Houses in the Wherry Housing area at Edwards AFB

Houses in the Wherry Housing area at Edwards AFB, in the mid-1950s, having been completed and leased to military and civilian personnel in February 1951. (Courtesy Photo)

Heritage Wall Photos

Maj. Frank K. “Pete” Everest appears wearing the official desert uniform, and what looks like an Indian headdress. (Courtesy Photo)

Enterprise arrives at Edwards

The first Space Shuttle orbiter, Enterprise, arrived at Edwards AFB on January 31, 1977. It had been moved via road at 3 mph from Rockwell International’s assembly facility at Palmdale aboard a 90-wheel transporter. The unpowered version of the Shuttle was housed at Dryden Flight Research Center in preparation for a series of ground, captive- and free-flight tests prior to the space launch program. (Courtesy Photo)

Naming Edwards Air Force Base

On January 27, 1950 a ceremony was held in connection with Armed Forces Day to rename the base in honor of Capt. Glen W. Edwards, a crewmember killed in the YB-49 flying wing crash the previous year. The plaque unveiled that day, misspelled his first name as Glenn, and was later corrected. The base of the plaque reads “A pioneer of the Flying Wing in the western skies, with courage and daring unrecognized by himself.” (Courtesy Photo)

Lt. Col. Frank K "Pete" Everest in the Bell X-2

Lt. Col. Frank K. “Pete” Everest, Chief of the Flight Test Operations Division at Edwards from 1950-1956, shown here in the rocket-powered Bell X 2 research aircraft. Colonel Everest made the first powered flight of the X 2 on November 18, 1955, and completed eight of the nine total powered X-2 flights. Everest’s status as the “Chief” of Air Force flight test was denoted by the headdress painted on his helmet. (Photo courtesy of AFFTC History Office)

History

B‐47B Pilots’ Evaluation Program: From left to right, Maj. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, Capt. Joseph E. Wolfe, Maj. Jackie L. Ridley, and Lt. Col Frank. K. "Pete" Everest, Jr. (Air Force photo)