30 km north-west of Edwards airbase, there is a unique facility even by American standards - the Mojave Air and Space Port. Here, original aircraft created by private companies are built and tested. The work is being carried out both by order of the federal authorities and on its own initiative.
The first unpaved runway appeared in the area in 1935, a small airfield served the local mines, where gold and silver were mined. Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the airfield was nationalized, and it was used for the needs of the Marine Corps. In July 1942, a capital runway was built here. The remoteness from densely populated areas and the presence of a large number of sunny days a year contributed to the creation of a training center and a training ground, where the USMC pilots practiced techniques for attacking air targets. By 1944, two more runways were added to the existing one. And the living quarters of the base could accommodate more than 3,000 people. About $ 8 million was allocated for the construction of an airbase with an area of 2,312 hectares in the early 1940s. During the period of the most intensive use, 145 combat and training aircraft were deployed in the Mojave.
Google Earth Satellite Image: Mojave Aerospace Center
Soon after the end of the war, in February 1946, the ILC aviation training center was liquidated and the base was transferred to the Navy. The sailors soon mothballed the airfield, reducing personnel to a minimum. This continued until the outbreak of the Korean War, and in 1950 the base was reactivated to accommodate reserve squadrons. Since 1953, the base has been used in conjunction with the Marine Corps and Naval Aviation. In the vicinity of the airfield, aircraft were kept in reserve. In 1961, the fleet command decided to abandon the Mojave airbase, and the airfield infrastructure began to decline. Most likely, over time, the abandoned airbase would have become part of the desert, but the local aviation enthusiast Dan Sabovich became interested in the airfield. His ranch with its own dirt strip was located nearby in Bakersfield, and Sabovich, flying over the Mojave in his Beechcraft Bonanza, could appreciate all the advantages of an abandoned air base. Under pressure from the public in 1972, an airport was created here, from where the regional airline Golden West Airlines made regular flights to Los Angeles on De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops. Until 2002, the director of the airport was Dan Sabovich.
Unlike the "graveyard of bones" in Davis-Montan, where most of the obsolete or withdrawn military aircraft are stored, the Mojave airfield is much less known in this role. In the past, military aircraft were also put into long-term storage here, which was facilitated by the dry climate of the Mojave Desert. Until now, among the civilian aircraft in storage, you can find: Douglas A-3 Skywarrior and North American F-100 Super Saber. However, the number of these rare machines in the aircraft storage is gradually decreasing. Aircraft of interest to collectors and museums are restored and put up for sale. Heavy military transport aircraft Douglas C-133 Cargomaster are waiting for their hour in Mojave. Outwardly, this almost forgotten military transport aircraft resembles an elongated Lockheed C-130 Hercules. A heavy loader with four turboprop engines with a maximum take-off weight of 130,000 kg had a payload of up to 50,000 kg. These vehicles were mainly used to transport Atlas, Titan, Minuteman ballistic missiles, and shortly before the end of their careers they were involved in the transfer of military supplies to South Vietnam and the transportation of launch vehicles to NASA launch sites.
C-133 at the Mojave aircraft storage site
However, "Kargomaster" in many ways turned out to be a problem aircraft and did not justify the hopes placed on it. Soon after the start of operation, it became clear that the strength of the roomy transport vehicle leaves much to be desired. Of the 50 built copies, 10 were lost in accidents and disasters. After the introduction of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, after only 14 years of service, the Douglas C-133 Cargomaster was decommissioned.
Satellite image of Google Earth: aircraft in storage in the Mojave
After the airfield was transferred to civilians, its areas began to be used for storing airliners. Many transport and passenger planes from Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed and Airbus, owned by major airlines, are stored here. Sometimes passenger planes are mothballed in the Mojave for quite a long period of time. After customers appear on them, the airliners undergo refurbishment and painting. After that, outwardly, they look quite presentable. The main customers of used airliners are third world airlines. Many planes from the Mojave fly over the expanses of the former Soviet republics. Also, mothballed airliners largely serve as a source of spare parts for poor air carriers in countries where flight safety requirements are not too stringent. Judging by satellite images, the number of aircraft in storage in the Mojave has decreased by about half over the past 10 years. It is also here that airplanes are cut into metal, which, having not found new buyers, are frankly outdated or came in unsatisfactory technical condition.
Simultaneously with passenger transportation, storage, restoration and disposal of aircraft, the Mojave airfield has become a home for enthusiasts who are in love with the sky. On September 25, 1981, the National Test Pilot School was opened, where pilots of private airlines engaged in the creation of new models of aircraft are trained. In numerous hangars left over from the military, new aircraft are being built and old aircraft are being restored. Aviation holidays and races are regularly held at the airport. The first 1,000-mile piston air races took place in 1970, even before the decision was made to create the Mojave Airport Special Area. It was attended by two dozen aircraft, mostly restored and specially prepared fighters of the Second World War. The winner was Sherm Cooper in a heavily modified Hawker Sea Fury.
Hawker sea fury
In 1971, the distance was reduced to 1000 km, and again Frank Sanders won the race on the Hawker Sea Fury. From 1973 to 1979, biplane races were held in the area. In 1973-1974 jet aircraft races started in Mojave. It should be said that these competitions are quite risky business. Accidents and catastrophes have occurred many times. But this does not stop those who are truly in love with the sky. The Mojave is now home to several teams that design and build racing and record cars. In 1983, Frank Taylor, taking off on a specially modernized P-51Mustang Dago red, developed a speed of 837 km / h on a 15 km section. In total, since 1972, more than 20 speed records have been set by aircraft and spacecraft that took off from the Mojave airfield, range, altitude and duration of the flight.
Record-breaking P-51 Mustang Dago red
In 1990, Scaled Composites, with the participation of renowned aircraft designer Burt Ruthan, created the Pond Racer piston racing aircraft. The design of the very promising machine has been optimized to achieve top speed using two 1000 hp piston engines. The aircraft is built on a two-boom scheme with a compact central fuselage, which housed the cockpit. The creators of the aircraft managed to obtain a high value of specific power equal to 1.07 hp / kg, while in other piston racing aircraft it reached 1 hp / kg at best. According to preliminary calculations, the Pond Racer could accelerate to 900 km / h. But this was hampered by the lack of completion of the power plant, during the races in 1990, an aircraft with engines that produced no more than 600 hp, was able to develop only 644 km / h.
Pond racer
The fate of the winged machine, as well as of the pilot who controlled it, turned out to be tragic. In 1993, an attempt was made to set a new world speed record on an airplane with a new power plant, but the right engine jammed during the flight. At the same time, the propeller feathering system failed and the second motor began to junk. Pilot Rick Brickert, without lowering the landing gear, tried to land the plane on the ground, but the speed was too high, striking the ground, he flew a few more hundred meters, and then crashed into a rocky scree. With a strong blow, the cockpit lantern tore off the locks, and he hit the pilot on the head. The unconscious pilot was never able to get out of the burning car.
In the past, the Mojave airfield served as a test base for aircraft: Bombardier Challenger 600, Boeing 747 with GE90-115B engines, extended McDonnell Douglas MD-80, light jet passenger Eclipse 500, experienced Lockheed Martin Thrush (heavily modified Boeing 737-330). Many civil aircraft with new aircraft engines were certified in Mojave. The Rotary Rocket Roton, a vertically launching and landing reusable vehicle designed for the delivery and return from orbit of small loads, was tested in 1999.
Rotary Rocket Roton Test Preparation
Here, flight tests of the American version of the Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel helicopter (AgustaWestland AW101), a prototype of the vertically launching and landing XA0.1E spacecraft from Masten Space Systems with an engine powered by isopropyl alcohol and liquid oxygen, took place.
The XA0.1E apparatus of Masten Space Systems during tests in October 2009
Among the military aircraft in the Mojave, the X-37 UAV and the F-22A fighter were seen. Although the airfield is not directly subordinate to the Air Force, the proximity of Edwards Air Force Base affects. Test flights are regularly conducted in this area, and three capital runways with a length of 3800, 2149 and 1447 meters are considered by the military as spare.
In addition, many private companies with manufacturing facilities in the Mojave Airport Special Area work directly with the military. Thus, the American division of the British aerospace corporation BAE Systems received a contract for the conversion of F-4 Phantom II aircraft into remotely controlled targets.
Satellite image of Google Earth: unmanned target aircraft QF-4 near the hangar BAE Systems North America
From the bone graveyard in Davis-Montan, the Phantoms are shipped to the Mojave, where they are equipped with a set of digital remote control equipment, as well as automatic threat recognition equipment developed by BAE Systems. This makes it possible to bring the control and training firing as close as possible to the combat situation. The equipment in a suspended container with optoelectronic and radar sensors detecting an approaching missile or radar radiation automatically selects the optimal countermeasures from those available on board and develops an evasion maneuver. The use of this system allows not only to increase the realism of the exercises, but also increases the survival rate of radio-controlled targets by several times.
Radio-controlled target QF-4, taking off from the Mojave airfield
In 2011, the cost of converting one "Phantom" into a target cost the US budget more than $ 800,000. The assigned flight life of the QF-4, which has undergone refurbishment and refurbishment, is 300 hours. After being converted into an unmanned version, the tail unit and wing consoles of target aircraft are painted red for easier visual identification. At the moment, the stock of Phantoms suitable for refinement to the flight state is practically exhausted and the F-16A of the early series began to arrive for conversion into targets (more details here: Operation of Phantoms in the US Air Force continues).
In the same hangars, in parallel with the conversion of the F-4, refurbishment and re-equipment were carried out in accordance with the American airworthiness standards of the MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. In the past, Soviet-made fighters have been tested by the US Air Force and Navy and have been flown by military pilots. At the moment, the bulk of foreign-made combat aircraft in flight condition in the United States belongs to private owners. According to the information contained in the register of the Federal Aviation Service, about 600 units of aircraft manufactured in the USSR and Eastern Europe are in private hands in the United States. This list includes only equipment with valid airworthiness certificates, and it did not include hundreds of museum exhibits, military aircraft and helicopters of Soviet production belonging to the military department, as well as non-flying specimens rusting at various airfields. The register does not include passenger and transport aircraft on which regular flights are carried out. Oddly enough, there are also such in the United States. Thus, several American airlines use the An-2, An-12 and An-26 aircraft for transportation in Latin America and the Caribbean. The undisputed leader among Soviet-made aircraft is the piston Yak-52, of which there are more than 170 copies. However, in the ownership of various companies and individuals, not only machines received from the countries of the communist bloc, a significant part of the aircraft fleet are aircraft produced in the 60s and 80s, withdrawn from the armament of the air forces of NATO countries, Austria and Switzerland. American law, subject to a number of procedures, allows them to be registered as civil aircraft.
Satellite image of Google Earth: Saab 35 Draken fighter at the Mojave airfield
A detailed study of satellite images of the "Mojave Airport Special Area", you can find a variety of foreign-made aircraft. These are MiG-15UTI, MiG-17, MiG-21, Aero L-159E and L-39, Alpha Jet, Aermacchi MB-339CB, Saab 35 Draken, Hawker Hunter and F-21 KFIR. Most likely, all these rare cars are undergoing refurbishment in the Mojave. In the future, foreign aircraft are used in different ways: someone rides thrill-seekers for a fee, and most owners use foreign aircraft to organize training air battles with US Air Force and Navy fighters. Currently in the United States there is a real boom in private companies providing combat training services. The largest of them are: Air USA, Draken International, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company. They all work closely with aerospace corporations: NAVAIR, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Boeing. Due to its unique geographical location, the Mojave airfield has become a testing ground and production base for many private companies looking for a place to develop space technologies. The following companies are registered in the Mojave Airport Special Area: Scaled Composites XCOR Aerospace, Orbital Sciences, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, Spacecraft Company, Stratolaunch Systems and Firestar Technologies.
For the first time, most of the aircraft created by the outstanding American aircraft designer Burt Rutan took off from the runway of the Mojave airfield. In May 1975, the Rutan VariEze made its debut flight.
Rutan VariEze
A very compact, futuristic looking aircraft, built in over 400 copies, in many ways determined the future direction of work. Due to the widespread use of composite materials, the take-off weight did not exceed 500 kg. In the future, the aircraft designer designed several more commercially successful machines built according to a similar scheme.
Burt Rutan
Burt Rutan, now 74 years old, has created more than 20 original civil and military designs. Among them are light-engine and record-breaking aircraft, drones and vehicles designed for spacewalk. Rutan registered Scaled Composites in 1982 with registered office in Mojave Airport Special Area. Rutana's company, among other things, participated in the creation of the first private launch vehicle Pegasus, its development was carried out by Orbital.
Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
Among the most famous aircraft created by Rutan are the record-breaking Voyager and Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, as well as the suborbital spaceplane SpaceShipOne, which won the Ansari X-Prize in 2004, becoming the first private spacecraft to launch twice in two weeks.
Even before the Mojave airfield acquired the status of the Aerospace Center, on May 20, 2003, the first flight of the SpaceShipOne suborbital rocket plane took place. The device, created by Scaled Composites, won the Ansari X Prize, where the main condition was the creation of an aircraft capable of going into space twice within two weeks with three crew members on board. The victory resulted in a $ 10 million prize. SpaceShipOne is the second ever suborbital manned hypersonic aircraft after the North American X-15.
To launch the SpaceShipOne rocket plane, a well-developed air launch scheme is used in the United States. The reusable manned vehicle rises to an altitude of 14 km, with a specially designed White Knight carrier aircraft.
White Knight carrier aircraft
After undocking from the White Knight, the SpaceShipOne stabilizes for about 10 seconds, after which the gas engine is launched, operating on polybutadiene and nitric oxide. After starting the engine, the ship moves to a position close to vertical. The engine operation lasts a little more than one minute, while the crew experiences an overload of up to 3g. At this stage, the ship reaches an altitude of about 50 km. Further movement to the boundary of near space occurs by inertia along a parabolic trajectory. In space, SpaceShipOne is about three minutes at an altitude of just over 100 km. Before reaching the apogee, the ship raises its wings upward in order to simultaneously stabilize, reduce its speed and switch to a controlled gliding flight when it re-enters the dense layers of the atmosphere. In this case, the overloads can reach 6g, but they do not last long. After descending to an altitude of 17 km, the wings are transferred to their original position, and the device plans to go to its airfield. The cockpit is a sealed chamber with life support and air conditioning systems. The composition of the atmosphere inside the cab is controlled by a triple redundant system. The portholes are made of high-strength double-layer glass, each layer is able to withstand possible pressure drops. Thanks to this, during flights, you can do without space suits.
Landing SpaceShipOne
In total, SpaceShipOne has taken off 17 times. The first flight was unmanned, and the last three were suborbital. A suborbital flight above the Karman line took place on September 29, 2004, when Mike Melville ascended to an altitude of 102, 93 km. The highest flight altitude above sea level reached in the last flight was more than 112 km. At the same time, the altitude record for manned aircraft was broken, which was held for 41 years (in August 1963, Joe Walker reached a ceiling of 107.9 km on the X-15). According to the rules of the FAI, the SpaceShipOne crew are not astronauts, since for this the device had to make at least one orbit around the planet at an altitude of more than 100 km. However, according to American rules, an astronaut is considered anyone who has flown at least along a parabolic trajectory with a maximum rise to an altitude of at least 50 miles. SpaceShipOne is no longer in use at this time. It should be replaced by SpaceShipTwo vehicles, which are planned to be used in space tourism and NASA research programs. In total, a series of four rocket gliders was laid.
Rocket plane SpaceShipTwo under the aircraft carrier White Knight Two
On June 17, 2004, the Mojave Aviation Center acquired the status of a certified Civil Aerospace Center. It is the first private spaceport facility in the United States for the horizontal launch of reusable spacecraft. However, in the history of the aerospace center there were not only successes, but also tragic accidents. So, on the territory of the center, which is known as Scaled Composites and is now owned by Northrop Grumman, a powerful explosion occurred during the refueling of the SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft with an oxidizer on July 26, 2007. As a result of the incident, three specialists were killed and three more were injured.
SpaceShipTwo engine start
On October 31, 2014, the first instance of SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise collapsed in the air during the active phase of the flight. In this case, one pilot was killed, and the other, who was thrown out by parachute, was seriously injured.
Specialists of the National Council for Transport Safety, investigating the disaster, in their report named the wrong actions of the crew and the lack of protection "from the fool" as the main reason for the incident. At too high a speed, the co-pilot began to prematurely deploy the wing. But, despite the disaster and a significant excess of the original budget, work on the project continued. The second copy of the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane - VSS Unity was submitted for testing in September 2016.
On May 31, 2017, a ceremonial rollout of the Stratolaunch Model 351 took place in Mojave from the hangar of Stratolaunch Systems. This gigantic machine, larger than the Soviet An-225 Mriya, was created under the leadership of Burt Rutan.
Stratolaunch Model 351
In terms of its aerodynamic design, the aircraft is similar to the White Knight Two, but its dimensions are much larger. The aircraft with a wingspan of 117 m and a length of 73 m, with a maximum load on an external sling of 230 tons, equipped with six Pratt & Whitney PW4056 bypass turbojet engines with a thrust of 25 tons, will have a maximum take-off weight of 590 tons. According to the manufacturer's representatives, the Stratolaunch Model 351 is intended for the transportation and air launch of Pegasus XL light launch vehicles as part of the Stratolaunch aerospace system.
The Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL light launch vehicle has a launch weight of 23.2 tons and a payload of 443 kg. By and large, you don't need such a giant aircraft to launch these missiles. The ability to suspend and launch three launch vehicles in one flight should significantly reduce the cost of delivering small satellites into orbit.
According to a number of experts, this system can be used for military purposes, including launching anti-satellite interceptors into space and launching hypersonic cruise missiles. Sierra Nevada Corporation announced the development of a lightweight manned shuttle Dream Chaser for use with the Stratolaunch Model 351. If a sufficiently powerful and inexpensive carrier with a mass of up to 230 tons is created, the Americans will be able to gain a serious competitive advantage when launching a payload into space. The carrier aircraft is due to take off at the end of 2017, and the first launch from it is scheduled for 2019. Thus, the first commercial launch of the load into the near-earth orbit can be expected no earlier than 2020.
