Mojave Air and Space Station (IATA: MHV , ICAO: KMHV ), also known as Civil Aeronautics Test Center b>, located in Mojave, California, at an altitude of 2,801 feet (854 m). This is the first facility licensed in the United States for the re-launch of a reusable horizontal spacecraft, which is certified as a space port by the Federal Aviation Administration on June 17, 2004.
Video Mojave Air and Space Port
History
In 1935, Kern County established the Mojave Airport 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of Mojave, California to serve the gold and silver mining industry in the area. The airport consists of two runway runways, one of which is oiled, but has no refueling or service facilities. In 1941, the Civil Aeronautical Board initiated repairs to the airport for national defense purposes covering two 4,500 feet (1,400m) with a 150ft (46m) asphalt runway and adjacent taxi runway. Kern County agreed that the airport could be taken over by the military in the event of a war.
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States Marine Corps took over the airport and expanded it into Mojave Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station (MCAAS). Two existing runways are extended and a third is added. Barracks were built to accommodate 2,734 men and 376 female military personnel. Civil servants at base will peak at 176. Marines will eventually spend more than $ 7 million on the base, which amounts to 2,312 acres (936 ha).
Many of the World War II Corps' aces received their cannon training in Mojave. During World War II, Mojave hosted 29 aircraft squadrons, four Aircraft Service Detachments, and three Air Warning Squadron. At its peak, the air station has 145 training and other aircraft. Mojave also has a 75 x 156 foot swimming pool which is used to train aviators on emergency exit and for recreation. The 900-seat Auditorium at this base hosted several USO shows featuring Bob Hope, Frances Langford and Marilyn Maxwell.
With the end of World War II, the MCAAS was dissolved on February 7, 1946; United States Navy Air Station was established on the same day. The Navy used the airport for unmanned drone operations for less than a year, closing it on January 1, 1947. The base remained closed for four years until the outbreak of the Korean War. Mojave reactivated as additional landing field for MCAS El Toro. The airport was inaugurated as MCAAS on December 31, 1953. Squadrons use Mojave for armament training when El Toro experiences bad weather. The Marine Corps reserve units are temporarily deployed to the Mojave for a period of two weeks. MCAAS Mojave personnel peaked at 400 militaries and 200 civilians during this period.
In 1961, after the Marine Corps transferred operations to MCAS El Centro, Kern County earned the title to the airport. In February 1972, East Kern Airport District (EKAD) was formed to manage the airport; EKAD maintains the airport to this day. For the most part EKAD was the brainchild of Kern County ranchers and aviators Dan Sabovich, who greatly lobbied the country for the creation of the airport district and run EKAD until 2002.
During the 1970s, the commuter airline Golden West Airlines provided scheduled passenger service operated with Twin Otter de Havilland Canada DHC-6 direct turboprop to Los Angeles (LAX).
On November 20, 2012, the EKAD Board of Directors voted to change the district name to Mojave Airport and Airspace. Officials say that the name of the space port is famous worldwide, but EKAD is not. The changes take effect on January 1, 2013.
Maps Mojave Air and Space Port
Activity
In addition to being a commonly used public airport, Mojave has three main areas of activity: flight testing, aerospace industry development, and maintenance and storage of large aircraft.
Air racing
The airport has a rich history in air racing. In 1970, an unlimited 1,000 mile (1,600 km) race was held - the first closed pylon race that included the pit stop. The race was notable for displaying the DC-7 aircraft, which flew non-stop and finished sixth out of twenty aircraft. The race was won by Sherm Cooper in a highly modified Hawker Sea Fury which also flew non-stop. The following year the race was shortened to 1,000 kilometers (620 mi), and once again won by Hawker Sea Fury, this time flown by Frank Sanders. From 1973 to 1979, Air Race Management (run by famous race pilots Clay Lacy and Lyle Shelton) hosted a series of Reno-syle races in Mojave featuring Unlimited, T-6, Formula-1, and Biplanes. In 1973 and '74, the program also included a jet race. The unlimited winners at Mojave included Lyle Shelton in 1973, Mac McClain in 1974 and 1976, Dr. Cliff Cummins in 1975, and Steve Hinton in 1978 and '79. The race in Mojave is hampered by constant wind, and extreme temperatures. In the 2000s, California HWY 58 was extended to cut down the city of Mojave, which cuts straight across race tracks - thus blocking any future racing events on the site. In 1983, Frank Taylor set a 15km (9.3 mile) closed speed record at 517 miles per hour (832 km/h) at the Mojave at P-51 Dago Red. Over the years, several leading teams have been based in Mojave. Wasabi Air Racing is the only pylon racing team currently active at the airport. In 1990 Scaled Composites launched a radical Pond Racer - built and tested on the spot. During the mid-90s, the Flying Museum based two Dago Red and Stiletto drivers out of Mojave as well. And since the early 80s, which is often spoken of, but rarely seen Wildfire (Custom built Unlimited based around the T-6 airframe) is slowly being developed in Mojave hangars. Many of Ralph Wise's air racing projects include Sport Class GT400 and V-8 supported infinitely, GT500, both designed and built in Mojave (GT500 spends its youth in Camarillo). The ultralight GT 400 Quicksilver program is also based at Mojave airport.
Flight testing
Flight testing activities have been concentrated in the Mojave since the early 1970s, due to the lack of population around the airport. It is also frowned upon for this purpose because of its proximity to Edwards Air Base, where air space is restricted from the ground to unlimited heights, and where there are supersonic corridors. Mojave is also home to the National Test Schools of Testing, Composite Scale and Virgin Galactic/The Spaceship Company.
Space industry development
Starting with the Rotary Rocket program, Mojave became the focus for small companies looking for a place to develop space access technology. Mojave Spaceport has been the testing ground for several teams at the Ansari X Prize, notably Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne, which made its first personally funded private sub-orbital flight on June 21, 2004. Other groups based in Mojave Spaceport include XCOR Aerospace, Space Systems Space Masten, Virgin Galactic, Aircraft Space Company, Stratolaunch System, and Firestar Technology. Other companies in Mojave include Orbital Sciences Corporation and Interorbital Systems.
The East Kern Airport District is assigned a port space status by the Federal Aviation Administration for Air and Space Mojave until June 16, 2019.
Maintenance, storage, and large aircraft event center
Mojave Airport is also known as a storage location for commercial aircraft, due to its vast areas and dry desert conditions. Many Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed, and Airbus jetliners include wide-bodied aircraft previously or currently owned by major domestic and international airlines kept in Mojave. Some aircraft reached their useful end of useful life and dumped on Mojave aircraft, while others were repaired and returned to active service.
On February 4, 2009, Douglas DC-3-65/AR N834TP from the National Test Pilot School suffered considerable damage in take-off accidents. Both undercarriage sets and port machines are unplugged. The aircraft was on a local training flight. The accident was caused by incorrect steering trim.
On October 31, 2014, SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise spacecraft broke up during a test flight after being dropped from a WhiteKnightTwo VMS Eve transport plane. Scaled Composites co-pilot composite, Michael Alsbury, was killed. Scaled Composites pilot Peter Siebold jumps for safety. SpaceShipTwo is being developed by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic company owned by Sir Richard Branson. The accident occurred about 20 miles (32 km) north of Mojave Air & amp; Space Port, where the test flight originated.
See also
- List of airports in Kern County, California
Note
External links
- The official site of Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV)
- Record FAA Airport Airport to MHV ( Form 5010 PDF )
- FAA Airport Chart Ã, (PDF) , effective May 24, 2018
- The Astronautica.com Encyclopedia: Air Port and Mojave Space entries
- Mojave Transportation Museum - cyber museum website
- Yahoo Groups.com: Mojave Airport Group - with discussion index .
- Airliners.net: photo of Mojave Airport
- Qnet.com: List of junk aircraft in the Mojave area, including many from World War II
- YouTube.com: videos on Mojave Water & amp; Space Port (MHV)
- Popular news 2009 cover story: "Mojave Air & Space Port"
- KMHV page at ClearanceWiki - airport record for pilot with instrument rating .
- Resources for this airport:
- FAA airport information for MHV
- AirNav airport information for KMHV
- ASN accident history for MHV
- FlightAware airport information and direct flight trackers
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautics graph, Terminal Procedure
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments