Articles written by Cathy Hansen
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EAA Friendship Tour with Mike Melvill and Dick Rutan
I was reminded recently of the exciting and terribly hazardous trip that Mike Melvill and Dick Rutan undertook in 1997, flying their homebuilt Long-EZs around the world with the EAA Friendship Tour....
Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson's Skunk Works Chief Test Pilot – Bob Gilliland
Robert J. 'Bob' Gilliland has logged more experimental supersonic test flights above Mach 2 and Mach 3 than any other pilot. He was the SR-71 project test pilot for and personal friends with Kelly...
Double Korean Ace – Frederick 'Boots' Blesse
During the Korean War, comparisons between the F-86 and MiG-15 were always made by the pilots on both sides. The MiG was able to fly higher and always had the advantage for the start of battles. The...
Saluting a gathering of Test Pilot Schools
The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) Class #154 from Patuxent River, MD; The U.S. Air Force TPS Class #18 from Edwards AFB and the National Test Pilot School Classes 18A and 18B...
Brig. Gen. Robert L. Cardenas, USAF
Do you know the feeling of meeting a person and instantly there seems to be a connection? That often happens to me when meeting folks from the aviation community. In 2005, at the Aerospace Walk of...
I'm dreaming of a Beaver on floats!
I think the heat is getting to me as I find myself longing for a little cool! I am daydreaming and looking at all of our photos that we took when we visited Alaska. Ooooo, the image of a Beaver on...
Flying in a rare Fieseler Storch
Steve Ericson gave a great presentation at Plane Crazy Saturday last month. He spoke about new aircraft he had designed and old aircraft he had restored. One of the historic aircraft he used to own...
If we could go back in time
Have you every wished you could go back in time? I have heard several people say they wished they could go back to the days when the air races were held at Mojave. Great sounds from magnificent warbir...
Racing warbirds – F4U Corsairs
As I get older, I find myself remembering wonderful and crazy things I did in my younger days. Like the time I towed an F4U Corsair fuselage behind a pickup truck from Lancaster Fox Field to Mojave...
Greatest Generation WWII Navy Veteran – Cal Emerson
Our good buddy at Bakersfield Council Navy League, Cal Emerson, passed away Wednesday morning, June 13, 2018. He was 91. His daughter Sandy believes it was a heart attack. Please keep her in your...
A NASA test pilot at Mojave
Isn't it funny how we can witness history in the making and not realize at the moment how significant it is? Mel Langford, Construction Manager at Mojave Air & SpacePort, and I were discussing...
A 1942 Stearman in the Vintage Air Rally
Living and working around Mojave Air & Spaceport is always exciting! We feel so fortunate to be surrounded by a community of aerospace design engineers and home-builders at our home field. There...
Flying B-17s in World War II
Doug Clipperton, Mojave Chamber of Commerce President, has shared some exciting war stories about his father, Eldred N. Clipperton, U. S. Army Air Corps B-17 pilot. Recently, Doug's brother came...
This year marked the 76th Anniversary of the Doolittle Raiders
Morale in America was low after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and something needed to be done to raise the spirits of the people who found themselves plunged into World War II. A U.S....
Dan Yost USAF Pilot and C-7 Caribou in Vietnam
Retired U.S. Air Force veteran, Dan Yost gave a presentation about flying the DeHavilland Canada, DHC-4 or C-7 Caribou in Vietnam at Plane Crazy Saturday, held at Mojave Air & Spaceport on March...
U.S. Naval Test Pilots at Mojave Airport
For the past 21 years, in March and September, we have invited the graduating class of the Navy Test Pilot School from Patuxent River, MD, over to the hangar for a barbecue when they are in the area...
Carl 'Ben' Eielson, Father of Alaskan Aviation
Whenever my husband Al and I visit Anchorage, we head to the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum next to Lake Hood and become lost in the vintage aircraft and wonderful old photographs of the pioneering...
Phantoms at Mojave!
I'm sure that many readers remember seeing F-4s parked at Mojave Airport to be transformed into full-scale aerial target drones for the Department of Defense. This transformation process produced a mo...
Recollections of the 1970 California 1000 Air Race at Mojave
The California 1000 Unlimited Air Race was held at Mojave Airport Nov. 13-15, 1970. The North American P-51 Mustang pictured actually belonged to Dave Zeuschel, but race pilot Dr. Cliff Cummins was...
Memories of Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station Mojave
I have been thinking a lot about the Marines and the aircraft they flew, when they served here during World War II. I sense their presence every time I walk into the Administration Building or...
Great Air Race Memories at Mojave Airport
Have you ever heard a Hawker Hunter streak by on a low pass? Well, my husband Al and I always took great pleasure in that sight and sound! Sixteen years ago at Mojave Airport we saw not only a Hawker...
Douglas DC-3 still flying!
The most widely used military transport during World War II was the Douglas Aircraft Company's DC-3. It is probably the most famous aircraft ever built. A. E. Raymond and E. F. Burton designed this...
Two important dates in aviation history
Aviation enthusiasts everywhere know there are two very important dates to remember in the month of December. At 10:35 a.m., on Dec. 17, 1903, Orville Wright made history by flying a powered machine...
Lockheed F-104 and the GE J-79 Jet engine that powered it
My husband Al and I review our old photos on a regular basis and are always happy to see the pictures that jar our memories into remembering the exciting projects we have worked on in years gone by....
Douglas Skyraider, a favorite aircraft in Vietnam
The Douglas A-1 was originally designed in 1944 to meet World War II requirements to replace the SBD dive bomber. It was to be a carrier-based, single place, long-range, high-performance,...
