Edwards by Yaqui

I enjoy history immensely. Edwards history intertwines with my own. It’s always interesting and fun in researching the beginnings of any community. Edwards certainly has one and it will continue to add to the layers aviation accomplishments. Once known as “Rodriguez Dry Lake Bed” it was a water stop “Rod” for the locomotives that rolled their way on the Southern Pacific line to Barstow and Mojave. As usual the name had to be Anglo sized to “Rodgers” around the 1900’s. It was around 1910’s then that little farming settlements started moving in along the lake’s bed edge.

One prosperous family called the Corums opened a post office and general store calling it Muroc (Corum spelled backwards), since their name sake was already taken by another California town. It was in the 1930’s that this lakebed would never be the same. It lured the military due to its so called appeal of being considered a wasteland…..Oh Please! Although, the desert may appear hardy, it can easily be destroyed from abuse. Now the base takes pride in maintaining the balance among our desert landscapes and preserving the wildlife that does abound here.

It was in 1933 that the lake bed was designated as a bombing and gunnery range by the Army Air Core. It was during WWII this lonely desolated area became essential to the cause and it became permanently designate as Muroc Army Base. Since then war planes have roared through the desert blue skies, into fiery sunsets, and never looking back.

In the 1940’s Muroc has experienced the Golden Age of Flight Test with Chuck Yeager’s 1947 breaking of the first Sound Barrier in the Bell X-1 to many experimental jets such as the YB-49 Flying Wing soaring through the skies. Yet, Muroc was not to remain the same when it was renamed in honor of Capt. Glen Edwards who lost his life testing the Flying Wing.

The 1960’s brought more brave men, which unknowingly at the time made them the first Astronauts by setting hypersonic and exoatmospheric records in NASA’s X-15’s such as Jack McKay, Bill Dana, and Joe Walker. The 1970, 80’s, 90’s well into the 2000’s the F-15 Screaming Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, SR-71 Blackbird’s, F-117 Nighthawks, B-2 Spirits, Space Shuttles, F-22 Raptor’s, F-35 Lightening and Global Hawk unmanned aircraft brings us into a new future.

Aircraft flight test keeps evolving with newer, faster, and better capabilities in today’s aircraft. I know most civilians think why do we need different aircraft? It’s the continuing advancement of technology keeps changing and so does the needs of our military to protect what is rightfully ours by our forefathers sweat and blood. We have to stay on top to protect our way of life and the democracy that binds us.

• Pros:Lots too see here aviation wise
• Cons:Usually you have to be retired or work here, but you can make arrangement through a tour now:-)
• In a nutshell:Aviation history abounds here