The Mojave
Virtual Museum
Photo Library
First Flights
The Mojave Airport is officially known as the Civilian Flight Test Center, and as such is the scene for many "first flights" of new and experimental designs. Here are some of the historic "firsts". |
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Rotary Rocket's Roton vehicle is shown on what is actually its third flight. The first two were hovers, and landed in the same spot that they took off. This, the third and last flight of the Roton, transited down the length of the Mojave runway. The Roton was a proof-of-concept vehicle designed to flight test the rotor system that would have later been fitted to a space-going version, had the program not run out of funding. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace. |
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XCOR Aerospace's EZRocket, with test pilot Dick Rutan at the controls, on its first flight on July 21, 2001. EZRocket is a rocket-powered version of the Rutan Long-EZ, and is used as a flight test vehicle by XCOR to develop small rocket engines that will eventually power sub-orbital aircraft. XCOR has set a number of firsts at Mojave, which can be seen by clicking here. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace. |
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Toyota TA-1, built by Scaled Composites - May 31, 2002. Photo by Alan Radecki |
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GE90-115B, largest and most powerful jet engine in the world, September 18, 2002. Photo by Alan Radecki |
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GE90-115B, largest and most powerful jet engine in the world, September 18, 2002. Photo by Alan Radecki |