Mojave Air and Spaceport

In a new attempt to expand our boundaries in the R22, Dane and I took a flight recently up to Mojave. I've been curious to see this airport for a while, because it has a reputation and a name that keeps popping up in conversations.

Talking once with a 737 pilot he told me that he'd made a flight over from Italy to deliver an airplane that his airline was selling - but since there was currently no buyer it would be "Seran wrapped" and parked alongside a dozen others in limbo - at Mojave. Also surrounding the field I was told were rows of disembodied wings, empennages, and fuselages as well as whole airplanes that, no longer flyable, collect desert dust in an aviation cemetery. This I wanted to see.

Added to that some of the newest, coolest aircraft designs are being created and tested right there, including Virgin Galactic's "Space Ship One," "Space Ship Two," and their launch aircraft "White Knight" 1 and 2. Thus the Mojave Airport is also designated a "Spaceport". This I definitely wanted to see.

Tow-Bar for "White Knight Two"

The Saturday morning that Dane and I left Camarillo with the R22 was cool and clear, and relatively calm which made crossing the Sierra Nevada's a smooth and simple task. Reaching the Mojave Desert on the other side we realized exactly why so many aircraft designers chose this area to test their creations: there was a whole lot of nothing out there. Miles and Miles of flat, featureless land, divided only by a grid of dirt roads that sectioned off tumbleweed farms. The skies were big and empty. I figured they must get 360 days of cloudless sun a year.

As we approached Mojave Air and Spaceport we noticed a lot of chatter on the radio: a lot of other planes were making use of the runway and to our surprise, the tower wasn't in operation. Apparently it's only in control during weekdays. Being as we were in a helicopter we didn't need to queue up in the traffic pattern for the runway, but instead descended to a taxiway and hovered past the silent control tower to a vacant helipad. No sooner had we shut down and buttoned up the aircraft when along came a little tram half-full of recently-arrived aviators ready to give us a ride, so we accepted and it ferried us all past the rows of parked aircraft toward the main building.

This day Dane and I had been invited, as had dozens of other local pilots, to come to Mojave by Craig Fuller, the President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. After a few minutes of meandering through the variety of aircraft the others had arrived in, Dane and I saw people gathering and heard Fuller being introduced by a woman at a podium. I was interested to hear what Fuller would talk about, but I discovered it was mostly about praising the achievements of AOPA, not about current or future concerns. After the speech I approached him and got his business card. Several more people were also trying to get his ear, each with a story or a concern or, more often, an idea for him to consider. I could tell whatever problems the pilot community were facing, they weren't from a lack of enthusiasm!

I was interested in exploring the rest of the field and the boneyard on the far side of the runway, but we realized that with all the people there for the event it would be impractical on that morning to do a tour. We bought fuel and departed towards our next destination, just up the highway.

Dane has a good friend who's parents own a little shop in the middle of nowhere on highway 14. Well, actually it's where a dirt trail begins that cuts up into a canyon between the hills, called Jawbone Canyon. And it's one of the most popular places to ride off-road vehicles in the Mojave Desert, which has made their little shop into the main hub for the dozens of motorcycle and dune-buggy riders who need gas, food, and beer. Dane had called ahead and they were expecting us, so when we found the place and started circling to determine the best landing spot one of the owners came out and started gesturing toward an open area.

I wasn't completely pleased with where Dane set us down, because it was directly facing a number of power lines and, even more worrying, turned out to be directly along the trail that all the dirt bikes and ATV's were using. But it turned out okay. I just kept looking as we walked in to get a bite to eat, watching for some drunken rider to come poking his nose around our shiny ride.

The place, however, was a fun mix of action, with more and more people arriving on their two and four-wheeled toys, stopping in for drinks and snacks. Dane got to catch up with his buddy, and before we left he took his buddy's girlfriend on a quick flight up the canyon. I didn't love being left behind to ward the motorcycles off our landing area while Dane showed off our helicopter to the girl, but I let him have his fun. Ten minutes later they returned and I jumped in and took off back towards home.

The ride home we were faced with a headwind, but we had just enough fuel to avoid making another stop. It all turned out very successful: 3.2 new hours in the logbook, and two new places visited. Can't wait to go back to see the rest that Mojave has to offer!