AV to celebrate Air Force anniversary

By JAY LEVINE
Valley Press Staff Writer
LANCASTER - Both the casual aerospace enthusiast and the seasoned test pilot will find engaging events during a week of festivities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Air Force and the first supersonic flight.

Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager will re-enact his first journey through the sound barrier 50 years ago Tuesday, but the week's activities kick off Sunday when Lancaster honors five aerospace legends with their induction into its Walk of Honor.

SUNDAY, Oct. 12

Five aerospace pioneers are honored each year with 6-foot granite monuments on Lancaster Boulevard. This year's honorees were inducted at 1:30 p.m. at the intersection of Lancaster Boulevard and Cedar Avenue.

U.S. Air Force Col. Joseph F. "Joe" Cotton, Lt. Col. Norman K. "Ken" Dyson, Lt. Col. Robert G. "Bob" Ferry, John A. Manke and Lt. Col. Thomas P. Stafford will meet people and sign autographs after their monuments are unveiled.

Stafford and Manke contributed to space exploration, Dyson and Stafford are fathers of radar-evading aircraft, Ferry is a helicopter master and Cotton is a bomber specialist.

A banquet is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Essex House to honor the new inductees. Tickets are $50 a person and can be purchased at City Hall or at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center box office.

TUESDAY, Oct. 14

Yeager made his first supersonic flight in the Bell X-1, but he'll re-enact that historic event in an F-15. Fellow X-1 team member Bob Hoover will chase the aircraft in an F-16. Washington, D.C., dignitaries and jet-age pioneers also are expected to appear.

The event is open only to the first 3,000 people because the base can't handle larger weekday crowds. The supersonic performances will be repeated both days of the upcoming Edwards air show (see below).

Also Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service will display special stamps commemorating the history-making first supersonic flight, as well as the Air Force's anniversary.

Later that afternoon, the Medal of Honor Park, a grassy area at the corner of Rosamond Boulevard and North Muroc Drive, will be dedicated. An information plaque will be erected, as will four others - representing four wars - listing all Air Force Medal of Honor recipients.

And, Mojave Boulevard will be rededicated as Chuck Yeager Boulevard.

Men of Mach One, a symposium on the first supersonic flight, is set for 8 p.m. at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center. Tickets are still available for the event, hosted by David Hartman.

FRIDAY, Oct. 17

The Gathering of Eagles, a night with the legends of aerospace, is set for 6 p.m. at the Essex House Convention Center. The event is sold out, but there's a waiting list to purchase tickets in the event of cancellations.

However, tickets for the drawing at the Gathering of Eagles still are available. There will be 250 tickets sold at $100 each for a chance to win a number of prizes, including Nevada getaways, $10,000 and two round-trip tickets on the supersonic Concorde. British Airways announced Tuesday it would donate two tickets instead of one. For raffle ticket information, call 945-7676.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, Oct. 18-19

Edwards' two-day open house punctuates the week of aerospace activities. The show is expected to feature the Air Force Thunderbirds, the Canadian Northern Lights stunt team, parachute-team performances by the U.S. Army's Golden Knights and the Air Force Academy's Wings of Blue.

Gates to the Edwards Air Show open 7 a.m. Saturday. Yeager will again break the sound barrier during opening ceremonies in an F-15. When Yeager flies Sunday, it will officially end his Air Force flying career, according to officials.

Both shows Saturday and Sunday are expected to be nearly identical, with only a few changes in performances.

Taking to the skies will be Antelope Valley-born aircraft such as the B-2 stealth bomber, the B-1B bomber, the U-2 spy plane, the SR71 Blackbird and the F-117 stealth fighter, as well as a host of other modern military aircraft.

Vintage aircraft also will be displayed, including those of other U.S. and foreign-military branches, a replica of the Bell X-1, NASA aircraft and dozens of private experimental aircraft.

Some of the aircraft on the runway will include the NASA 747, X31, B-24, B-25, B-29, Boeing 777, E-4, AH-64, MH-53, T-34, T-37, MiG 17, MiG 21 and A-10.