Balls 8 is the aircraft name for a specially modified B-52 that was used by NASA as a mother ship…read more There are planes that are iconic, the Wright Flyer, the 707, the 747, The SR-71 and so on. However none have had as large of an impact on aviation as Balls 8. Balls 8 (a reference to its 008 tailcode) began life as an RB-52B. The RB-52B's were A model B-52's with enhanced reconnaissance capabilities It was turned over to NASA and was modified as a dropship for the revolutionary X-15A. Flying for over 49 years Balls 8 went on to have an illustrious career and served a a drop ship / mothership for many of other programs. Its history can be seen on its right side with painting of almost every drop. Like a mural it tells a story of success and failure. The humor in the men and women who flew and maintained it is evidenced by many of the markings from its nose art to several other misadventures all chronicled on its side. Some of the highlights: (its chronicled in the pics) The alfalfa impact study: a DAST drone deployed its chute before launch and landed in a alfalfa field The F-16 Target Test: During a test where an F-16 was to make a simulated attack, it actually shot at the B-52 with its Vulcan cannon using live rounds :o TFHB: or The Fing hook broke represents the day that the hooks failed on the X-15 pylon. Drops where parachutes failed or the launched vehicle broke up are all represented. Success and failure. all in all it served as dropship for 140 X-15 flights, 17 M2-F2 flights, 37 HL-10 flights, 27 X-24A flights, 41 F-15 RPRV flights, 9 SRB/DTV flights, and 29 F-15/SRV flights.It also carried multiple flights of F-111 Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV), the M2-F3, X-24B, Shuttle Reusable Booster/Drop Test Vehicle (SRB/DTV), Ryan BQM-34 Firebee II, DAST, Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology, Pegasus orbital booster, X-38 Crew Return Vehicles, and the X-43A Hyper-X. One mystery mission revolves around 4 very small bat figures. These missions are unknown but I think they were Senior Prom Stealthy Cruise missiles tested in the 80's The airframe itself is highly modified and the right wing sports a notch in it to allow for tall tail fins of some vehicles and several camera blisters to film drops and launches. Balls 8 serves a gate guard for the North Entrance to Edwards AFB and is accessible to the public. There is very little there however, beyond the aircraft. However, those transiting the area can stop and take a quick look.

Would not let civilians in to see museum I drove 1 1/2 hours and the military guards were rude and…read moredismissive.

Are you driving to Las Vegas on the way to California or vice versa? Don't fly by this hidden gem…read moreif you or someone with you is into aircraft! Joe Davies Heritage Airpark is a family-friendly and unique airplane museum located in Palmdale, California. There are fascinating displays of aircraft that show the historical significance of the United States Air Force like never seen before. It is so cool to see these beauties up-close! There is a collection of aircraft flown, tested, designed, produced or modified planes from the United States Air Force. There are 21 retired military aircraft on display that also includes a 1/8 scale model of the B-2 Spirit, an AGM-28 Hound Dog Missile, a B-52, a C-46, and various aircraft components. I read that once complete, they will have over 40 retired military and civilian aircraft in the future. To top it all off, admission to the park is free! If you are interested in a fun afternoon spent with family, friends, or even solo, Joe Davies Heritage Airpark checks all the boxes!

Interesting and educational outdoor aircraft museum. It is well maintained with various walkways…read morewith informational plaques regarding the planes and jets on exhibit. Be sure to check out the gift shop and adjoining Blackbird Airpark next door. Clean restrooms are available. There is also a limited selection of snacks, bottled water, and sodas in the gift shop. Great place to take family for a morning or afternoon outing. Plenty of parking.

I happen to be working in the area and my company set me up for one night at this hotel, I had a…read morevery easy check in with the young lady at the front desk. Room was very clean. It was a two queen beds in the room, microwave and a little coffee pot. Bathroom was very clean. Plenty of parking in the parking lot. They also had a complementary breakfast in the morning and 24 hour coffee in the lobby.

I really wanna give it a five star review unfortunately I didn't have the best experience this…read moretime. Hopefully next time we'll be able to give it an update and give it a five star review we were stuck in traffic which unfortunately let us to come hours later, so we checked in around 1230 almost 1 o'clock in the morning when I asked the gentleman at night if we could have a late checkout, he said he doesn't see a problem with that, but just let them know in the morning. When I called in the morning, the young lady informed me that they were unable to accommodate me because they don't have any one working to clean the rooms which is hard for me to understand because if there's no one cleaning the room, why couldn't I have a late checkout, I didn't even have the option to pay more to have a later. Check out, it was just a disappointing experience unfortunately. Besides that our rooms are always clean. We get the king suite I must say if you have the opportunity to pay that little extra for this week I always recommend to get the Suite that extra room in there makes a big difference to move around. We happen to make it for breakfast, and there was no more baking at the time, but the lady that was making the food was kind enough to ask us if we wanted anything and she went out of her way to make us some bacon, which I greatly appreciate appreciated. That was extremely kind of her. I'm hoping when we come back next month, we'll have a better experience should we need a late checkout besides that everything else was great.

For plane spotting, The SCLA (or in plane speak its simply called Victorville) is one of the more…read moreboth dull and exciting places to visit. The Southern California Logistics Airport is based on the former George Air Force Base which was active from 1941 to 1992. The airport has no commercial passenger service and is designed for business, military, and freight use. International cargo flights can land here as well due to its "foreign trade zone status". It is also home to several aerial firefighting units etc. and runway 17/35 at 15000 feet is the second largest public runway in the US. Following the grounding of 737 MAX's, Southwest elected to park their entire fleet here pending resolution of the software and flight safety issues that resulted in two crashes. What draws plane nuts to Victorville is the boneyard by and large. There is a large variety of mostly large aircraft that are either being stored (the hot dry climate is ideal) or being dismantled. Row after row of once proud airlines are lined up awaiting their fate's. Depending on how hard core you are you can make out the livery of current and often defunct airlines that have moved on. There are a few mysteries like the near new 787 parked and stored for more than a year. I could not get the tail numbers, but it may be an early production model that is too heavy for commercial use. Beyond the allure of seeing the planes there is not much else to do here. That being said, the city of Victorville has plenty of options for gas and eating, but unless there is a specific aviation event or your waiting for a particular plane to arrive, there is not much else going on at SCLA.

Unexpected stop due to wx late at night the day before Thanksgiving. Ramp crew and front desk…read morepersonnel were incredibly helpful. Special thank you to Irene and James. Got a crew car and allowed to bring back 2 days layer with no fees at all after topping off the tanks (14 gallons). Overall, would have gladly paid fees considering the priority of making it home for Thanksgiving but very grateful for the sense priority the personnel placed in simply ensuring they could all help get my father and I home. Upon my return on Friday, the next crew was just as incredibly helpful. Kudos to management for setting up the right culture as the crew certainly emphasized the trickled down mindset of providing the best customer service. Without a doubt will recommend Million Air to friends and colleagues. Lastly, tower was extremely helpful while in the soup in moderate/severe turbulence. The last minute diversion couldn't of gone better after totally knowing tower shifted their entire focus to providing the upmost assistance possible. Thank you all! -Serg

This is only 5 minutes south of the freeway and worth a stop to do the driving tour. Download a map…read morefrom their website, all of the aircraft have informational plaques and there is a small park with interactive displays including a video. There is an F-4, NASA vehicles, so-called models of Space SHip One form Virgin Galactic and a Voyager mockup plus other sights.

If you're traveling through the Mojave, I need a lunch then this restaurant is a must! Great menu,…read moregreat service, great atmosphere. The table next to us had five guys talking about dismantling passenger planes and selling the parts.

Booked a room here for a wedding . The room was nice and clean, the only complaint was the sink was…read morestopped up. I didn't make a big deal of it. The complimentary breakfast was less than mid for me but it'll do the job, wish they had orange juice. Dwayne made our stay amazing with his impeccable customer service and attention to detail.

My wife and I stayed here while we retrieved items from my late father in a Palmdale storage…read morefacility. We are seniors and just wanted a very small favor, late checkout...but more on that later. BTW, I am "Lifetime Sulver Elite" member that started staying at Marriotts in 1989 for business travel. I still do when the prices are reasonable.. When I arrived there was zero recognition of my well-earned status. Usually yiu get a water or two, a "thank you" for all the yeara I have proudly used Marriott, and a welco.e to the area. But not here...if I wanted water I had to pay $4 or $8 per bottle. On the second day of our stay, my wife requested room cleaning.......but when we got back from a long day in 90+ degree heat there were dirty towels on the floor! The nite manager said they were In the dryer and that he would bring them up in 30 minutes. We got them an hour later. We also asked for an extra laundry bag and they "couldn't find" those. Finally, we asked for the same late check out policy that was a wonderful part of Marriott Rewards for years. I was told that as a Silver member I could not recieve late checkout. Only Gold members could do that. I have stayed at Marriott 20+ times in the last 12 months. I made two calls, one to reservations and one to customer service. The second and very good customer service representative interacted with the manager on had and he connected her to the the general manager via phone for 45 minutes or so. When she got back to me she apologized profusely and let me know that the GM would not grant me a 2 pm late checkout......because they were fully booked. Different that the Gold vs. Silver status explanation I recieved. So.........that night I counted how many parking places were available and I COUNTED AT LEAST 60!!! Sold out hotels don't have 60 spaces available for guests. So along with bad management policies, apparently the GM here has a strange relationship truth and facts. I will NEVER stay at ANY hotel managed by the group in charge of the Palmdale, California Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites on Avenue O-8!

This corporation is hiring illegal Mexican workers who are not properly trained to handle the…read morechemicals that are used on airplanes, the corporation is also using razor blades on the plane to cut the media paper off the plane which if used inproperly will result in a stress fracture on the outer shell of the plane,and while you are in the air you will watch as the plane literally sheds its new paint job. Also this supposedly billion dollar corporation is not paying proper wages to the workers, and not paying raises properly. The BBB has a A+ rating for them but Leading Edge has never properly informed the public of the layoffs that occur during slow times. This corporation is also mishandling their hazardous materials to the extent of having non trained employees in charge of burning the hazmat in the evaporator and not running it throught the proper cleaning stages which have resulted in the burning of dangerous and harmful chemicals into the enviroment. Also the hazardous waste water tanks (6) of them have been full and overflowing into the Victorville Ca sewage system for at least over a year. With the knowledge of this companys illegal and dangerous activities would you knowingly get on an airplane knowing how the paint job was applied and the dangerous steps they have gone to get the job done no matter what the cost is. Boeing, Omega, American Airlines, and United are just a couple of airlines in california that have been doing business with this Billion Dollar corporation. I feel scared and unsafe with the knowledge of this company allowing work done to the plane like that and then with the knowledge of the wrong things done to the plane the managment allows the planes to leave the facility to be put back into commision where we as citizens have to fly on these damaged and unsafe planes. I would not recomend this company to work at or do buisness with.

Annette,, at reception, is very kind, helpful, professional, knowledgeable, and patient ‼…read more Very nice conference room for our Zoom meeting ‼ The Bistro area is very comfortable and relaxing ‼ Fantastic experience overall‼‼

Amazing place... Jada made check in very simple great staff.. shout out to Jada!!!!!!!!!!!read more