Joe Davies Heritage Airpark, Palmdale

The Plant 42 Heritage Airpark was established in 1997 by the City of Palmdale, opening in 2004, and was renamed in 2008 in honour of Joe Davies, the 3rd Commander of Plant 42, and a city councillor. It is right next door to Blackbird Air Park (there's a short path between the two), but its operation is not directly linked with it. There are no actual buildings, except for a sort of outdoor restoration 'hangar', but there are plans for a visitor centre.

The park is a very pleasant area, with the aircraft well spaced out, and there is an interesting range of planes here, with the theme of having been tested at Plant 42. There is plenty of room for expansion, so expect further interesting aircraft in the future. We visited on 5th May.

Aircraft Reg'n Thumbs Notes
Boeing 747SR (SCA) NASA 911 N911NA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft - the second one converted. Ex JAL JA8117.
Boeing B-52F Stratofortress 57-0038 USAF
Curtiss C-46D Commando 44-78019 USAF ex N32229
Dornier (Lockheed Martin) X-55A (328-300 JET) ACCA (Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft) N807LM The metal 328 fuselage was replaced aft of the entrance door by a completely new composite design. First flight in 2009, arrived here in 2014.
Douglas A-4C Skyhawk 145067 USN
Entrance nacelle   There is a flat entrance as well.
General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon 84-1228 USAF
Grumman F-14D Tomcat 164350 103 USN
Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star 51-4533 USAF
Lockheed F-104C Starfighter 57-0915 USAF
Lockheed C-140A JetStar NASA 814 N814NA USAF
McDonnell F-101F Voodoo 58-0324 USAF
McDonnell F-4D Phantom II 65-0696 USAF
North American (Canadair) Sabre 5 N91FS N91FS Flight Systems. Ex Canadian AF 23231, N231X (NX91FS)
North American AGM-28 Hound Dog 024 Supersonic air launched cruise missile - nuclear-armed.
North American F-100D Super Sabre 54-2299 Genuine USAF Thunderbirds aircraft, in the restoration 'hangar'.
Northrop F-5E Tiger II 741529 USMC ex USAF 74-1529
Northrop T-38A Talon 63-8182 LB USAF
Republic F-105G Thunderchief 62-4416 WW-416 USAF
Scaled Composites (Rutan) 143 Triumph N143SC Business jet prototype. A technical success, but no others were built.
Space Shuttle Evacuation Test Sled    
Vought A-7B Corsair 154449 XE USN

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