Plant 42 Skunk Works Current Projects A General Overview Of

Located in the southern Antelope Valley, Plant 42 is strategically located near Los Angeles area defense and aerospace contractor companies, as well as Edwards Air Force Base's high-speed test corriders used under the direction of the base's Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC). It is 65 miles (105 km) from the LA Civic Center and 37 miles (60 km) from Edwards' flightline.

1 Skunk Works

Lockheed's famed Skunk Works is at Site 10 of the complex, near Sierra Highway, and relocated to Plant 42 from its original Burbank Airport (now Bob Hope Airport) site in Burbank after the end of the Cold War. Its present hangar was constructed in 1968Events Undated Booker Prize for Fiction is established by Booker plc. 1968 is known as the year of the Prague Spring and also the year of the Paris riots. The ASCII character code is standardized as ANSI Standard X3. Nauru adopt his national anthem of the and the outer walls of the structure were put up in a matter of days. Its hanger originally was built for the Lockheed L-1011The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar was the third widebody passenger jet airliner to reach the marketplace, following the Boeing 747 "jumbo jet" and the Douglas DC-10. In the 1960s, American Airlines approached Lockheed and competitor Douglas with a need for an a Tristar passenger jet project. Lockheed Martin owns certain buildings at Site 10 it uses.

2 Current projects

Include design, engineering, pre-production, production, modification, flight testing, servicing and repair mission related activities to the following:

3 A general overview of Plant 42

Plant 42 controls over 5,800 acres (23 km²) of Mojave Desert land north of Avenue P and south of Avenue M. The western border is Sierra Highway, and the Plant extends east to around 40th Street East (currently unconstructed). It has two runways: 7/24, and 7/25. Runway 7/25 was built to withstand an 8.3 Richter Scale earthquake, and because of its status as one of the world's strongest runways, is a tremendous asset to the Antelope Valley and to California's infrastructure and economy. It currently has an employment level of around 6,400 and has a combined annual payroll of over $320 million (USD). It generally ranks third overall as the Antelope Valley's largest employer, trailing only Edwards Air Force Base and Los Angeles County in the number of workers employed.

4 Civilian air transport operations

In 1989, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a department of the City of Los Angeles and the U. S. Air Force came to an agreement concerning use of the Plant 42 complex's facilities and land for commercial use. Per that agreement, only a maximum of 400 flights are allowed per day. LAWA has used Plant 42's facilities in past years when at one point in the early 1990's several airlines used the Palmdale Regional Airport terminal sited on Plant 42. As of 2004 no airline uses the civilian terminal. Negotiations are currently under way for an air carrier to provide service, however.

5 History

The property now called Plant 42 was first activated as an emergency air landing strip in 1940 prior to the entry of the United States in World War II. It also provided B-25 training to military aviators during the war. Declared surplus by the federal government in 1946, it became a commercial airport for Los Angeles County. The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 caused the Air Force to reactivate the property for use in final assembly and flight testing of military jet aircraft.

Both the U. S. Air Force and its aircraft contractors needed a location away from major population centers - due to sonic booms, other noises and security concerns - but close enough to the major centers of aircraft design and production, while having excellent flying weather the year around. The land which became Plant 42 fit the bill perfectly from the perspectives of all the concerned interests in military aircraft and national defense. Consequently, the Air Force agreed to purchase the land from Los Angeles County in 1951. Lockheed put together a master plan for the property per its Air Force contract, and after the approval of this master plan in 1953, the County transferred ownership of the land to the Federal Government in 1954. Since then Lockheed, looked upon with favor by the Air Force at this time, established its permanent presence at Plant 42. Its first step in doing so was to sign a lease in 1956 for 237 acres (1 km²) for use in its Air Force support programs of manufacturing aircraft and flight testing.

6 Past projects

Include:

Each of the Space Shuttles
Modernization of the Space Shuttle Columbia's cockpit area
Lockheed L-1011 Tristar passenger jet
B-1 Lancer Bomber
XB-70
X-15
SR-71 Blackbird

and many, many others besides these few. Blackbird Airpark and adjacent Heritage Airpark have recently been opened just inside Plant 42, and present free to the public the SR-71 and other aircraft designed, engineereed, manufactured, and flight tested at its facilities. The airpark is manned by AFFTC Museum volunteers, who in many cases are retirees who had previously been employed on the aircraft they show and have since carefully restored, sans engines. Operating hours of the Airpark are Friday through Sunday (except in inclement weather) from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Pacific Time. On Federal Government holidays the Airpark is closed. The two airparks are located at Avenue P and 30th Street East near Site 9.

7 FAA operations

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) operates its Los Angeles Flight Control center at its site on Plant 42 by Avenue P and 25th Street East. This center controls and tracks aircraft for the western United States, and covers non-local aircraft communication needs flying over California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. The center's staff, which also is made up of personnel in other locations outside the Antelope Valley, was recognized for outstanding service in the FAA and aviation industry in 2004.

8 References

9 External links

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