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The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of . It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

on June 17, 2004. The facility covers 2,998 acres (1,213 ha) and has three runways.

History

In 1935,

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

opened the Mojave Airport east of Mojave, California to serve the gold and silver mining industry in the area. The airport had two dirt runways, one oiled, but no fueling or servicing facilities. In 1941, the

Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: T ...

began improvements to the airport for national defense purposes that included two asphalt runways and a taxiway. Kern County agreed the airport could be taken over by the military in the event of war. After the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

in December 1941, the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

took over the airport and expanded it into Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station (MCAAS) Mojave. The two runways were extended and a third one added. Barracks were constructed to house 2,734 male and 376 female military personnel. The expansion of MCAAS Mojave was done by Vinson & Pringle and

Del E. Webb Construction Company The Del E. Webb Construction Company was a construction company that was founded in 1928 and developed by Del Webb. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, it became the Del E. Webb Corporation a publicly traded company on the New York ...

out of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. Civilian employment at the base would peak at 176. The Marines would eventually spend more than $7 million on the base, which totaled . Many of the Corps' World War II aces received their gunnery training at Mojave. During World War II, Mojave hosted 29 aircraft squadrons, four Carrier Aircraft Service Detachments, and three Air Warning Squadrons. At its peak, the air station had 145 training and other aircraft. Mojave also had a 75 x 156 foot swimming pool that was used to train aviators in emergency water egress and for recreation. The base's 900-seat auditorium hosted several USO shows that featured

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

, Frances Langford and

Marilyn Maxwell Marvel Marilyn Maxwell (August 3, 1921 – March 20, 1972) was an American actress and entertainer. In a career that spanned the 1940s and 1950s, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War ...

. With the end of World War II, MCAAS was disestablished on February 7, 1946; a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Air Station (NAS) was established the same day. The Navy used the airport for 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 was reactivated as an auxiliary landing field to MCAS El Toro. In 1951, scenes from the movie '' The Las Vegas Story'' were filmed at the deserted airport. A helicopter chased a car around the base, at several points flying at speed through an open-ended hangar. The control tower shown on the RHS of this article was featured at the climax of the chase. On 22 August 1951, the 11th Naval District announced the award to R. R. Hensler, of Sun Valley, of a $1.307 million contract for the extension and strengthening of the runway at the Marine Corps auxiliary airfield. The airport was recommissioned as a MCAAS on December 31, 1953. Squadrons used Mojave for ordnance training when El Toro had bad weather. Marine Corps reserve units were temporarily deployed to Mojave for two-week periods. MCAAS Mojave personnel peaked at 400 military and 200 civilians during this period. In 1961, after the Marine Corps transferred operations to MCAS El Centro,

obtained title to the airport. In February 1972, the East Kern Airport District (EKAD) was formed to administer the airport; EKAD maintains the airport to this day. To a great extent EKAD was the brainchild of Kern County rancher and aviator Dan Sabovich, who heavily lobbied the state for the airport district's creation and ran EKAD until 2002. From 1974 to 1979,

Golden West Airlines Golden West Airlines was a commuter airline that operated flights on a high volume schedule in California. It ceased operations in 1983. History The original Golden West Airlines, headquartered at Van Nuys, California, was founded in 1968 a ...

scheduled flights on de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters direct to Los Angeles ( LAX). On November 20, 2012, the EKAD Board of Directors voted to change the name of the district to the Mojave Air and Space Port. Officials said that the spaceport name is well known around the world, but EKAD is not. The change took effect on January 1, 2013. In 2022, "Rutan Field" was added to the airport's name in honor of the Rutan brothers (

Burt Burt is a given name and also a shortened form of other names, such as Burton and Herbert, or a place name. Burt may refer to: People *Burt Alvord (1866–after 1910), American Old West lawman and outlaw *Burt Bacharach (born 1928), American com ...

and Dick), its board stating that the Rutans' aviation achievements "have played a key role in the evolution of the aerospace industry and the success of the Mojave Air & Space Port organization."

Activities

Besides being a general-use public airport, Mojave has three main areas of activity: flight testing, space industry development, and aircraft heavy maintenance and storage.

Air racing

The airport has a rich history in air racing. In 1970, a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Unlimited race was held—the first closed-course pylon race to include pit stops. The race was notable in that it featured a DC-7 that flew non-stop and finished sixth out of twenty aircraft. The race was won by Sherm Cooper in a highly modified

Hawker Sea Fury The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft ...

which also flew non-stop. The following year the race was shortened to , and was again won by a Hawker Sea Fury, this time flown by Frank Sanders. From 1973 to 1979 Air Race Management (run by famed race pilots

Clay Lacy Hershel Clay Lacy (born August 14, 1932) is the founder and former chief executive officer of Clay Lacy Aviation, established in 1968 as the first executive jet charter company in the Western United States. His professional resume includes pilot ...

and Lyle Shelton) organized a series of Reno-syle races at Mojave featuring Unlimiteds, T-6's, Formula-1's, and Biplanes. In 1973 and '74, the program also included jet races. Unlimited winners at Mojave included Lyle Shelton in 1973, Mac McClain in 1974 and 1976, Dr. Cliff Cummins in 1975, and

Steve Hinton Steve Hinton is an American aviator who held a world speed record from 1979 to 1989 and won six Unlimited-class air races, including two national championships. He won four consecutive Unlimited races in one year, and remains the only pilot ever t ...

in 1978 and '79. The races at Mojave were hampered by constant winds, and extreme temperatures. In the 2000s, California HWY 58 was extended to bypass the town of Mojave, which cut directly across the race course—thus precluding any future racing events on the site. In 1983, Frank Taylor set the 15 kilometer (9.3 mile) closed-course speed record at at Mojave in the P-51 Dago Red. Over the years, several notable teams have been based out of Mojave. In 1990 Scaled Composites rolled out the radical Pond Racer, built and tested on-site. In the mid-1990s, the Museum of Flying based its two racers

Dago Red ''Dago Red'' is a North American P-51 Mustang (44-74996), restored as a competitive air racer by Frank Taylor in 1981. Dago Red holds several world records, including the 15 km (517.323 mph) set in 1983. Frank Taylor piloted the plane ...

and Stiletto out of Mojave as well. Since the early 1980s, the oft-talked about, but rarely seen, Wildfire (a custom-built Unlimited based around a T-6 airframe) has slowly been developed in a Mojave hangar. Ralph Wise's many air racing projects, including the Sport Class Legal GT400 and his V-8 powered unlimited, the GT500, both were designed and built at Mojave (the GT500 spent its early life at

Camarillo Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

). The GT 400 Quicksilver ultralight program is also based out of Mojave.

Flight testing

Flight testing activities have been centered at Mojave since the early 1970s, due to the lack of populated areas surrounding the airport. It is also favored for this purpose due to its proximity to Edwards Air Force Base, where the airspace is restricted from ground level to an unlimited height, and where there is a supersonic corridor. Mojave is also the home of the

National Test Pilot School The National Test Pilot School (NTPS) is the only civilian test-pilot school in the United States, located in Mojave, California. It is organized as a not-for-profit educational institute under California state law and is governed by a board of ...

Scaled Composites Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to deve ...

and Virgin Galactic/ The Spaceship Company.

Space industry development

Beginning with the Rotary Rocket program, Mojave became a focus for small companies seeking a place to develop space access technologies. Mojave Spaceport has been a test site for several teams in the Ansari X Prize, most notably the

SpaceShipOne SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique " feathering ...

, which conducted the first privately funded human sub-orbital flight on June 21, 2004. Other groups based at the Mojave Spaceport include or have included

XCOR Aerospace XCOR Aerospace was an American private spaceflight and rocket engine development company based at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, Midland International Air and Space Port, Midland International Air and Spaceport in Midland, T ...

Masten Space Systems Masten Space Systems was an aerospace manufacturer startup company in Mojave, California (formerly in Santa Clara, California) that was developing a line of vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rockets, initially for uncrewed research sub- ...

, Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company, Stratolaunch Systems, and Firestar Technologies. Other companies with operations at Mojave include or have included

Orbital Sciences Corporation Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...

, Vector Launch and Interorbital Systems. The East Kern Airport District was given spaceport status by the

for the Mojave Air and Spaceport through June 16, 2019.

Aircraft heavy maintenance, storage and event center

The Mojave airport is also known as a storage location for commercial airliners, due to the vast area and dry desert conditions. Numerous

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it pro ...

, Lockheed, and

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...

jetliners including wide-body aircraft previously or currently owned by major domestic and international airlines are stored at Mojave. Some aircraft reach the end of their useful lifetime and are scrapped at the Mojave aircraft boneyard, while others are refurbished and returned to active service. The airport refurbished an old

hangar from the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

era into a modern event center. It was previously used for water survival training then transformed into the Stuart O. Witt Event Center with over 23,000sf of multi-use space.

First flights and significant events

* July 1, 1942 — Construction begins on

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

Auxiliary Air Station at Mojave. * July 31, 1944 — USMC Capt. Edward Shaw, a decorated World War II ace, was killed while test-flying an F4U Corsair * February 7, 1946 — MCAAS disestablished. * December 31, 1953 — MCAAS Mojave re-established. * May 21, 1975 — First flight of the

Rutan VariEze The Rutan VariEze is a composite, canard aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. It is a high-performance homebuilt aircraft, hundreds of which have been constructed. The design later evolved into the Long-EZ and other, larger cabin canard aircraf ...

* June 30, 1978 — First flight of the Rutan Defiant * June 12, 1979 — First flight of the prototype of the

Rutan Long-EZ The Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ is a tandem 2-seater homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan's Rutan Aircraft Factory. The Long-EZ has a canard layout, a swept wing with wingtip rudders, and a pusher engine and propeller. The tricycle landing ...

* April 3, 1980 — First prototype

Bombardier Challenger 600 The Bombardier Challenger 600 series is a family of business jets developed by Canadair after a Bill Lear concept, and then produced from 1986 by its new owner, Bombardier Aerospace. At the end of 1975, Canadair began funding the development ...

crashed in the Mojave desert, killing one of the pilots; flight test program was operating from Mojave at the time. * September 25, 1981 — National Test Pilot School opens * August 23, 1983 — First flight of the Boeing Skyfox * August 29, 1983 — First flight of Beech/Scaled Composites Model 115 Starship * January 7, 1986 — Voyager homecoming, after round-the-world record flight. * July 12, 1988 — First flight of the Scaled Composites Triumph * February 19, 1990 — First flight of the Scaled Composites ARES * July 26, 1998 — First flight of the

Scaled Composites Proteus The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high-altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to ...

* March 1, 1999 — Rollout of the Rotary Rocket Roton ATV. * July 28, 1999 — First flight of the Rotary Rocket Roton ATV. * October 12, 1999 — Third, final and longest flight of Rotary Rocket Roton ATV. * October 8, 2000 — First firing of an

LOX Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an appli ...

-powered rocket engine. * July 21, 2001 — First flight of the XCOR EZ-Rocket, flown by

Dick Rutan Richard Glenn Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight w ...

(single-engine configuration). * October 6, 2001 — First flight of a twin engine rocket plane, again the XCOR EZ-rocket. * May 31, 2002 — First flight of the Toyota TAA-1, built by

. * July 24, 2002 — First touch-and-go of a rocket-powered aircraft, the XCOR EZ-Rocket (world record). * August 1, 2002 — First flight of

Scaled Composites White Knight The Scaled Composites Model 318 White Knight (now also called ''White Knight One'') is a jet-powered carrier aircraft that was used to launch its companion SpaceShipOne, an experimental spaceplane. The White Knight and SpaceShipOne were designed b ...

* September 18, 2002 — First flight of world's largest jet engine, GE90-115B on GE's Boeing 747 testbed aircraft. * May 20, 2003 — First captive flight, unmanned, of

* July 29, 2003 — First manned captive flight of

* August 7, 2003 — First free-flight of

* December 17, 2003 — First powered flight of

, on 100th anniversary of powered flight by the Wright Brothers. * March 5, 2004 — First flight of the

Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer The Scaled Composites Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer ( registered N277SF) is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan in which Steve Fossett first flew a solo nonstop airplane flight around the world in slightly more than 67 hours (2 days 19 h ...

* June 17, 2004 — Mojave designated a Spaceport by the FAA. * June 21, 2004 —

SpaceShipOne flight 15P Flight 15P of SpaceShipOne (X0) was the first privately funded human spaceflight. It took place on June 21, 2004. It was the fourth powered test flight of the Tier One program, the previous three test flights having reached much lower altitudes ...

, the first spaceflight of

. * September 29, 2004 — First Ansari X Prize flight of SpaceShipOne. * October 4, 2004 — X-Prize-winning flight of SpaceShipOne. * June 21, 2005 — First captive flight of Boeing X-37 under

* December 3, 2005 — First departure of a rocket-powered aircraft on a point-to-point flight (XCOR EZ-Rocket, departed MHV for California City, flown by Dick Rutan). * December 15, 2005 — First arrival of a rocket-powered aircraft on a flight originating at another airport (XCOR EZ-Rocket return flight from California City, piloted by Rick Searfoss). * April 7, 2006 — First free flight of Boeing X-37 (take-off from Mojave, landing at Edwards) * January 23, 2007 — First flight of the Lockheed CATBird * July 26, 2007 — Explosion with at least three fatalities at

facility. *January, 2008 — Arrival of C-GAUN involved in the incident of Air Canada Flight 143 for retirement.Storied 'Gimli Glider' on final approach
", ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' *December 21, 2008 — First flight of Scaled Composites WhiteKnightTwo *October 7, 2009 —

Lunar Lander Challenge The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (NG-LLC) was a competition funded by NASA's Centennial Challenges program. The competition offered a series of prizes for teams that launch a vertical takeoff/vertical landing (VTVL) rocket that achiev ...

flight by

wins second place for Level 1 of the NASA competition *October 30, 2009 —

flight by

wins first place for Level 2 of the NASA competition *January 16, 2010 — AOPA president Craig Fuller came to speak at MHV. *May 26, 2010 —

completes the first ever flight of a vertical take-off, vertical landing (VTVL) vehicle with successfully re-light the rocket engine. *October 10, 2010 — First flight of Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo *February 9, 2011 — First flight of Scaled Composites Firebird *March 30, 2011 — First flight of Scaled Composites BiPod *January 20, 2012 — Stratolaunch Systems breaks ground for production facility and hangar. *November 5, 2012 — First flight of Wasabi Air Racing Siren *April 20, 2013 — Mojave Experimental Fly-in *April 29, 2013 — First rocket powered flight of Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo *April 16–20, 2014 — Mojave Experimental Fly-in and Week of Record Setting *July 28, 2014 — Mo'Venture Team Flies Non-Stop to EAA Airventure 2014 in Oshkosh Wisconsin *October 31, 2014 — The VSS ''Enterprise'', a

SpaceShipTwo The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic. SpaceShipTwo is ...

class experimental test flight vehicle, crashes during a test flight, killing one of the pilots and injuring the other. *May 3, 2017 - First suborbital test flight of prototype rocket Vector-R 0.1 by Vector Space Systems *December 13, 2018 - The VSS ''Unity'', a Virgin Galactic

class vehicle, reaches

suborbital spaceflight A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital re ...

for the first time. *April 13, 2019 - First flight of Stratolaunch Systems aircraft, the world's largest aircraft by wingspan. *May 25, 2020 - First launch of Launcher One by

Virgin Orbit Virgin Orbit is a company within the Virgin Group which launch service provider, provides launch services for small satellites. On January 17, 2021, their ''LauncherOne'' rocket successfully reached orbit for the first time, and successfully dep ...

(sibling company of Virgin Galactic), which failed shortly after ignition *January 17, 2021 - First successful Launcher One mission, ELaNa XX

Civilian Aerospace Test Center test programs

* Boeing X-37 *

Eclipse 500 The Eclipse 500 (model EA500) is a very light jet (VLJ) originally produced by Eclipse Aviation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The company was founded in 1998 to develop the 1997 Williams V-Jet II demonstrator. The prototype firs ...

(crosswind landing data) * General Electric CF34 *

General Electric GE90 The General Electric GE90 is a family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines built by GE Aviation for the Boeing 777, with thrust ratings from . It entered service with British Airways in November 1995. It is one of three options for the 777 ...

* Lockheed CATBird (post modification and systems flight test) * Lockheed Martin

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...

(crosswind landing data) * Lockheed Martin

VH-71 Kestrel The Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel was a variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly the EH101) that was being manufactured to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One U.S. Presidential transport fleet. Originally marketed for vario ...

McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) MD-90 is an American five-abreast single-aisle airliner developed by McDonnell Douglas from its successful model MD-80. The airliner was produced by the developer company until 1997 and then by Boeing Comme ...

MD-90-30 flight test at The Mojave Virtual Museum Photo Library, Mojave Airport, Flight Test and Development
* Air Tractor 401 modified with an

Orenda Aerospace Orenda Engines was a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer and parts supplier. As part of the earlier Avro Canada conglomerate, which became Hawker Siddeley Canada, they produced a number of military jet engines from the 1950s through the 1970s, a ...

OE600 engine (certification flight test program)"Orenda Recip Engines performs final air tractor tests", ''Aerotech News and Review'', 2001-01-26 * Rotary Rocket *

White Knight and

* Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 (envelope expansion, flutter, stability and control, crosswind takeoffs and landings) *

Adaptive Compliant Wing An adaptive compliant wing is a wing which is flexible enough for aspects of its shape to be changed in flight. Flexible wings have a number of benefits. Conventional flight control mechanisms operate using hinges, resulting in disruptions to the ...

developed by FlexSys Inc flight tested on White KnightScott, William B, "Morphing Wings", ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', 2006-11-27Scott, William B, "White Knight Back in Action", ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', 2006-11-27

World records set

* FAI Class C-1, unlimited weight **Group 1, internal combustion engine ***Speed over a straight 15/25 km course: P-51 Mustang N5410V piloted by Frank Taylor, 832.12 km/h, July 30, 1983.FAI World Aviation Records Database, accessed June 26, 2011
**Group 3, turbojet ***Speed over recognised course: Mojave to

Gander, Newfoundland Gander is a town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately south of Gander Bay, south of Twillingate and east of Grand Falls-Windsor. Located on the nor ...

, Canadair Challenger CL601 N601TG piloted by Aziz Ojjeh, 816.48 km/h July 24, 1984. **Group 4, rocket engine ***Altitude Gain, Airplane Launched from a Carrier Aircraft: 85,743 meters,

piloted by

Mike Melvill Michael Winston Melvill (born November 30, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a world-record-breaking pilot and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShip ...

, June 21, 2004. ***Distance: 16 km, XCOR EZRocket piloted by

, December 3, 2005 *FAI Class C-1a, Landplanes: takeoff weight 300 to 500 kg **Group 1, internal combustion engine ***Distance,

piloted by Frank Hertzler, Mojave to

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in and the seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the tip of the state's Eastern Panhandle region in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Its population was 18,835 in the 2021 census estimate, making it the largest city in the E ...

, 3,563.02 km, July 15, 1984. ***Speed over 3 km course with restricted altitude: Sharp Nemesis piloted by Jon Sharp, 466.83 km/h, November 15, 1998 (aircraft now on display at the National Air and Space Museum) ***Speed over straight 15/25 km course: Sharp Nemesis piloted by Jon Sharp, 454.77 km/h, October 31, 1998. *FAI Class C-1b, Landplanes: takeoff weight 500 to 1000 kg **Group 1, internal combustion engine ***Distance over a closed course:

N79RA piloted by

, 7,725.3 km, December 15, 1979. ***Speed over a closed circuit of 2,000 km without payload. Rutan Catbird N187RA piloted by

, 401.46 km/h, January 29, 1994. ***Speed over straight 3 km course: GP-5 Sweet Dreams piloted by

Lee Behel Wesley "Lee" Behel was an American aviator and air racing champion. He was the creator and, at the time of his death the president, of the "Sport Class" a group of racing airplanes designed for planes under 1000 cubic inches in size that participa ...

, 377.6 m/h, April 12, 2014. ***Speed over straight 15/25 km course: GP-5 Sweet Dreams piloted by

, 378.7 m/h, April 12, 2014. ***Time To Climb 3 km: GP-5 Sweet Dreams piloted by Lee Behel, 2:00 min, April 12, 2014. **Group 4, Rocket engine ***Distance: 16 km, XCOR EZ-Rocket piloted by

, December 3, 2005 *FAI Class C-1c, Landplanes: takeoff weight 1000 to 1750 kg **Group 1, internal combustion engine ***Speed over a closed circuit of 2,000 km without payload. Rutan Catbird N187RA piloted by

, 413.78 km/h, March 2, 1994. ***Speed Over a Recognized Course. Mooney 20J N201KC piloted by Christopher Freeze, 280.52 km/h, May 19, 2009 ***Speed over a closed circuit of 1,000 km without payload. Lancair Legacy piloted by Mike Patey, 319 m/h, April 18, 2014. ***Speed over a closed circuit of 2,000 km without payload. Lancair Legacy piloted by Mike Patey, 319 m/h, April 18, 2014. ***Speed over a closed circuit of 5,000 km without payload. Rutan Catbird N187RA piloted by Zachary Reeder, 344.44 km/h, April 14, 2014. *FAI Class C-1d, Landplanes: takeoff weight 1750 to 3000 kg **Group 1, internal combustion engine ***Distance over a closed course,

Rutan Voyager The Rutan Model 76 Voyager was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot (4,600 m) runway in the Moja ...

N269VA, piloted by

and Jeana Yeager, Vandenberg, California to Mojave, 18,658.16 km, July 15, 1986. **Group 4, rocket engine ***Altitude Gain, Airplane Launched from a Carrier Aircraft: 85,743 meters,

piloted by

, June 21, 2004. *FAI Class C-1e, Landplanes: takeoff weight 3,000 to 6,000 kg **Group 2, turbojet ***Altitude:

N281PR, piloted by

and Robert Waldmiller, 19,277 m, October 25, 2000. ***Altitude in horizontal flight:

N281PR, piloted by

and Robert Waldmiller, 19,015 m, October 25, 2000. ***Altitude with 1,000 kg payload:

N281PR, piloted by

and Robert Waldmiller, 17,067 m, October 27, 2000.

Notable pilots, engineers and other people

Brian Binnie William Brian Binnie (April 26, 1953 – September 15, 2022) was a United States Navy officer and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites and flown from 2003 to 2004. Early life ...

* Fitzhugh L. Fulton *

- pilot of

Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the recor ...

- founder of

- pilot of the first non-stop, un-refueled flight around the world with Jeana Yeager in the

* Richard A. Searfoss * Doug Shane * Peter Siebold * Jim Tighe SpaceShipTwo’s PF-04: A High-Risk Flight
Douglas Messier, Parabolic Arc, 9 November 2015, accessed 2015-11-28. * Stuart O. Witt - former CEO of Mojave Air and Space Port and member of the National Space Council Users Advisory Group * George T. Whitesides - CEO of Virgin Galactic * Jeana Yeager - pilot of the first non-stop, unrefueled flight around the world with

in the

Accidents and incidents

On July 26, 2007, there was a test stand accident at

that killed three employees and injured three others. The accident occurred during work on Virgin Galactic's

. On February 4, 2009, Douglas DC-3-65/AR N834TP of the

was substantially damaged in a take-off accident. Both sets of undercarriage and the port engine were ripped off. The aircraft was on a local training flight. The accident was caused by an incorrectly set rudder trim. On Oct. 31, 2014, the

spacecraft VSS ''Enterprise'' broke up during a test flight after being dropped from the WhiteKnightTwo VMS Eve carrier aircraft.

co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed. Scaled Composites pilot Peter Siebold parachuted to safety. SpaceShipTwo was being developed by Scaled Composites for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company. The accident occurred about north of the Mojave Air & Space Port, where the test flight originated.

Notes

External links

Official Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV) website
* *

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060620080704/http://www.mojave.ca.us/museum/index.htm Mojave Transportation Museum — virtual museum websitebr>Yahoo Groups.com: Mojave Airport Group
— with discussions index
Airliners.net: Mojave Airport photos
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd33W2K3Ncc YouTube.com: video on Mojave Air & Space Port (MHV)
''Popular Mechanics'' 2009 cover story: "Mojave Air & Space Port"

KMHV page at ClearanceWiki
— airport notes for instrument-rated pilots {{Authority control Spaceports in the United States Airports in Kern County, California Aircraft boneyards Mojave, California Mojave Desert Buildings and structures in Kern County, California Science and technology in Greater Los Angeles Scaled Composites Virgin Galactic Airports established in 2004 2004 establishments in California Del E. Webb buildings

History

Activities

Air racing

Flight testing

Space industry development

Aircraft heavy maintenance, storage and event center

First flights and significant events

Civilian Aerospace Test Center test programs

World records set

Notable pilots, engineers and other people

Accidents and incidents

See also

Notes

External links