The San Bernardino Mountains dominate the skyline to the north of Los Angeles, forming a bowl which tends to trap moisture (and indeed pollutants) and conspires to mean that generally the prevailing conditions in the area can be fairly hazy, especially in the early summer period. As a reasonably regular visitor to the area, I am familiar with conditions like this, and I know that the best way to avoid them is to head inland, past the mountains to the blue skies and drier air of the high desert.
The area to the north of the San Bernardino Mountains is known as the Antelope Valley, and the area is packed with aviation history, being home to the USAF Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB and a multitude of high tech aviation industries at airfields such as Palmdale and Mojave.
One of the smaller airfields in the area is General William J Fox Airport in Lancaster, better known as Fox Field. I have visited Fox Field on several occasions and it is a most pleasant place to visit and often turns up some interesting aircraft. There is a US Forest Service tanker base there, and also a decent museum, the Milestones of Flight collection.
With a day off in LA and needing to escape the gloomy conditions further south, I decided to make my way north to Fox Field, in the hope of catching some fire tankers – although technically the “fire season” has begun, this year the wildfires have thus far been mercifully scarce so there has been little activity in Southern California, in stark contrast to the large wildfires further north in Colorado.
On arriving at Fox, I noticed that there was quite a crowd on the ramp, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had decided to visit on the very day that the airfield was holding an open day! This is the third time that such an event has been held at the airfield, and it was not widely publicised. The event was primarily aimed at local people, aiming to give them an appreciation of some of the activities that go on at the airfield.
Although not an airshow as such, the Air Fair featured a number of aircraft on static display, some of which are resident at Fox Field and some of which were visitors. The highlight for me was seeing a US Marine Corps CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter up close. I’ve encountered Sea Knights before on occasion and I never seem to be in the right place to take photos, so it was pleasing to see one up close for once!
The aircraft came from HMM-764 ‘Moonlight’ based at nearby Edwards AFB. The unit is a reserve unit, but many of the personnel are full time, active duty Marines. The Sea Knight is a very endearing machine, which is starting to get rather long in the tooth. In fact, the MV-22 Osprey has replaced the CH-46 in some of the Medium-Lift Helicopter squadrons in the Marines, but the CH-46 still remains a vital and versatile asset to the Corps.
The Sea Knight probably aroused the most interest amongst the public, but another impressive helicopter which had crowds around it all day was the S-64F Skycrane, operated by Erickson Air Crane and currently on contract to the US Forest Service at Fox Field. The Skycrane is deployed as a fire fighter, equipped with a snorkel to enable it suck up water from a lake or other source before dropping it on a wildfire. The S-64 was accompanied by a fire tender and also by the Forest Service mascot – Smokey Bear!
Whilst neither the Sea Knight nor the Skycrane represent the current level of helicopter technology, displayed between them was a machine from a much earlier generation, a Sikorsky S-55. The S-55 is a fairly rare beast these days, especially in airworthy condition, as the immaculate example at Fox Field appeared to be. The aircraft carried the colours of Grand Canyon helicopters, but is currently untitled, so its operator is not known. I do hope that this wonderful aircraft remains in use as it must make for a tremendous sight in the air.
Most of the fixed wing aircraft on display were light GA aircraft, but there were a couple more substantial types in evidence including a couple of classic jets. The first of these was a former RAF Jet Provost T.5, currently painted in a seemingly fictitious camouflage scheme. The aircraft is based at Fox Field and owned and operated by Robert “Stambo” Stambovsky, a local pilot who was one of the organisers of the event.
The JP also carries nose art depicting Wile E. Coyote, the famous Warner Brothers character. This was complimented by the other jet on display, a very smart Aero L-29 trainer. The L-29 was displayed in the markings of the Czechoslovakian Air Force, with a slightly non-standard Road Runner applied to the forward fuselage! The JP and L-29 were in stark contrast to the oldest aircraft on display, a delightful 1944 Stinson Reliant.
The city of Lancaster is adjacent to Palmdale, the famous home of Lockheed’s Skunk Works and several other high-tech aviation companies and amongst the aircraft currently being tested there is the Boeing 747-8F. To transport its staff from Seattle to California, Boeing has chartered several Dornier 328Jet aircraft from Flightworks and these aircraft have been operating into Fox Field recently. Whilst not really part of the display, there was a Dornier present at Fox which was a welcome sight, especially when it departed during the early part of the afternoon.
Throughout the whole event there were normal airfield GA operations, with plenty of visiting aircraft and some locals flying too. The atmosphere was extremely relaxed, with members of the public free to wander all over the ramp, even when aircraft were taxying! It was certainly refreshing to see that for the most part, common sense meant that no one got in the way of the aircraft moving around on the ground.
The area around the San Bernadino mountains is often plagued by wildfires, particularly at this time of year. After months of dry conditions, the prevailing Santa Ana winds can fan the flames and cause fires to quickly spread out of control. In order to tackle these fires, the US Forest Service has established a base for fire fighting aircraft at Fox Field.
Known as Fox Tanker Base, from September onwards the facility is home to a number of fire-fighting aircraft. On the day of my visit, in addition to the Skycrane, there was also a P-3A Aerostar (Orion) and a P-2 Neptune, the primary fire fighting aircraft in use in the US. The P-3 is operated by Aero Union, who were responsible for converting these ex-US Navy patrol aircraft for a new life as tankers.
The aircraft which the P-3 replaced in the US Navy continues to form the backbone of aerial fire-fighting operations. The Neptune which is currently residing at Fox Tanker Base is owned and operated by the aptly named Neptune Aviation. Although neither the Neptune nor the Orion were displayed during the open day, the staff at the Tanker Base were happy to show me around for some photos.
I’ve had several pleasant days at Fox Field, but this was an especially enjoyable visit. Events such as the Fox Field Air Fair receive little in the way of publicity but represent the true grass roots of aviation in the US. On any given weekend there are probably loads of events such as this going on throughout the country, no doubt helping to inspire and educate future generations of pilots and air-minded folk.
GAR wants to interact with its readers so if you have a question for the author or a comment to make on this feature, please click on the button below. The best comments will appear right here on GAR.2011-04-12 - Bob Stambovsky
Look for the 4th annual Fox Airfair Sept 10th, 2011.
Best wishes
Bob stambovsky
Fox Airport Association
661 816 5101
2010-10-17 - Gav
Nice Pics, always enjoyed going there. Is the Argosy not around any more?
2010-09-22 - Mark Munzel
That's not merely an S-55, it's the S-55QT WhisperJet! See www.whisperjethelicopters.com.
2010-09-21 - Greg Bishop
Hi Paul,
A lot of great information packed into this, along with the excellent range of photos. I'll be sure to watch for the next event. It's very much appreciated that your 'local' articles bring a wealth of information!
Greg Bishop
Collings Fdn.
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