eugene@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Eugene Miya) (05/03/89)
From: eos!eugene@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Eugene Miya)
Ah! Johnson makes note of a couple of things. I was planning to post,
so I can add a comment.
The yearly Moffett Airshow is scheduled July 1-2. The attraction is
the Blue Angels this year. Contact the Navy for further information
as the date approaches. They will probably close 101 as usual.
What gives? Oh, the usual, flybys of F-18s, F-16s, F-5s, helicopters,
etc. They have balloon rides in the big hanger. They typically get
a tank from the Army or the Marines, Ames contributes the XV-15 or the QSRA.
I wish they would fly the X-29A up here, but it doesn't have the range
and it's too risky.
I frequently get notes, where the hell is Moffett Field? Thinking
it's in some remote place. Actually it's on the very Southern most
tip of the San Francisco Bay, not very remote. It's in the heart
of Santa Clara Valley, (Silicon Valley to media watchers). From my office,
I can see SUN, Silicon Graphics, Evans and Sutherland, Pyramid,
Vitalink, GRiD, etc. Not far away are places like H-P, Xerox PARC,
IBM research facilities in Palo Alto, Almaden (as in the wine), and
a little further away at Stanford, Berkeley, and LLNL and LBL.
One prime piece of real estate.
It's history dates back as an Army base before the war. The NACA was
also here back then. The land is currently shared by a host of Federal
Agencies: the Navy being the largest, but also NASA, a small Army research
contingent, the USAF (also next to us is the Onizuka Air Force Base,
formerly Station, aka the "Blue Cube" from the film "War Games"),
but also the USDA, USGS, EPA [superfund clean up site], and probably
the usual contingent of CIA/NSA for taking intelligence, etc.
Bush flew out of here last week to have lunch with Ronnie in LA.
We additionally have "on-base:" McDonalds, Baskin-Robbins, etc. Doesn't
everybody? Oh, yeah, we have a big pool (so does Livermore (LLNL)
since it was a Navy base at one time, to be used to training [we
see them paddling rafts] and firefighting), a horse stable [Navy games],
and a Navy GOLF COURSE (toward the Lockheed [largest Valley employer
and there the SDI and Space Telescope projects are]next to one of the fuel
depots [we have one too], and the arms bunkers (the one with the mines,
high fences, and 24-hour guards). There is also a golf course on the
inland approach to Mofett Field, this is there for the occasional plane
(numerous in the past) which didn't make it.
[mod.note: the thought of a Navy golf course makes me break out in a
cold sweat... think of the water hazards ! 8-) - Bill ]
Me? I never stay for airshows. Why? Mountain View becomes like Pasadena
around New Years, traffic is terrible. You see one airshow you see them
all, well not quite, I grew up on Edwards AFB and Pt. Mugu airshows
(better in many ways). I'll go to Oregon.
Longish signature follows "Type 'n' now"
Another gross generalization from
--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@aurora.arc.nasa.gov
resident cynic at the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:
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