Mojave's 2008 Vets' Day Salute

Today was Mojave's annual salute to the veterans of America's armed services, who have given so much so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we do. For the first time, the ceremony was held in the new Legacy Park, with the Rotary Rocket Roton and the SpaceShipOne replica watching over the happenings. Keynote speaker was Lt. Col. David Smith, USAF, Deputy Director, Test Management Group, 412 Test Wing, and an Experimental Test Flight Radar Navigator attached to the 419 Flight Test Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, and after his inspiring presentation, Taps was played by local trumpeter Jeremy Frye.





In the air overhead, "Skyraider Bob" Grondzik made several passes in his gorgeous AD-6 Skyraider...even in this age of turbo fans and rocket engines at Mojave, there's nothing quite like the growl of a really big radial engine!


The public was invited out onto the flight line to mingle with a number of aircraft on static display, including Al and Cathy Hansen's UH-1, S2F and F-86, the National Test Pilot School's unique TurboDak PT-6A-powered DC-3, XCOR's world-record-setting EzRocket and Cory Bird's incomparable one-of-a-kind Symmetry (just looking at this plane, one has to wonder if it's a machine or a work of art...or if the answer is "yes").

And while it wasn't part of the official display, not far down the ramp WhiteKnightTwo VMS Eve sat doing engine runs. The day can only be summed up with "only at Mojave...."