Flybys, formations to mark Edwards Air Force Base events

A sonic boom will kick off the Team Edwards Day Ceremony Oct. 13, and several more will mark other portions of the two days of activities, according to an event schedule.

General aviation pilots who expect to fly in Southern California during the activities are urged to check notices to airmen carefully for advisories about flights including low-altitude, high-speed formation flight demonstrations conducted in conjunction with the two-day event.

The Oct. 13 plans include a formation flight consisting of four F-16s and a B-1B overflying Edwards Air Force Base, followed later in the day by a formation consisting of an F-16, an F-15, an F-22 Raptor, and an F-35 Lightning II overflying Edwards, and then proceeding, mostly at 1,000 feet agl, over numerous Southern California cities.

See the event schedule and route charts provided in this informational package for the formation flights, and be sure to check notams carefully before flying during the active periods.

On Sept. 18, 1947, the U.S. Air Force became a separate military service. On Oct. 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier in level flight piloting an experimental Bell X-1 aircraft, reaching a speed of 700 mph at 43,000 feet.