Dan Bubb

In July 2021, Dr. Daniel Bubb, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History and Political Science at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and long-time deputy director of the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame has accepted the executive director position, replacing retiring Director TD Barnes. Director Emeritus Barnes will remain with the NVAHOF as a consultant and board member.

ABOUT DR. DANIEL BUBB

From age five, I have been fascinated with airplanes and airports. My parents would drive me to the local airport so that I could watch airplanes take off and land. At age seventeen, I took my first introductory flight, and it was then I knew that I wanted to become a commercial pilot.

As I progressed through my licenses and ratings, I became a flight instructor, and at age twenty-two, achieved my dream. Air Vegas Airlines hired me as a First Officer to fly Beechcraft 99s, fifteen-seat, turbopropeller-driven passenger planes. My experience as a commercial pilot taught me much about airplanes and airports, especially how critical they are to city, regional, and national economies.

As I pursued my masters and doctoral degrees, this symbiotic relationship sharply came into focus. My first book, Landing in Las Vegas: Commercial Aviation and the Making of a Tourist City highlighted this theme using Las Vegas as a case study. Currently, I am expanding that theme to the broader American West, but with a different twist: how airports culturally provide and represent a sense of place to air travelers and residents.

Throughout my research as a historian, I have discovered the importance of telling the story about the airplane’s impact on the growth and development of the American West. Without a doubt, the airplane profoundly impacted the region by shrinking it through speed, space, and time. At the same time, it is equally important to tell the story of the role that airports played in the economic and cultural growth and development of the American West, which is what my future books aspire to do.

I still fly airplanes for fun, and they frequently remind me why I fell in love with them when I was a young lad.

The Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame (NVAHOF) is pleased to announce the recognition and enshrinement of the 4450thTactical Group (TG), as a unit, as the Class of 2021. The 4450th TG was activated on October 15, 1979, headquartered at Nellis Air Force Base, and was physically located at Tonopah Test Range Airport. The 4450th TG was tasked with the operational development of the F-117A stealth fighter, known as the Nighthawk. The Air Force denied the existence of the aircraft until November 10, 1988, when Assistant Secretary of Defense J. Daniel Howard displayed a grainy photograph at a Pentagon press conference. The unit was inactivated on October 5, 1989, when the no longer secret F-117A squadrons were reorganized and relocated to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

The pandemic has created obstacles everywhere, especially regarding event planning for many organizations including the NVAHOF. A decision was made in 2020 to posthumously induct Amelia Earhart and not hold the annual ceremony and banquet, opting for virtual enshrinement. Although the nation appears to be moving in the right direction, pandemic safety is still of utmost concern and consideration for the NVAHOF’s Board of Directors. The organization has recently decided in the utmost of precautions to again not hold an in-person banquet for 2021. The plaque for the 4450th will be enshrined in the NVAHOF display at McCarran Airport in November as usual. In-person recognition for 4450th TG alumni is currently being coordinated to be held in conjunction with the Stealth Fighter Association reunion being planned in Las Vegas for the spring of 2022.

NVAHOF Director T.D. Barnes commented, “The 4450th Tactical Group was a pathfinder unit, moving the F-117A from the research and development stage to becoming a fully operational weapons system.” When the Air Force officially announced the F-117A’s existence to the public, it set the 4450th on the road to inactivation. “Nevadans have not forgotten the 4450th, a unit shrouded in secrecy for most of their existence, and we look forward to honoring them and helping to preserve their contributions to the aviation heritage of our state and the nation.”

The NVAHOF is further planning for the fall of 2022 and a return to their usual annual dinner and in-person ceremony.

Contact: Connie May Communications Director

cpardew@att.net

775-530-2297

Jeffrey R. Wedding, Secretary

jwedding@nvahof.org

702 306-2979


NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
NVAHOF membership is open to any individual or organization, public or private, interested in preserving the history of aerospace in Nevada.

NVAHOF Deputy Director Dr. Dan Bubb & Mike Biehn
NVAHOF Executive Director TD Barnes and Secretary Jeff Wedding


Jeff Wedding at NVAHOF display

NVAHOF Executive Director TD Barnes, Secretary Jeff Wedding, and 2013 NVAHOF Enshrinee Col. Gail Peck, former commander the Red Eagle MiG Squadron

 

Honoring and preserving the legacy of those who pioneered and advanced our nation’s aviation and aerospace programs in Nevada

WELCOME THE 2019 CLASS OF ENSHRINEES

Silent Heroes// Anthony “Tony” Bevacqua// Martin “Marty” Knutson// Francis Gary Powers

LINK TO 2019 EVENT PHOTOS

The tenth annual Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame Enshrinement Banquet and Ceremony, with Chris “CJ” Hays the emcee, indeed was the Oscars of Nevada Aviation. Held at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas the Friday evening of November 15, 2019, the NVAHOF enshrined retired USAF Lt/Col Tony Bevacqua, who piloted both the U-2 and the SR-71 and was the youngest pilot ever to check out in the U-2. Also enshrined posthumously were CIA U-2 pilots Francis Gary Powers and Marty Knutson along with 14 who perished in a C-54 crash on Mt. Charleston, Nevada in 1955 while en route to Watertown, now known as Area 51, for the second flight of the CIA’s U-2 reconnaissance plane. Attending were past enshrinees Col Gail Peck (2013) and CMSG Dick Sinclair (2018).

Attending the four-day chain of NVAHOF events starting November 14 were family members and friends supporting Bevacqua, Powers, and Knutson. The NVAHOF was honored by the presence of two sons of U-2 pilots who’d paid the ulitimate sacrifice in their service to our country — Jim Rose, son of Wilburn Rose who died in a U-2 crash at Area 51 and Francis Gary Powers, Jr., whose dad was shot down in a U-2 overflying Russia and later killed in a helicopter crash in California. The family members of two of the 14 who perished in the C-54 crash also attended, along with several past and active pilots from Laughlin AFB, Texas, Beale AFB, California, Edwards AFB, California, and Nellis AFB, Nevada. Major General Pat Halloran, who flew with Bevacqua in both the U-2 and the SR-71, attended also.

Several from the Central Intelligence Agency, as they have for almost all NVAHOF enshrinement events, attended the four-day events in support of the NVAHOF, who has nearly every year recognized one or more former employees of the Agency. Dr. David Robarge, Chief Historian at the CIA, and James Dorrell – Vice President Tactical Systems at the Lockheed Skunk Works in Palmdale, California both spoke at the banquet. CIA’s Pierre Brown, the owner of the Hagar Watch Company, honored both Enshrinee Tony Bevacqua and the NVAHOF Director, TD Barnes, with its limited-edition U-2 Dragonlady watch along with a CIA coin and Dragonlady patch.

The Gold Coast Hotel and Casino provided NVAHOF with a hospitality suite for four days. The Lockheed Skunkworks, Lane Swainston’s Swainston’s Consulting Group, BomberPatches.com, along with various individual attendees donated to the non-profit NVAHOF. The Rampart Hotel comped many of the attendees in its fabulous buffet, and Ceasar’s Entertainment comped ten attendees at the world-renowned BLT Steak House at Bally’s.

The Warfare Center at Nellis hosted NVAHOF Director TD Barnes, MGen Pat Halloran, Lt Col Tony Bevacqua, Lockheed’s James Dorrell, CIA’s Dr. Robarge, and wives in the Distinguished Visitors chalet. Aviation Nation provided NVAHOF with a tent on the flight line of the Nellis AFB air show where UK author, Chris Pocock and Col Gail Peck did book signings, and NVAHOF Communications Director Connie May and others conducted PR for NVAHOF.

On Sunday, the 64th anniversary of the C-54 crash, a large number of NVAHOF staff, attendees, and CIA personnel joined the Silent Heroes of the Cold War Committee at the Silent Heroes Monument at the Spring Mountain Visitor’s Center. Committee chairman Steve Ririe did a great job of recounting the crash. Two families of those who perished were present for all the events and were joined by Cheryl Moore, JoAnne Campbell, and Dr. David Robarge from the CIA for an emotional remembrance on Sunday, the 64th anniversary of the 1955 crash. The families learned that various CIA representatives had attended all the development events starting with the groundbreaking, a cold day where the CIA store provided 18 jackets to those attending. The family members learned that the CIA still cared enough that Dr. Robarge and others had often visited the monument on their own.

Also, on Saturday night at the hospitality suite, UK U-2 author Chris Pocock presented an most interesting video about the U-2 Black Cats, and on Sunday, Francis Gary Powers, Jr., spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at the National Atomic Testing Museum about his dad’s shootdown over Russia.

Kudos go to all who contributed the photos in this gallery — Dave Budd and Joe Kates with https://www.photorecon.net/, Angella Raisian with F-22 Systems Engineering, LMAero – Edwards Air Force Base, Ret MSGT Jimmy Stewart, NVAHOF Communications Director and SW Airlines employee Connie May, Jim Barfield, and others.

LINK TO 2019 EVENT PHOTOS

NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

NVAHOF membership is open to any individual or organization, public or private, interested in preserving the history of aerospace in Nevada.

NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

NVAHOF Amazon charity link: httpss://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-4731650

 

Join our past donors in our making it possible to continue our mission of educating the public regarding the history of aviation in Nevada, the contribution of Nevada citizens to the development of global aviation and to preserve the legacy of those men and women who pioneered and advanced our nation’s aerospace programs within the State of Nevada.

//
If you have questions about supporting NVAHOF, you may call the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame Director at (702) 566-4168 or via e-mail at tdbarnes@nvahof.org.

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June 13-16, 2019
Sparks, Nevada

Connie May and TD Barnes

NVAHOF Executive Director TD Barnes and Director Communications & Public Affairs Connie May joined past NVAHOF Enshrinee Frank Murray and future Enshrinee Tony Bevacqua in attending the 23rd SR-71/U-2 reunion at the Nugget Hotel in Sparks. In addition to their Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame leadership positions, Barnes and May are also long-time members of the Blackbird and the Roadrunners Internationale Associations, both involving spy planes developed in Nevada.
As he has done for many of the past reunions, Director Barnes prepared and presented the Final Flight Tribute at the banquet.

2019 BB Final Flight Tribute Video

MGen Pat Halloran

Lots of memories and war stories

SR-71 Pilot Barry MacKean, NVAHOF Director TD Barnes, SR-71 Pilot Ed Yielding

 

The Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame Oral History Program through collaboration with students and faculty at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas and the University of Nevada Reno has added thousands of pages to its fact sheets, biographies, and personal accounts of aviation and aerospace projects and events occurring in the state.

These include the personal bios of many of Nevada’s participants in once top-secret CIA projects occurring at Area 51 and other classified facilities in Nevada. This phase of the never-before documented oral history project has received top priority because of the high attrition rate among the aging veterans of this era. Valuable history is lost with the loss of each veteran.

From here, the NVAHOF staff and student volunteers will concentrate on documenting the little-known history of those pioneering civil and general aviation in Nevada.

Follow the links and enjoy the legacy of our nation’s secret heroes of the Cold War as we establish and record it as a vital part of our NVAHOF oral history program.’

The NVAHOF Oral History Project records and preserves the personal stories behind Nevada’s aviation history. NVAHOF founders and members participated in the award-winning Nevada Test Site Oral History Project, 2003-2008, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, directed by Dr. Mary Palevsky.” The NVAHOF has continued to work with other scholars to document Nevada’s unique place in our nation’s aerospace history.”

We encourage you to visit the excellent product of Dr. Palevsky’s interviews at https://digital.library.unlv.edu/ntsohp/.

 

The Zero-length Launch (ZELL) Program began with a launch of an F-84G in 1955. Each test utilized a USAF fighter mounted on the back of a flatbed truck and had a rocket motor attached to the airframe. The footage in the clip took place in Indian Springs, Nevada in 1958 when an F-100 was used.

Dedication of memorial for those lost at Area 51 during CIA U-2 Project Aquatone and A-12 Project Oxcart.

Jess Hartris, the Flying Sheriff

Genie Missile Test. This atomic blast in Nevada was a test of a 2-kiloton nuclear-armed air-to-air weapon designed to defend the United States from an attack from enemy bombers. A live Genie was detonated only once in Operation Plumbbob on July 19 1957. It was fired by AF Captain Eric William Hutchison (pilot) and AF Captain Alfred C. Barbee (radar operator) flying a F-89J over Yucca Flats.  

Dr. Dan Bubb Interview on Early Aviation in Nevada. Dan Bubb, Ph.D. (Director of Education Programs for the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame) discusses the early aviation in Nevada during an opening ceremony of the third terminal at McCarran International Airport.

Gary Francis Powers, CIA U-2 pilot and veteran of Groom Lake in 1956, received the long deserved Silver Star award.

Early_U-2_Groom during CIA Project Aquatone at Watertown, a.k.a. Groom Lake – Declassified CIA film of Groom Lake operations during Project Aquatone in 1955 – 1957

BGen Dennis Sullivan Mach 3 – gear down story.

CIA Pilot, Col Ken collins about A-12 pilots.

CIA pilot Jack Layton discuses Blackshield Missions.

CIA A-12 Pilot Frank Murray on training and flying the A-12

CIA A-12 Pilot Murray discusses Lou Schalk

CIA A-12 Pilot Murray about loss of planes and pilots

CIA A-12 pilot about Kelly Johnson.

CIA pilot Ken Collins on Recruitment for CIA Project Oxcart.

CIA A-12 pilot Jack Layeon on his bailouts from burning C-47 and F-101

CIA A-12 pilot Jack Layton on his recruitment

CIA A-12 pilot on his bailout of burning YF-12

CIA A-12 pilot, BGen Dennis Sullivan of Blackshield Missions.

CIA pilot, BGen Dennis Sullivan about Lovelace Clinic

CIA A-12 pilot, BGen Dennis Sullivan about the Groom Lake Flying Club

CIA A-12 pilot, BGen Dennis Sullivan on his recruitment by the CIA Megan Kelly Interviews NVAHOF Director TD Barnes NVAHOF Director TD Barnes intoduces CIA OXCART Panel at the National Atomic Testing Museum NVAHOF Director TD Barnes on the history of Project Oxcart TD Barnes states his belief that the United States has UAVs providing the surveillance previously provided by the CIA A-12 and Air Force SR-71 Blackbirds T D Barnes discusses the topic of secrecy at Groom Lake during CIA Project Oxcart In the 1960s T.D. Barnes first participated in the CIA Project Palladium as the agency prepared a replacement plane for the U-2 flying over the Soviet Union. He later supported the A-12 project codenamed Project Oxcart while on at the Beatty station of the NASA High Range as a hypersonic flight support specialist.M/p> First Flight of the A-12 narrated by its pilot, Lockheed Test Pilot Lou Schalk

CIA & AIR FORCE U-2 PHOTO ARCHIVE

A-12, YF-12, & SR-71 BLACKBIRD PHOTO ARCHIVE

NASA HIGH RANGE PHOTO ARCHIVE Photos provided by Tony Landis at NASA

Only the declassified activities of the CIA and Air Force participation in U-2 Project Aquatone and Air Force Project Idealist are posted herein.

NVAHOF’S ORAL HISTORY BIOS OF THE AREA 51 VETERANS SERVING THE CIA AT AREA 51 IN NEVADA

  • Adams
  • Alber
  • Amundson
  • Andersen
  • Anderson
  • Archer
  • Armentrout
  • Bacalis
  • Banks
  • Bard
  • Barnes, Jim
  • Barnes, TD
  • Barrett
  • Bassick
  • Baylor
  • Beswick
  • Bevacqua
  • Bolich
  • Brown
  • Burgeson
  • Budzynski
  • Buyse
  • Byrnes
  • Cahill
  • Calhoun
  • Calvin
  • Carmody
  • Carpenter
  • Choate
  • Christian
  • Christensen
  • Colle
  • Collins
  • Cooney
  • Corzine
  • Cravotta
  • Culp
  • Dake
  • Davenport
  • Delap
  • Deluna
  • Donohue
  • Dunaway
  • Dupuis
  • Dye
  • Eastham
  • Evans
  • Fancher
  • Faraldo
  • Farrell
  • Fogel
  • Fox
  • Freedman
  • Fulton
  • Gardiner
  • Garvin
  • Gibbs
  • Giles
  • Gilliland
  • Girard
  • Goodwin
  • Gordon
  • Grace
  • Gross
  • Goudey, Ray
  • Gugin
  • Habegger
  • Haen, Dave
  • Haen, Denise
  • Halloran
  • Harnage
  • Haugen
  • Haupt
  • Havener
  • Henderson
  • Holbury
  • Hua
  • Hughes
  • Jackson, Bob
  • Jackson
  • Jenkins
  • Johnson, D
  • Joseph
  • Kabat
  • Kelly
  • Kershner
  • Kitten
  • Knutson
  • Koopman
  • Larsen
  • Law
  • Layton
  • Leavitt
  • Ledford
  • Lipscomb
  • Losh
  • Martin
  • McCoy
  • McCullough
  • Meierdierck
  • Meyler
  • Micalizzi
  • Milam
  • Miller
  • Miller,Bob
  • Mills
  • Moe
  • Moeschl
  • Murphy
  • Murray
  • Nelson
  • Nelson, Norm
  • Nelson, Wayne
  • Nichols
  • Noce
  • Osman
  • Overstreet
  • Pao
  • Park
  • Pendleton
  • Piantosi
  • Pizzo
  • Power, Ed
  • Powers
  • Pryor
  • Ransdell
  • Ray
  • Reed
  • Robarge
  • Rogers
  • Rosario
  • Rossetti
  • Roussell
  • Ruseckus
  • Sampson
  • Schalk
  • Schlesinger
  • Schrecengost
  • Setter
  • Seymour
  • Shingler
  • Simon
  • Simon, J.
  • Skliar
  • Skliar, Janis
  • Slater
  • Stanks
  • Stockman
  • Sullivan
  • Thomas
  • Trost
  • Turnage
  • Ursini
  • Vickers
  • Vining
  • Vito
  • Vojvodich
  • Weaver
  • Weeks
  • Weigel
  • Weiss
  • Welsh
  • Wheelon
  • White
  • White, Fred
  • Williams, Col.
  • Williams, MSgt
  • Wilson
  • Wittlake
  • Wood
  • Yancey
  • Yang
  • Yingling
  • COLD WAR STORIES OF THE AREA 51 VETERANS FROM THE CIA ERA IN NEVADA

    AFOSI officer at Area 51
    YF-12 Stories by Vern Henderson
    YF-12 Stories by Fred Trost
    Company Cover Names by: Bill Goodwin
    Checking out in A-12 by: Lon Walters
    Starting the F-100 by Bill Fox
    Been There – Done That by Slip Slater
    Dobber Dick by Anonymous
    Asia from Above by Col. Roy Stanley
    The Crash of Article 928 by Bill Goodwin
    Kelly Johnson by Dave Adrian
    The Demise of Article #129 by James Beam
    First Flight of the A-12 by Bill Fox
    Genesis of the Roadrunner by O.B. Harnage
    The Way It Was Back When by Sam Pizzo
    Air Force Nostalgia by Anonymous
    The Flight That Never Happened by Pizzo
    As Good as it Gets By: Sam Pizzo
    Arming the HAWK Missile By: TD Barnes
    U-2 Pilot Selection by Harry Cordes
    Super Duper Sonic by Harold Mills
    Wife of A U-2 Piloy By: Rogene Cordes
    Deployed Dependants by: Doris Barnes
    Recruitment for Area 51 by: M/Gen Doug Nelson
    Secret Hero by: Robert DeWitt
    Recovery of Article #131 by: Frank Murray
    Last Flight of the A-12 by: Frank Murray
    Blackbird Remembrances by: Dr. Tom Budzynski P.h.D.
    Walter Ray Accident by: BG Dennis Sullivan
    Jack Weeks Accident by:BG Dennis Sullivan
    U-2 Self contained Navigation Systems by:Bill Reed
    M-209 Secret Code Machine by: Charles Christian
    First U-2 Operational Flight by: Carl Overstreet

    Posts by category

    Lt Col Thomas “Vito” Massa, AsPS President and ACC Aerospace Physiology Program Manager, and TD Barnes, Former Area 51 Special Projects and the current Exec Director of NVAHOF, the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame

     

    On 8 May 2019, TD Barnes, former Area 51 Special Projects and the current Executive Director of the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame, joined a long list of distinguished speakers before the Aerospace Physiology Society when he was presented the Smith W. Ames Memorial Lecture at the Aerospace Physiology Society luncheon at the Rio All Suites Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada. Barnes conducted a presentation depicting the Central Intelligence Agency’s pioneering Aerospace Physiology with its high flight in the U-2, A-12 Mach-3+ surveillance planes followed by the YF-12 Kedlock Project, the M-21/D-21 Mach-3 mothership/drone flights, the Soviet Migs, and other projects declassified by the CIA. For his lecture and prior participation at Area 51, Barnes was presented the 2019 Smith W. Ames Award before a large attendance of Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps professionals in the science and practice of Aerospace Physiology.

     

    Nevada, the Battleborn State, became the nation’s West Coast Line of Defense for the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard during World War II. NASA followed with two tracking stations along its High Range flight test corridor across Nevada and its nuclear rocket engine development at NRDS, the Nuclear Rocket Development Station at Jackass Flats. The Atomic Energy Commission established the Nevada Proving Grounds for atomic bomb testing and the Central Intelligence Agency created Area 51 for flight testing its spy planes and other black projects. 

    Because so much remains unknown about Nevada’s unique aviation, and aerospace history, NVAHOF, through its student participant program is capturing from those who were there this fragile and elusive history through its oral history investigation, collection, and recordation program. The NVAHOF shares this knowledge and documentation as a public service to agencies, academia, historians, authors, media, and publications. Much of this oral history comes from external sources for which NVAHOF can not vouch for its accuracy.

    NVAHOF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dependent on private and corporate tax-deductible donations to finance its educational and annual induction of deserving individuals and organizations into the NVAHOF for participation and contributions that advanced aerospace and aviation from within the state of Nevada.

    Dr. Darell Pepper, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief, Computational Thermal Sciences, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Department of Mechanical Engineering and TD Barnes, Former Area 51 Special Projects and the current Exec Director Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame

     

    On April 16, 2019, NVAHOF Executive Director TD Barnes spoke as the plenary speaker before the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE) at its 4TH Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference at the Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa, Las Vegas, NV, USA. Following the banquet with over 500 attendees, Director Barnes spoke on the declassified CIA projects at Area 51 where both thermal and special fuels were pioneered for the Central Intelligence Agency’s Mach-3+ A-12, high-flying reconnaissance plane that preceded the Air Force’s SR-71.

    Nevada, the Battleborn State, became the nation’s West Coast Line of Defense for the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard during World War II. NASA followed with two tracking stations along its High Range flight test corridor across Nevada and its nuclear rocket engine development at NRDS, the Nuclear Rocket Development Station at Jackass Flats. The Atomic Energy Commission established the Nevada Proving Grounds for atomic bomb testing and the Central Intelligence Agency created Area 51 for flight testing its spy planes and other black projects. 

    Because so much remains unknown about Nevada’s unique aviation, and aerospace history, NVAHOF, through its student participant program is capturing from those who were there this fragile and elusive history through its oral history investigation, collection, and recordation program. The NVAHOF shares this knowledge and documentation as a public service to agencies, academia, historians, authors, media, and publications. Much of this oral history comes from external sources for which NVAHOF can not vouch for its accuracy.

    NVAHOF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dependent on private and corporate tax-deductible donations to finance its educational and annual induction of deserving individuals and organizations into the NVAHOF for participation and contributions that advanced aerospace and aviation from within the state of Nevada.


    The Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the Class of 2019. Celebrate with us as we honor those who greatly served and contributed to the U-2 “Dragonlady’ program. This high altitude reconnaissance aircraft was tested right in the desert of our great Silver State. The U-2 – an integral part our national security. Visit www.nvahof.org for details and full bios of our enshrinees.
    Warm Regards,

    Contact for further information
      
    Connie
    Director of Public Affairs
    cpardew@att.net
    TD Barnes
    Director – NVAHOF
    tdbarnes@nvahof.org


    RSVP – Secure Your Seat Now

    NVAHOF Enshrinement Friday, 15 November 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the 2019 Nellis AFB Open House Air Show “Aviation Nation” 15-17 November

    -1635Days -18Hours -7Minutes -36Seconds

    Honoring and preserving the legacy of those who pioneered and advanced our nation’s aviation and aerospace programs in Nevada

    MEET THE 2019 CLASS OF ENSHRINEES

    Silent Heroes// Anthony “Tony” Bevacqua// Martin “Marty” Knutson// Francis Gary Powers

    SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

    November 15, 2019 – Hospitality Suite 10:00 AM hours to 3:00 PM
    6:00 PM – 10:00 PM Banquet and Ceremony
    November 16, 2019  – Visit the Silent Heroes of the Cold War Memorial on Mount Charleston. (Optional)
    November 16 and 17, 2019 – Spend the day at the Aviation Nation Air Show at Nellis AFB (Optional)

    Forty-Nine Enshrined and Many More to Come Enshrinee Class of 2019 to be announced in January 2019

        

    SPANNING NEVADA’S UNIQUE AVIATION HISTORY FROM BARN STORMERS TO ASTRONAUTS


    Civil Air Patrol Cadets learning of the CIA’s role in aviation at Area 51 in Nevada.

    NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

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    NVAHOF membership is open to any individual or organization, public or private, interested in preserving the history of aerospace in Nevada.

    NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

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    If you have questions about supporting NVAHOF, you may call the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame Director at (702) 566-4168 or via e-mail at tdbarnes@nvahof.org.

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    This website designed by students of the Art Institute of Las Vegas: Brian DeCania (Instructor) | David Cox (student) Copyright NVAHOF 2009

      

    The Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame, being from the Battle Born state, strongly supports the centuries-long tradition of the challenge coin dating back to the Roman Empire who rewarded soldiers by presenting them with coins to recognize their achievements. The Office of Strategic Services, now the Central Intelligence Agency, first used challenge coins during the Hitler Era by personnel deployed in Nazi-held France. The coins were merely a local coin used as a “bona fides” during a personal meeting to help verify a person’s identity. There would be specific aspects such as the type of coin, date of the coin, etc. that were examined by each party. This helped prevent infiltration into the meeting by a spy who would have to have advance knowledge of the meeting time and place as well as what coin was to be presented, amongst other signals, as bona fides. Quoted shipping rates apply to sales within the USA only. NVAHOF offers challenge coins identifying those units or organizations earning enshrinement into the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame so that you can acknowledge further them should you be challenged with a loudly announced “Coin Check,� hoping to nail you for a round of drinks for those producing their coin.

    The 2018 NVAHOF Challenge Coin features the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4477 TES) Red Eagles, US Air Force Colonel Gaillard R. Peck, Jr., and CMSGT Richard F. Sinclair, USAF (Ret) enshrined into the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame and is available for purchase in the NVAHOF Online Store. Quoted shipping rates apply to sales within the USA only.

    4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4477 TES) Red Eagles

     

    The United States 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4477 TES) under the claimant of the Tactical Air Command was a product of Project Constant Peg, a unit created to expose the tactical air forces to the flight characteristics of fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

    Secretly operating from the Tonopah Test Range, in Nevada the squadron known as the Red Eagles operated Soviet MiG-17s, MiG-21s and MiG-23s between 1977 and 1988 to train the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps pilots and weapon systems officers in air combat tactics against these foreign aircraft. The Red Eagles revitalized the art of dogfighting, bringing fundamental changes in US air combat tactics that played a significant part in the Air Force’s Red Flag program and the US Navy’s Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI), more popularly known as TOPGUN.

    For the 4477th TES at Tonopah being instrumental in the re-development of dissimilar air combat training (DACT) methods developed after the end of the Vietnam War, the Red Eagles earned their place in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame class of 2018.

    Gaillard R. Peck, Jr.

    On April 1, 1977, US Air Force Colonel Gaillard R. Peck, Jr., launched CONSTANT PEG to revitalized the art of dogfighting.

    The unit, which became the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron “Red Eagles” flew MiG-17, MiG-21 and MiG-23 aircraft, restored to flying status and expertly maintained by technicians every bit as skilled as the pilots. Colonel Peck put the program together, from concept to airfield construction and served as the first commander of the “Red Eagles” at the Tonopah Test Range.

    This incredible effort using covertly acquired Soviet-built aircraft prepared American fighter aircrews for aerial combat by using carefully selected US fighter pilots, specially trained in Soviet tactics, to fly these aircraft from the remote Tonopah Test Range airfield in central Nevada. The CONSTANT PEG program provided training that allowed US aircrews to be better prepared to win air combat engagements.  Aircrews engaged in mock air combat against a unit that looked like the enemy and flew like the enemy.

    For his work on a once highly-classified Air Force program code-named CONSTANT PEG, US Air Force Col Gaillard R. Peck, Jr., earned his place in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame.

    Richard F. Sinclair

    In 1967, Richard F. Sinclair served in the United States Air Force at Nellis AFB, Nevada following a tour of duty in Vietnam. While an A-4 aircraft flight chief with the 4538th FWS at Nellis AFB, the Air Force detached him to the Foreign Technology Div. AFSC, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio in 1968. There, he participated in various exploitation projects in Nevada where he performed technical evaluations of acquired Soviet MiGs that resulted in the Air Force’s Red Flag program and the US Navy’s Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI) known as TOPGUN that reversed the ratio of US military planes lost in the Vietnam War and all wars since.

    Now a Senior Master Sergeant, Sinclair continued to work on the classified exploitation program which eventually on 1 December 1977 became the 6513 Flight Test Squadron assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB Ca. Promoted to Chief Master Sergeant, Sinclair continued to serve as the chief of maintenance in the 6513th Flight Test Squadron operating in a classified area in Nevada. For national security reasons, these activities and their venue remain classified. Retiring from the Air Force in 1979 after 28.5 years of military service, he immediately joined The Lockheed Aircraft Company Skunkworks as a lead mechanic for the then-classified development of the F-117 Stealth Fighter. His experience on previous classified programs significantly aided in the fastest development process in the post-WWII era of the F-117 to a fully operational aircraft in two years from its first flight.

    CMSGT Richard F. Sinclair, USAF (Ret), for his classified contributions to military aviation in Nevada, has earned his place in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame class of 2018.

     

    Support NVAHOF by purchasing this challenge coin $15.00

       
     

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    NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

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