30 June 1961 - The Black Vault

F 0 HE:,;' (\ R D
Aircraft flight testing is the primary rnis,sion of the Air
Force Flight Test Center J Edwards Air Force Base. California.
Here industry and the All' Force combi ne d into an integrated t e a "
·v:hich 1s te'otlng tomorrO...i ' .S aero;ipace ::;y stems.
Until July 1961, AFFTC functions also included a missile
static test capabl1fty. In the past the mighty Atl as. Tho!'.
r-11nutem.an J and T1 ta.n missiles were captive .flred to check for
syGt€!m~ rellabil·ity.. S~turnandCenta.ur propulsion systems
currently a.re undergoing contractor .evaluations. This fac111ty
although no longer asslgnedto the AFFTC is also re~pons! b le
for 99 percent of 'the Air Force'S rocket propuls1on system ~
research and development. .
The present NASA/All' FOrce/Navy X-l5 program ,is one ·of the
Cente,r's most lroportantprojects. DuI"lng1961 thislTIanned
reSearch "flying laboratory" achie,veo. . speeds in eXcess of 4,000
m. p .h. and altitudes over 40 m1'1es . . These flightspl"ov1d'e dat~
on theef.fects ofh1gh altitude on man and plane \'{h1Ch '..;111 help
determine fut ure trend.s 1nmannea spacecraft. Up-and-coming are
tl·;·~ 3-70 and D'J1laSOar.
tmbthe.r important development at th~ AFF'TC Nas e rS tab11shment
of an f.e!'o~,pa.co RCf}~3rc . ·h Pilot COUTSe. r~11s, t,;1e world~ S I1iOst
ac.vanced and t(:chn1cal flying school, is designed to pro'vide t i"lC
USAF with a pool of space orIented pilots from which future spaGecrai'tpilotsJProJect
-pilots for aerospace activities, and
technical tnanargerscan be d.tavJn.
Eight.eeh government agencies occupy Center facilities ano 20
[':l r ITIs operate .coT}tractor test f8.0111 ties at the AFFTC. Con t :rftcto
r' S include A~:rojet-General, Ibe'1ng. wuglas. General E'lectric J
Loc}(he ed,. I'ic Connel1.. North f.\,mer':ican J j\orair, Reaction ' Motors"
we s t1ngho.u s e, a nd J e t Propuls ion LaboratorJ,r. Besides government
agenc ies and contractors, the National P.eronau t;l.c .s · and - Sp·ace
Admi nistration maintains its Flight Research Center at Ed.,·:al'd3
Air FOl'c e ~se, the 1). s. Army has. its Av1a t1o'i"L Test Offlce here
to evaluate helicopt·ers J and the Fe deral Avict10n Agenc:,f bull t
a nd nO'11 operates its Radar Approach Control fa .~ili ty here.
The AFF'rC wo rkload 1n 1961 was somewhat evenly divi ded
between aircraft evaluat10ns, missi le development, and suppor·t
of space rr.j.s s ions . The AFFTC ...'as eit her suppc rting or conduc ting
conv€mtlonal syst em tests on bombers, cargo airplanes, fighters)
trainer3 J helicopters , andexper1mental research airplanes. The
AFFTC Expcr i!~ e rl tal Track Branch furn1shed va luable data to contractors
and government agencies cor!cerning cOr.lponents of aircraft,
m1S Siles, munitions; a n d. special ':!eapoI;s. The f.3:::'I,'C
Pronu l s ion Branch aided in development of a i rcraft and rocket
gas' t uro ln e n ginc ~ by means of engineering e valuations and test
l1i