The Antelope Valley Times

Your community. Your issues. Your news.

Gathering of Eagles event set for October

by •

[Contributed image]
LANCASTER – The Flight Test Historical Foundation will be hosting its Gathering of Eagles event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the F-22 aircraft’s first flight.

The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 21, at the H.W. Hunter Pavilion at Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, located at 2551 West Avenue H in Lancaster. Social hour begins at 4:45 p.m., with dinner at 6:00 p.m., followed by a panel discussion and an auction of aviation memorabilia.

Admission is $75 and tickets may be purchased online at the website http://EdwardsMuseum.org/GoE2017.

Attendees will have an opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind aviation memorabilia at the live and silent auctions, signed by aviation legends and F-22 crewmembers and personnel.

The panelists are as follows:

EAGLES:

  • Paul Metz – 1st Fight, LM (Lockheed Martin) Chief Test Pilot
  • Chuck Killberg – 1st Boeing Test Pilot
  • Bret Luedke – 2nd LM Chief Test Pilot
  • Randy Neville – 2nd Boeing Test Pilot
  • James “JB” Brown – 3rd LM Chief Test Pilot
  • Steve “Hooter” Rainey – 1st USAF F-22 Pilot/Boeing F-22 Pilot/Current LM Chief Test Pilot

HONORARY CHAIRMAN:

  • Maj. Gen. Doug Pearson, USAF (Ret.)  

IN MEMORIAM:

  • David P. “Cools” Cooley – F-22 Test Pilot

Panelist will discuss their experiences as Lockheed, Boeing, and Air Force F-22 pilots, to be followed by Q&A from the audience.

Proceeds from this event will be used to support the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards AFB and the Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale.   Money will be used for repair and restoration of the aircraft in the museum’s inventory, as well as constructing a new state-of-the-art museum and aerospace STEM education center outside the west gate of Edwards AFB, to make it accessible to the general public.

“It is the mission of Flight Test Historical Foundation to preserve the rich local history of flight test through the support of the museum at Edwards AFB and Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale” stated Lisa Gray, chairwoman of the Flight Test Historical Foundation board of directors.

–

Filed Under: Edwards AFB

1 comment for "Gathering of Eagles event set for October"

  1. … United States Air Force is an embarrassment! We need to change the name, from “Gathering of Eagles,” to “a flock of Turkeys.” Our over-bloated, spendthrift USAF are so humiliated, they’re too embarrassed to risk presenting hopelessly overrated and obsolete F-22s, and their hopelessly defective F35s, at air shows. Their Thunderbirds, still stuck flying old, broken down, bargain basement F-16s left over from the slick-Willy BJ days of Monica Lewinsky, always in such a state of disrepair, Thunderbirds can only manage flying three of four of them at their air shows. Rarely, five. Always some excuse, certainly never, six –