Went into the USAF in 1964, after tech school learned on the B-47 and a brand new aircraft mechanic 43131E was assigned to Edwards AFB at the age of 19. The 6515 th OMS. After a short time on a old C-130A was assigned to the TB58 Hustler chase for the XB-70. My days at Edwards where the most rewarding days of my USAF career. After Edwards it was pretty much working on the then new Lockheed C-141A as a crew chief 43151E and then the trusty C-130E as a master Aircraft mechanic 43171E with the 146th TAW CANG, that plane took me all over the world. Now 80, look back at my time at Edwards as the most exciting days of my career as a aircraft mechanic. Those where the days.

@johnbeckman492

9 ай бұрын

You're a part of history

@placerpacklifeppl5842

9 ай бұрын

I spent 2 years at Edwards, absolutely the most rewarding of my time in the Air Force. Unforgettable!

@markelliott585

9 ай бұрын

Greetings from Colorado! Thank you for your service

@donc9751

9 ай бұрын

Sounds like a very exciting career!!! I had an uncle who was in around the time the Army Air Corp (?) was changed to USAF, around 1947, maybe little later but he bought me models of airplanes that started a love of planes and aviation, especially military types! In 64 I would of been 7 years old and at some point (I might of been a little older by then) he got me a model of the B-58 Hustler and man that plane was bad ass!!!! I loved that plane. Must have been something else working on and in those, did you get to fly in them? Men from that Era (WW2, Vietnam, and of course before were all heros in my eyes! I am sure we're they alive today to see the state of our current situation, they would be wondering what the heck happened and what were they fighting for. Thanks for your service Sir! Sounds like you had an amazing career!

@frankducett9

9 ай бұрын

Those were great times to look back on. I started at Ft. RUCKER in the Army, then the Air Force in 1973 all helicopters, AF Rescue was a good mission. Plattsburgh, Hill, Mac Dill.

As I watched this great vid I thought of my father, who in 1967 separated from the Army and enlisted in the Air Force as an Aerial Photographer. First base after enlisting in the Air Force was Edwards. As an 8 year ol brat, back then, I remember many of these aircraft, as he took me to his office, near the flightline. I remember the sonic booms. Great memories from back in the mid-late '60s. Dad left us this past April, but the memories of the Air Force life will live on. Aim High!

@TheUSMilitaryChannel

9 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your family history with us. It is both inspiring and fascinating. We appreciate your support.

@christianwentzien1106

9 ай бұрын

Amen Brother ✈️

@davefellhoelter1343

9 ай бұрын

WE HAD the BEST Times as these KIDS! what an Honor to be there! me Too! Similar! RIP Greatest Generation!

Jesus, The comments section is full of American Heroes sharing brief parts of their lives at Edwards. Gentlemen, Thank you all for the incredible things you did for America and aviation at such an incredible period of time. We owe you all so much!

Dad was senior officer in USAFTPS 56-D, the first class of pilot plus graduate aeronautical engineer candidates. In this were Gus Grissom and Gordon Cooper. I was six when we moved there and my little buddies were Mark and Scott Grissom. Being there around these people and the excitement of jet airplanes. Dad did test flying as the United States transitioned from propellers to Jets in the B-47 and B-52. We moved to Dayton where dad became chief of both Bomber Operations and Flight Test. His last assignment before retiring was at Headquarters, USAF, Pentagon where he became Deputy Director of Research and Development for the Air Force. I have three trunks of memorabilia from the school, flight test, the Mercury and Apollo programs. They will soon be donated to the US military cemetery in Dayton as a part of their museum collection related to Flight Test.

@dukecraig2402

8 ай бұрын

My uncle graduated high school in 1956 and enlisted in the Army as a missile mechanic, after discharging in 59 Boeing hired him and had him going around the midwest installing Minuteman missile's in silos when in 1961 Kennedy said "I've got a good idea, let's go to the moon", Boeing ask him if he'd be interested in going to the Cape to work, hating the cold midwest winters and loving warm weather and bikini's he was probably already in Florida before the question was completely out of their mouths. He was involved in the Mercury program from about the time of Glenn's flight through Gemini, Apollo, the Shuttle and was even called out of retirement when the ISS program drained a bunch of people from the Cape to go work in Alabama. He lived in Orlando from the time he moved there until 2017 when he passed away, afterwards family of mine down there contacted me and ask me if I'd be interested in having his jewelry box, they knew that I was that kid that grew up in a gloomy has been coal mining town in Pennsylvania and that being involved in the space program that I watched unfold as a kid he was 100% rock star in my book. In that jewelry box is a collection of commerative tie pins and cuff links given by Boeing to it's employees of each mission they were involved in, I've got them from his first Mercury mission all the way through the Shuttle, all the Gemini and Apollo mission's and even Boeing satellite and deep space probe mission's. That jewelry box is probably my most prized possession, not having heir's I'm beginning to wonder what kind of arrangements I should make for it after I'm gone, I hate the thought of them getting chucked in the trash or mishandled in any way one day in the future.

After completing a 16 week weapons mechanic tech school at Lowry AFB Colorado, I was assigned to the 36 TAC fighter wing at Edwards AFB. A very lucky assignment during the Vietnam war as I was the only one out of a Flight of 50 to get this stateside assignment. I worked on many aircraft including the F-111, A-10 Warthog and the F4 Phantom. I witnessed a B-52 with the “lifting body” attached under its wing take off and the lifting body return to the lake bed. I witnessed the crash of an SR-71 on the lake bed where the pilot successfully ejected. Buss Aldrin was the Base Commander at the time although I never saw him. However, I need meet and shake hands with General Robert White who has been credited with being the first man to fly to the edge of space in an aircraft. All good things come to an end as my final assignment was to Korea. My time at Edwards was very rewarding.

Thanks for watching and your comments. We are striving to bring unique and rare military documentaries and film footage to our subscribers. Much more to come.

@skyviewflier

9 ай бұрын

Need to get better quality video...

Dad served @El Toro 58-59. I was 5. I heard those double booms, not daily, but sometimes 6-7x/day. Thought it was normal!

@kensmith2839

9 ай бұрын

I was stationed at El Toro from Feb 73 to late June 76. Tower controller. I stopped by to see what remained of the base on May 22, 2023. The control tower was still standing and 3 of the F-4 hangers were still there. Semper Fi

@davefellhoelter1343

9 ай бұрын

Me Too! Grew up 3 gens in this area. Then I got to DRIVE my WORK TRUCK down the Flight Line at El Torro, and worked on a project next to the HUGE! Dirigible Hangar when they existed. drove on March and China Lake too, and "Woke DISNEY" ANAHIEM main street the day Obama got Elected. all closed and after hours? but I thought it was Historic!

Spent 30+ years working there at south base. Loved every minute of it. And seeing some of the historical sites that still remain on base. Great vid.

I went into the air force in 1966, and after finishing tech school as a life support specialist, my first Duty station was at Edwards. I was there until the middle of 1967, and just like all the other people have commented here it was one of the most rewarding and fascinating times of my life. While I didn't work directly with many of the aircraft that were being tested, I did have a chance to get up close and personal with the X-15, the B70 supersonic bomber, the F-111, the NF 104, that's the one with the rocket in the tail. I also watch them doing the testing on the SR-71, the Harrier jump jet was being tested for the British at Edwards. In fact there were so many fascinating aircraft that I can't even remember them all anymore. The one memory that sticks with me the most was one evening I was coming back from work on the base, and as I got out of the car to walk into the house where my wife was waiting I heard the Roar of jet engines overhead, and when I looked up I was treated to a once in a lifetime sight. They're over my head was a B70 supersonic bomber flying in formation with the SR-71 at very low altitude right over the housing area. It was stunning! In my mind I made the comparison of a swan flying in formation with a crow. I'm 77 now, and I will never forget that site for as long as I live. In late 67 I was shipped overseas to Vietnam, but Edwards has always held a special place in my heart.

Great footage, and production. Thanks. I think the whole world knows Edwards AFB is THE pinnacle of Aerospace Research and Flight Test. From such humble beginnings, a giant emerged. Edwards is on my top 10 bucket list sites to visit/tour...Cheers..!

My best wishes and thanks to all of you who served and flew at Edwards. Although I did end up being a pilot I just never had the right stuff to be part of this amazing program. You are my hero's. I'm retired now but thanks for inspiring me to be the best pilot I could be.

This is without the best video ever produced that clearly and objectively describes the evolution of the U.S. Air Force and the incredible contributions these brave test pilots gave to make it possible. From the early fifties my father was a maintenance officer, that required him to fly post maintenance test flights on squadron aircraft to ensure the performance of the aircraft were safe and met critical criteria before releasing them for return to service. He flew the B36, T33, F80, F84, F86, and the B47 during his career, actually surviving a crash in a F80 post maintenance due to a compression stall that particular aircraft was prone to. After breaking his back in that crash, he was back flying six months later and still doing test flights. Because of his position, he used to take me out to the flight line to explore and sit in every aircraft out there, including the 36 and the 47. Unfortunately, I was not able to follow in his footsteps due to poor eyesight. To me, my dad was every kids hero and bigger than John Wayne, because he was the real deal. Yeah. I’m damn proud of my dad.

My grandfather worked Jack Northrop on the n9m and the B35. I still have a lot in North Edwards he purchased in the late 40s. He was good friends of Poncho. And a bunch of x plane pilots. He was also with lockheed and was part of the crew that straped a rocket on a F104. That Chuck Yeager flew and sadly had to bail out of. I can still to this day, look up and see the greatest pilots that ever was. Flying some of the most incredible air craft ever to fly. And some times i can see a monkey smoking a cigar, the propeller not turning in the front of his plane screaming past P51 mustangs. Love you as always GRANDPA.

@davefellhoelter1343

9 ай бұрын

My grama was his Legal Secratary Stenographer, Short Hand flew all OVER the World Working RIP GREATEST GENERATION! Miss You Y'all!

This is not a terrible recounting, but that soundtrack is SO obtrusive.

OUTSTANDING Video!

Brilliant video. Thank you.

@TheUSMilitaryChannel

9 ай бұрын

Thanks for the compliment..we are striving to provide our subscribers with unique and hard to find military programs.

Great job! I really enjoyed the video.

Excellent, insightful video. Brought back memories of 'Y2K' (2000) when I got to visit Edwards with my sister-in-law who was stationed there. This video shows how phenomenal all this barren terrain was and still continues to be in US development of aircraft and space machines. Makes me especially proud to be an American.

A C-47 load of AFROTC cadets touched down at Edwards in 1968. Our eyes were full of the stars of history who flew here.

OOps,at #37.25 we forgot to mention the Kestrel evolved into the Harrier,a British design which was adopted by the USMC as the AV8 development. 41.35, The eagle might have been the first american airframe with a positive thrust/weight ratio,in the '60s the English Electric Lightning could accelerate in a vertical climb,demonstrating a better than 1:1 thrust ratio.

@rogeratygc7895

8 ай бұрын

Indeed, I saw it do so in the late 1950s or early 1960s. It continued in service for decades.

The entire soundtrack of the Right Stuff

Awesome! Keep up the good work!

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the opening music is magnificent ,,,,,,,bless the producer for using it......Most who love great music know what great movie it was written for........Thanks.....

@marshallpublishinginc

4 ай бұрын

We really appreciate your feedback - this is one of our most popular videos. Thanks for watching!

Thank you, very interesting and educational!

OUTSTANDING!

Great docu & thanks for uploading it. Great to hear Bill Conti's soundtrack for the ' Right Stuff ' - I love that movie so much - a masterpiece of cinema art & a great subject to boot - one of the opening scenes is the Bell X1 at Edwards , belching oxygen like an angry beast , furious at it's motionless , grounded purgatory - Yaeger regards it from his horse , weighing up that which he must tame.

@marshallpublishing4284

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this show. We have been on a short hiatus for the summer but have many interesting and unique military programs to publish in the upcoming months so please check in from time to time..

@TheUSMilitaryChannel

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks. we're researching more unique military videos to add. Please keep checking back.

@marshallpublishing4284

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for commenting. We appreciate your viewing our channel and invite you to check back often for maore videos coming this year.

Excellent documentary!!

My great uncle Carl Bostrom was the primary test pilot for the XB-46. He flew alot with Glenn Edwards as well and is mentioned in the book about Glenn Edwards.

Love the Dances with Wolves soundtrack

We went there in 1998 to research in the film library. What a treasure!

Thank you very much. Just like The good Old days with Discovery Channel😜

I believe Neil Armstrong is narrating this documentary. How cool!

Thank you for this. My VHS tape died.

B-1B what an elegant, sensous aircraft 🤩

5:55 The "pinpoint accuracy" of the B-29 was of course abandoned in favor of of area incendiary bombing and thus played little part in the outcome of the war against Japan.

Spectacular and spellbinding. Could not stop watching even though i needed urinate half way through!

@konewone361

9 ай бұрын

I agree. Totally fascinating and educational. Man has come along way since the Wright Brothers and has even further to go. Onwards and upwards.

Nicevideo. Kept looking for buffalo😂

Joshua trees, wow, foes this bring back memories.

An excellent video. Thank you!

My grandfather worked at Edwards. I still have properties in north edwards that he purchased. I keep looking for a monkey smoking a cigar. Flying past P51s with the propeller not turning. 4 generations of us have placed our finger prints on the aircraft ,grandad and dad in the 50s then me and my boy at chino planes of fame. The RYAN FIREBALL. a prop in front and a jet in the back.

So rare, it's on KZread.

What is that music from ?.....Wait I know "Dances with Wolves "

The Aviation was started by Germany in IIWW but developed by USA - We owe a lot to American test pilots and the Edwards base collective. A lot of money invested....but a lot of technological development and a supremacy for long time in the civil industrial economy. Many thanks to the entire system of people who allowed this !!!

I really enjoyed that video, mainly for seeing some iconic aircraft in flight that aren’t really around anymore. But when he was talking about the pin point accuracy of the B-29s high altitude bombing over Japan I almost sh… my pants from laughing so hard. I was literally waiting for a hymn on the Norden bombsight to top it off 😎

@rogeratygc7895

8 ай бұрын

Great piece of technology... if your enemy is hiding in a pickle barrel. Not much use otherwise.

@frankodo3251

8 ай бұрын

@@rogeratygc7895 It is a great piece of technology, quite sophisticated for its day. Not exactly a revelation compared to the British Mk IX but still. It just was as much up to the job as technically possible back in the day, 20 years prior bombs were still dropped by eyesight of the spotter, compared to that it was great. Maybe a little much adjustment needed while flying from the IP to the release, thru dense air defense. Hitting a target with pinpoint accuracy just wasn’t an option back then realistically. 🤷🏻‍♂️

You can't hoot with the owls and then soar with the eagles" , chuck yeager. Then breaks the ribs the night before horsing around, and next day breaks the sound barrier.

Excellent! ABSOLUTELY FANTABULOUS! Just like your documentary about PROJECT MERCURY! AGAIN ABSOLUTELY FANTABULOUS!

The X-15 that crashed into mud lake Nevada, which Mud Lake? There are enough places called Mud Lake in Nevada to write a book.

I didn’t know an afb could fly or that it needed to be flight tested.

Soundtrack = Dances With Wolves

To talk about Edwards Air Force Base isn't an easy one. There are too many dynamics that played there part. You have to look at Mojave, Rosemond, Lancaster, and Palmdale. You also have Pancho Barnes , Captain Edwards, Chuck Yeager and many more. Then there's little Edwards or better known as Groom Lake aka Area 51. You also have the different aviation companies. The story of Edwards Air Force Base and its history is very broad. To me: if you're in the Air Force and you want to know if you've had a successful career. If you are one of the selected few to ever get to Edwards Air Force Base. Then you made it. You are a successful person.

PLEASE ADD CLOSED CAPTIONS TO YOUR VIDEOS. I AM HEARING IMPAIRED. I LOVE YOUR PRODUCTIONS BUT LOSE MOST OF THE INFORMATION FOR LACK OF CAPTIONS.

Dances with Wolves music!

@usaturnuranus

9 ай бұрын

Good catch.

We had rockets back then that went threw the sound barrier . That went past Mach 1 or even Mach 2 . These rockets had fins or wings . Both being to control flight . So the sound barrier was known during WW2 and after . The problem was not going threw it it is getting past it . That was the problem . With prop aircraft that could never happen . Pitch could only pull so much at a given speed .

The F-104, a missile with a man in it.

Need closed caption for this video

Did Narrator say "JOHN Northrop"? I thought it was JACK

@slobama

9 ай бұрын

Jack/John same!

18:00 . . . . studying the human bodies tolerance for G-forces . (the Head proceeds to come loose from the Body)

@donkboys

8 ай бұрын

Looks like just the helmet comes off.

Too many ads.

Glen Edwards Obituary. Paul Edwards Canadian Cousin I'm Carlton Scottie Edwards Baby Hulme.

@TheUSMilitaryChannel

9 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing.

You couldn't even credit the Brits with development of the vectored thrust engine and the Harrier.

@larrysorenson4789

9 ай бұрын

Please check your facts very thoroughly.

@trigger399

9 ай бұрын

@@larrysorenson4789 Please read Wikipedia on the Hawker Kestrel.

@user-xj6rr3yv8q

9 ай бұрын

"Wikipedia" is your source?

@trigger399

9 ай бұрын

@@user-xj6rr3yv8q Not Really, I have been interested in aviation for 70+ years, including 12 years as RAF ground crew. The P1127/ Kestrel/ Harrier was under development in UK since 1957 and the USA became involved in the Tripartite Evaluation Squadron with nine Kestrels at RAF West Raynham in 1964/65. At the end of the trials, six aircraft went to the States, of which two were with NASA. The others ended up at Edwards Air Force base so were extensively trialled. Hawker Siddeley Aviation continued development of the Harrier for RAF service and were eventually also sold to the US Marines. Some years later McDonnell Douglas produced the superb AV8 Harrier which was a big improvement on the original.

@brettbuck7362

9 ай бұрын

Another Brit whining about not getting credit for "inventing" something. Particularly something that had been "invented" many times before. The British have done nothing relevant in aviation and almost literally nothing relevant in aerospace since the Battle of Britain.

Ahh, dances with wolves....Ahh, The Right Stuff.....Ahh, Gances with wolves again....Ahh, I dont recognize that music.....Ahh, The Right Stuff again....Ahh, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade....Ahh, I don't recognize that music....

In the heavy aircraft world, I was amazed how flying “techniques” or common practices would become enforced procedures. One of the more interesting ones was a mishap in Japan where the mishap pilot would apply reverse thrust in the flare BEFORE the aircraft touched the runway. It wasn’t in the -1 but after the accident, more than half the pilots in the wing admitted that 1) they did it; 2) they were taught the techniques; and 3) they taught others the same techniques to others. Another example was the bird procedures in Alaska before the AWACS crash where certain assumptions about bird behavior were institutionalized and widely accepted as supported by scientists. They weren’t and directly led to the density of geese roosting around the runway and likely led to the fiasco. The SOF in the tower was burned on this in the accident investigation when nothing he could have done would have affected the outcome.

I'm a Brit, and I stopped watching when it was implied that the Kestral and the Harrier were American designs. Bloody cheek.

@georgeburns7251

9 ай бұрын

They were paid for by America

astronots...moon....hahahahaha

YF 23 was a truly beautifull design, , was faster, more maneuvrability yet the F22 was chosen. . . and abandonned a few years into production. . .

Too bad you didn't talk about the crash of the B-1A. The B-1B almost didn't make it. I liked the B-1A, I do not like the B-1B.

Greatly exaggerated

I am a Brit if it wasn't for Frank Whittler a Brit also you Americans would still be flying props on your machines

I was lucky to grow up around Edwards Air Force Base from 1984 to 1992. I was given a life only so few could understand. Growing up under the cover of the government Above Top Secret Government Black Programs.

Harry Donald Edwards Us Airforce Korean Drama A-20 Attack Plane Navigation And Communication Officer. Dade County Chief Of Communication Officer 10 Codes And National Sales Manager Government Marketing Motorola International Association Of Chiefs Of Police Bag 1990 Tulsa Oklahoma Convention Center.

@glennpetree8554

9 ай бұрын

What the hell are you trying to say...say again, you are coming in broken and stupid..over.

Potentially great vid ruined for me by awfully uneeded intrusive background music. Only the yanks

The Voyager was not at Edwards. The Voyager was at Mojave.

@oldgysgt

9 ай бұрын

It was built at Mojave, but Voyager's world flight takeoff took place on the longest runway at Edwards AFB at 8:01 am local time on December 14, 1986. With all of the fuel onboard, the Mojave Airport runway was not long enough.

space/ war. ????woow space, how many dead.??????war. so whoopee for the space and very sad for the war dead. but then I always thought this was a colossal excuse not to finish war and waste money again on the so-called space race when general peace among your people went to hell. and there were many homeless and hungry people of all races.

Poor quality video. Sad for such a great topic.

@konewone361

9 ай бұрын

Sorry, but what were you expecting. Some of the footage shown here is 50+ years old. Personally I thought it was extremely well done.

Spent 84 to 2010 with the fire department. Awsome job

After this great presentation I was hoping it would finally lead into the controversy of Area 51.

Grew up on a ranch near Edward's AFB in the 1950's early 60's. My mother was secretary to the chief test pilot. Heard many stories saw a few tragedies.