Not tools or machines, but an aerial shot of NASA's Ames
Research Center, taken sometime in the late 50's or early
60's. I can't quite identify the cars pictured to narrow it
down.

I'm pretty sure it was named something else back then, but I
worked there 3 years in the mid-70's, high school and
college work experience program. It's cool to see the
buildings and wind tunnels I worked in, and some empty lots
where buildings I worked in would be built. The seller
didn't know anything about it other than his uncle had
worked there. He thought it was cool I recognized it
instantly and had actually worked there.

Sort of a vintage reminder of my metalworking roots, from an
era not far removed from when I was born....

Jon

Martin H. Eastburn wrote:

NASA used the wind tunnels as well as most aircraft makers. That is a BIG one!

It sure is. One day I accompanied some journeymen to weld
patches over some holes in the tubes housing the motors for
the 40x80. There's a large concrete structure at the north
end of the motor section. I got tasked with dragging the
welding cable up the ladder up the side of that structure.
Started off easy, but man, I was wondering if that damned
cable wasn't going to pull me off before I reached the top!
Don't know how high it is, but it's probably equal to at
least a 6 story building. I got right up to the edge of the
concrete on the west side and looked straight down. I was on
my belly, and getting dizzy at that. One of the journeymen,
a real old-school type, walks up, hangs his toes over the
edge and leans over, while asking if I was afraid of
heights! Looking at the picture, that 4' or so wide concrete
structure looks mighty narrow.... I've been all through the
40x80, it's really neat inside. Even neater is the scale
room. Before electronic instrumentation, all data was
measured by Toledo scales under the test section. There's
quite a few long levers working on knife edges, connected to
the scales to measure various forces on models mounted
above. IIRC, some read in hundreds of pounds, some to many
thousands of pounds.

I allowed myself to get distracted looking into the
hisotry of Ames. Wanted to see if I could find pictures of
any of the wind tunnel models I worked on. Haven't yet, but
did find a picture of a flying jet, the model for which, I
had worked on.
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-3300/ch8.htm
Scroll down to figure 110, the Boeing Quiet Short Haul
Research Aircraft.
After a year of high school work experience, I actually got
hired as a NASA employee for the summer, and the model for
this was one of the first things I got to work on. I doing
simple stuff, skinning the top of the wings. CRS sheet
screwed to angle iron. Wind tunnel models are pretty
basic... I was in heaven though, air drills for tap drill,
clearance drill and countersink, pneumatic tapping gun, and
power screw driver. I was having so much fun I stayed late.
Journeymen thought I was nuts. LOL... maybe they were right!

I saw the plane pictured on approach to Moffett Field a year
or so after leaving the program. I could readily identify
all the ducting and flaps that had been fabricated for the
model. That was neat.
http://prototype-design.com/images/model.jpg is one model I
worked on that I do have pics of thanks to an engineer on
the project. Far as I know this one never progressed to a
flying aircraft.

Further down the NASA page above, at figure 118, the X-14,
in the fifth row is Ed Vernon. He's the guy that interviewed
the snot nose long hair hippy kid that wanted to work in the
metal shop through a high school program. I well remember
that interview. Ed, in his purple polyester suit, hair
probably slicked down with Brylcream. He clearly disliked me
from the instant he saw me, and I'm sure over my 3 years
there I gave him reason to regret letting me in. But he did
change my life by doing so and I wish I could go back and
thank him....

Jon

On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:09:19 -0800, Jon Anderson
wrote:

Not tools or machines, but an aerial shot of NASA's Ames
Research Center, taken sometime in the late 50's or early
60's. I can't quite identify the cars pictured to narrow it
down.

I'm pretty sure it was named something else back then, but I
worked there 3 years in the mid-70's, high school and
college work experience program. It's cool to see the
buildings and wind tunnels I worked in, and some empty lots
where buildings I worked in would be built. The seller
didn't know anything about it other than his uncle had
worked there. He thought it was cool I recognized it
instantly and had actually worked there.

Sort of a vintage reminder of my metalworking roots, from an
era not far removed from when I was born....

Jon


Very very cool indeed!


"Obama, raises taxes and kills babies. Sarah Palin - raises babies
and kills taxes." Pyotr Flipivich

The use was for Naval air ships. Planes to come, but gas filled ships
that were like the Hindenburg - One crashed in Monterey Bay (forget the name)
and at that time closed the gas filled air ships for the Navy off shore patrol.

I want to say USS Morgan or such. I think they were the second or third and
last. The large hangers used to have them within.

In the past, Goodyear blimp stayed a stormy night within.

With the military driven out of California - northern area anyway the base
went to NASA. It is a historical site.

The Ames Lab is the wind tunnel.

Sub chasers still fly out of there as I recall and the NASA blackbird as well.

Martin

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Jon Anderson wrote:
wrote:

Well, it used to be Moffett Field for the Navy.

Yes, located at Moffett Field, but I was certain it was called something
else initially, and according to Wikipedia it was, Ames Aeronautical
Laboratory was the original name.

As a side note, my grandfather worked at Moffett for the Navy as a
civilian during WWII. Wish Hanger 1 was in the picture...


Jon


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Martin H. Eastburn wrote:

I want to say USS Morgan or such.

The Macon, in 1931.

With the military driven out of California - northern area anyway the base
went to NASA. It is a historical site.

There was an attempt to convert the navy side, at least in
part, to general aviation. That was shot down in no small
part by the Mt. View City Council, worried about noise.
In a bit of irony, the 129th Rescue Wing of the California
National Guard ended up stationed there, and with what they
fly, probably make more noise than any general aviation
activities would have generated.

The Ames Lab is the wind tunnel.

Ames is comprised of numerous tunnels, the 40x80/80x120
being the one everyone knows about. But there's probably at
least half a dozen smaller wind tunnels still in operation.
They also are involved in life sciences and managed the
Pioneer series spacecraft.

Sub chasers still fly out of there as I recall and the NASA blackbird as
well.

Doubt that, those left with the Navy. I grew up less than a
mile from the front gate of Moffett Field. Still remember
the sound of the P3's running up engines early Saturday
mornings. And in the 60's, there seemed to be a never ending
string of A4s, Phantoms, P3's, and other assorted aircraft
flying right over our house. A blackbird may have flown in
for air shows, but I don't think one was ever based there.
NASA still does base an ER-2 there, a research version of
the U2. I used to walk by that plane every day going to the
head. It's a thin tube wrapped around a big engine, with
wings, a camera bay, and a cockpit. Rather amazing to look
up the back end of the aircraft with the engine removed, to
see how little metal holds it all together!

Jon

I worked in the local area and P3's and NASA flew out of there
up to 3 years ago.

They were putting cargo planes - ups/FedEx and all of the others there
do to the nice runways and that would give more tarmac for people planes.

Martin

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Jon Anderson wrote:
Martin H. Eastburn wrote:

I want to say USS Morgan or such.

The Macon, in 1931.

With the military driven out of California - northern area anyway the
base
went to NASA. It is a historical site.

There was an attempt to convert the navy side, at least in part, to
general aviation. That was shot down in no small part by the Mt. View
City Council, worried about noise.
In a bit of irony, the 129th Rescue Wing of the California National
Guard ended up stationed there, and with what they fly, probably make
more noise than any general aviation activities would have generated.

The Ames Lab is the wind tunnel.

Ames is comprised of numerous tunnels, the 40x80/80x120 being the one
everyone knows about. But there's probably at least half a dozen smaller
wind tunnels still in operation.
They also are involved in life sciences and managed the Pioneer series
spacecraft.

Sub chasers still fly out of there as I recall and the NASA blackbird
as well.

Doubt that, those left with the Navy. I grew up less than a mile from
the front gate of Moffett Field. Still remember the sound of the P3's
running up engines early Saturday mornings. And in the 60's, there
seemed to be a never ending string of A4s, Phantoms, P3's, and other
assorted aircraft flying right over our house. A blackbird may have
flown in for air shows, but I don't think one was ever based there. NASA
still does base an ER-2 there, a research version of the U2. I used to
walk by that plane every day going to the head. It's a thin tube wrapped
around a big engine, with wings, a camera bay, and a cockpit. Rather
amazing to look up the back end of the aircraft with the engine removed,
to see how little metal holds it all together!

Jon


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