Joe Davies Heritage Airpark

The Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42, formerly known as the Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark is an aviation museum and airpark located in Palmdale, California with various United States military aircraft on display. The park is located adjacent to the United States Air Force Plant 42 and the Blackbird Airpark Museum. All of the aircraft on display were donated or loaned to the city of Palmdale, which owns and operates the park.

Joe Davies Heritage Airpark
The Joe Davies Heritage Airpark is located south of U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in the bottom center of the satellite image
Type	Aviation museum/airpark
Location	2001 East Avenue P
Nearest city	Palmdale, California
Coordinates	34°36′8.9″N 118°05′13.6″W / 34.602472°N 118.087111°W / 34.602472; -118.087111
Area	26.4 acres (10.7 ha)
Established	October 20, 1998; 25 years ago (1998-10-20)
Owned by	City of Palmdale
Website	Official website

History

The Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark was established on October 20, 1998, by the city of Palmdale and the United States Air Force on land donated to the city of Palmdale by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.^[1] The park is located at 2001 East Avenue P. It is adjacent to United States Air Force Plant 42 to the north and the Blackbird Airpark Museum to the east.^[2] The aviation museum was established commemorate the various aircraft which were designed, built, and flown at Plant 42.^[3]

In 2008, park was renamed to the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42 to honor Joe Davies, a resident of Palmdale who served as the commander of Plant 42 from 1963 to 1967 and later served three terms on the Palmdale city council from 1988 to 1996. A memorial plaque was installed at the park in 2021.^[3] The park has a program called "Adopt-a-Plane" which cleans aircraft on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.^[4] Admission and parking are free, and the park is open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.^[5] Most of its employees are volunteers.^[1]

Aircraft on display

The aviation museum has a total of 21 retired military aircraft and a 1:8 scale model on display.^[6]

The first aircraft to be put on display at the park was a North American F-100 Super Sabre (Bureau number: 54–2299).^[1] On September 12, 2014, one of the two Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (Tail number: N911NA) was put on display at the park as a part of a long-term loan from NASA to the city of Palmdale.^[7] According to the city of Palmdale, the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark could display a Boeing 767, a Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit,^[a] and a Rockwell-MBB X-31 in the future.^[1] The park plans to have over 40 aircraft on display.^[8] In addition to the aircraft on display, the aviation museum also uses various salvaged aircraft parts as decoration elements. All of the aircraft displayed by the park were donated or loaned to the city of Palmdale.^[1]

The following table lists all the aircraft on display.^[1]

#	Image	Aircraft	Donated to the park	Put on display
1		Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (1:8 scale-model)	—	—
2		Curtiss C-46D Commando Serial number: 44-78019-A
3		McDonnell F-101F Voodoo Serial number: 58-0324	May 2005	November 2006
4		North American F-100D Super Sabre Serial number: 54-2299	1 August 1998	1 October 1998
5		Lockheed F-104C Starfighter Serial number: 57-0915	October 1998	October 1998
6		Republic F-105F Thunderchief Serial number: 62-4416	August 1998	October 1998
7		Grumman F-14D Tomcat Bureau Number: 164350	October 2006	December 2006
8		General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon^[b] Serial number: 78-0105
9		AGM-28 Hound Dog #M-025	26 June 2007	26 June 2007
10		Boeing B-52F Stratofortress Serial number: 57-0038
11		Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Aircraft registration: N911NA	12 September 2014	12 September 2014
12		Scaled Composites Triumph Aircraft registration: W143SC	May 2006	March 2007
13		Lockheed T-33A Serial number: 51-4533	April 2007	7 February 2008
14		Lockheed Martin X-55 Serial number: S0303A-0963
15		LTV A-7B Corsair II Bureau Number: 154449
16		McDonnell F-4D Phantom II Serial number: 65-0696
17		Northrop T-38A Talon Serial number: 63-8182	1 August 1998	1 October 1998
18		Douglas A-4C Skyhawk Bureau Number: 145067	March 2001	August 2004
19		Northrop F-5E Tiger II Serial number: 74-1529	May 2005	October 2005
20		Lockheed JetStar Aircraft registration: N814NA	January 2003	May 2005
21		Canadair Sabre CL-13 Mk.5 Serial number: RCAF23231 Aircraft registration: N91FS	August 1998	October 1998
22		Space Shuttle Evacuation Test Sled

See also

• List of aviation museums

Notes

1. The current Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit on display at the park is a 1:8 scale-model.^[1]
2. Forward part of F-16C 84-1228 and rear of F-16B 78-0105.

References

1. "Joe Davies Heritage Airpark Brochure". City of Palmdale. pp. 1–2. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
2. K., Igor (April 27, 2017). "Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42". Air Museum Guide. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
3. Gatlin, Allison (August 20, 2021). "Palmdale Legend Davies is Honored". Antelope Valley Press. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
4. "Adopt a Plane and Help Keep It Clean". Antelope Valley Press. December 18, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
5. "Joe Davies Airpark Has New Operating Hours". Antelope Valley Press. March 11, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
6. "Joe Davies Heritage Airpark". City of Palmdale. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
7. Brown, Alan (September 12, 2014). Gibbs, Yvonne (ed.). "NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 911 Moves to Final Home". NASA. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
8. "Palmdale, California". WorldAtlas. August 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2023.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Davies Heritage Airpark.

• Official website