HISTORY OF EDWARDS AFB

Old version of a documentary on the History of Edwards AFB - Reach Beyond the Horizon
WWII Triple Ace CE 'Bud' Anderson was director of Flight Test Operations at Edwards AFB, during the some of the time frame included in this documentary. After retirement from the USAF, Bud was the test facility manager for the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company during the F-15 flight tests.
Read about Bud's amazing career in his book To Fly and Fight.

[coleparker]

I always enjoy watching these videos, as I worked on the Base, as an Archaeologists/ History researcher from 1988, and 1993 to 2012. I work sometimes with Museum and History department, but was primarily a prime contractor, not affiliated with either one.

[leslieadkins]

The music accompanying the film lends a feeling of enchantment to the production...as if the planes were performing aerial dances...

[mindmedic]

My dad was stationed there around the time this was made. The soundtrack reminds me of the music piped in overhead at the BX. I remember being at recess in school and seeing the shuttle being flown overhead.

[Jonnosummit]

You had me at the Corum/Muroc explanation. I never knew that.

[williamogilvie]

I visited Edwards a few times in the late '90s with a NASA co-worker. A couple of times we arrived on the morning flight from NASA's Ames Research Center. Landing at Edwards is the closest thing to landing on Mars. One big expanse of light brown flatness, interrupted only by the compass rose. Dryden has very good facilities and the cafeteria is excellent. A friendly place to visit.

[davids]

Great story, and great music at the end! It all reminds me of a much more simple time in my life, and I appreciate the way all of this was put together! : )

[bartonklapinski]

Ii saw the Space Shuttle land twice at Edward's as well as put on a model plane show there. I flew by Edwards several times in my 1959 C'182 Skylane.

[thejerseyj]

Michael Collins, my favorite astronaut, who also wrote a great book titled "Carrying the Fire" is seen at 18:20. The book chronicles his journey through the Air Force and then onto his years at NASA.
The first word in that book... "Edwards"

[tjjccc]

Being from Boron, this video brings back a lot of memories. We used to get the day off from school to watch the space shuttle land. Two really loud fast sonic booms and we knew it was close. I didn’t know the Rocket Site mountain actually had a name.

[glennspace]

When I was a kid, my Dad would take us to see the annual Edwards AFB Air Show!

[marbleman]

Edwards grew into it's own world, with families and children and schools, grocery stores, post office; most things that any town would have. It must have been interesting either as a kid or an adult living that kind of life for a while.

It is always amazing to me to hear how the Waltzes and a lot of Classical music from hundreds of years ago fits so well with the movements of these planes, especially when the video speed is slowed down a bit.

The great Classic movie: 2001:A Space Odyssey used the classical music The Blue Danube and the music of: Thus spoke Zarathustra, to describe perfectly the careful dance of the space ships and landing on the Moon. Wouldn't you love to know what these classical composers would say if they saw how their music blended in so well with jets and space ships going to the Moon....!!

[scottholman]

This was an Air Force production? Amazing! I always wondered about the 'Muroc' name.

[dukeofearl]

I was hoping that the X29 with forward swept wings would be shown. Chuck Yeager got to fly it and he said it was the best handling aircraft he’d ever flown.

[Pwj]

@19:03 Commandant of the Test Pilot School, then Colonel Chuck Yeager, shaking the graduates hand and giving them their diploma

[adambratcher]

The jet at 10:33 was in a pedestal at KBFL Meadows Field for decades until the Air Force took it to Wright Patterson AFB and put on display there.

[grumpyoldfart]

What? No mention of Pancho Barnes’ Happy Bottom Riding Club???

[GregWampler-xmhv]

Beautiful photography, what a time. Where's the reset button so I can return?

FYI the Sound Barrier was broken by North American Test Pilot George Welch. Not to slight Yeager but Welch did it first and deserves the credit. He would eventually break "after" Yeager so the aircraft was always capable.

The actual proof, if you go to the Smithsonian or Wikipedia it will tell you Yeager broke the sound barrier in level flight (actually according to Chuck's autobiography he did it in a climb). George did it in a dive.

That was never a condition aka moving the goalpost. It was a manned craft breaking the sound barrier and living to tell about it. Climb, dive or loop dee loo.

Our image of the pilot, specifically test pilot was crafted by one of my all time favorite books The Right Stuff. Funny thing is author Tom Wolfe was smitten by the Halo effect himself. He clearly Hero worshipped Yeager.

In fact his original assignment was to look into why men like the Mercury 7 would climb onboard rockets and get blasted to smithereens.

[larrysmith]

Why does a Soviet march play during film of the attack on Pearl Harbor?

[surfernorm]

great essay and film clips the music would have been better even if it was garage band

[RodYates-dw]

Who actually selected the music? Was it your mother?