Week 296 - Flying Home - 04-15-2012

Flying Home

With our destination in view, we were like a rental horse heading back to the barn. We left our gracious hosts in Rancho Mirage and headed to the Palmdale, California Elks.

The first sight to confront us was the propellers on the wind farm on the west side of Palm Springs. Unlike the other dozen trips past here, today almost all of the windmills were turning. We learned years ago from a young man in Texas (who works for T. Boone Pickins) that they do not turn on the windmills until the price per kilowatt is high. The maintenance cost of these generators is so high, that until the energy prices are very steep, they cannot make money on these generators. Today, the dollars were flying.

1) Mandy has become quite the rascal, running off when the MothersShip's door is left open and then not returning until we can catch her. She is being punished here by being locked in the toilet room. She is still trying to be part of things as far as her nose will take her. 2) The Palmdale Elks with 50 sites is one the largest Elk's RV parks. The best part of belonging to and visiting the Elks is the knowledge of the local residents. Upon entry to the lodge, we met Dan, the lodge photographer. He was forward but charming and proceeded to tell us the history of the lodge and his employment at Lockheed in Palmdale. Dan recommended a photo tour of the Joe Davis Heritage Park, full of fighter planes.

The next day (Tuesday) we headed to the park. It is only open on the weekends, but, all the planes are outside and we got these fabulous photos through the fence. John and Rosie, this would be a great adventure day when you get here next month!

As the park was closed, we could not view the placards to identify these aircraft. However, we are staying at Ellen's sister Janice's house, and Frank, our brother-in-law is a walking fighter-jet encyclopedia. Without hesitation Frank ID'd every fighter in our photo collection, including those which we did not present in this travelogue. Most of the detailed descriptions have come from Wikipedia.com.

This is the F-117A Nighthawk. The F-117A Nighthawk is the world's first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology. The first F-117A was delivered in 1982, and the last delivery was in the summer of 1990. The F-117A production decision was made in 1978 with a contract awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. The first flight was in 1981, only 31 months after the full-scale development decision. Lockheed-Martin delivered 59 stealth fighters to the Air Force between August 1982 and July 1990.

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

On the right is the Lockheed YF-12. During flight tests the YF-12As set a speed record of 2,070.101 mph and altitude record of 80,257.86 feet, both on 1 May 1965, and demonstrated promising results with their unique weapon system. Six successful firings of the AIM-47 missiles were completed. The last one launched from the YF-12 at Mach 3.2 at an altitude of 74,000 ft to a JQB-47E target drone 500 ft off the ground.

On the left, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. During reconnaissance missions the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outrun the missile.

The SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. On 28 July 1976, SR-71 serial number 61-7962 broke the world record for its class: an "absolute altitude record" of 85,069 feet. Several aircraft exceeded this altitude in zoom climbs but not in sustained flight. That same day SR-71, serial number 61-7958 set an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 mph,

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The F-14 was the first of the American teen-series fighters which were designed incorporating the experience of air combat against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War. This is the aircraft that starred in the Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun".

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units until it was phased out in 1975

The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Initially designed by McDonnell Aircraft as a long-range bomber escort for the Strategic Air Command (SAC), the Voodoo was instead developed as a nuclear-armed fighter-bomber for the Tactical Air Command , and as a photo reconnaissance aircraft based on the same airframe.

The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. The Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War. The Sabre proved versatile and adaptable, and continued as a front-line fighter in numerous air forces until the last active operational examples were retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994.

The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. It was the first USAF fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight. Ellen's Uncle Ron flew these fighters in Viet Nam.

The Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter and the F-5E/F Tiger II are part of a family of widely-used light supersonic fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop. Hundreds remain in service in air forces around the world in the early 21st century.

The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been removed from combat due to high loss rates.

The Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C. Known to the men who flew them as "The Whale," the "Curtiss Calamity," the "plumber's nightmare", and among ATC crews, the "flying coffin". At the time of its production, the C-46 was the largest twin-engine aircraft in the world, and the largest and heaviest twin-engine aircraft to see service in World War II.

Not a fighter, Frank labeled this jet as the "General's Limo" used to escort the high muckamucks around the war theaters.

Leaving this wonderful exhibit, we flew onward to the Bakersfield RV Resort. Mandy, always ready to meet someone new, found a friend in this 240-pound mastiff.

Cruising at low altitude we encountered hail just 30 miles south of Fresno. Hey, didn't we just leave Palm Springs at 85 degrees?

The Fresno Elks is lovely. Especially just a few days after a rain storm that filled this flood control pond.

1) Finally at home. Nick and future bride Hayley came to meet us as soon as we arrived. 2) Grandson Austin (our son Travis's son) took great joy in Mandy. Mandy was always leery of children until Austin was able to befriend her. Once acclimated, Mandy enjoyed spending time with our granddaughter Elle.

We are home in San Luis Obispo's North County until, until, oh, we don't know. Until we leave!

Have a lovely week, love, Pete, Ellen and the Irrepressible Mandy.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31.

Photos from Apr 2012