Edwards Air Force Base is a base located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, northeast of Lancaster. It was home to many of the 20th century's most important and daring research flights and many of the world's bravest and most able pilots ever seen.

The base is named after test pilot Glen Edwards, who died while testing the Northrop YB-49. Prior to being named after Edwards in 1950, it was known as Muroc Army Air Field. In addition to the air force base, it is home to the United States Air Force Test Pilot School and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

It is designated the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC), and is where much of the testing of new aircraft and airborne systems is done. One of the important physical features on the base is Rogers Lake, a dry lakebed that is sometimes used as a landing strip. The lakebed has a black dotted line painted on it to assist in landings.

Notable occurrences at Edwards include Chuck Yeager's famous flight where he broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, the first landings of the Space Shuttle, and the 1986 around the world flight of the Scaled Composites Voyager.

Geography

Edwards AFB is located at 34°55'18" North, 117°55'59" West (34.921701, -117.933043)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 44.5 km² (17.2 mi²). 44.5 km² (17.2 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 5,909 people, 1,678 households, and 1,515 families residing in the base. The population density is 132.9/km² (344.1/mi²). There are 1,783 housing units at an average density of 40.1/km² (103.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 72.70% White, 10.42% Black or African American, 0.83% Native American, 4.35% Asian, 0.52% Pacific Islander, 5.43% from other races, and 5.74% from two or more races. 11.68% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 1,678 households out of which 67.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.9% are married couples living together, 3.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 9.7% are non-families. 9.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.19 and the average family size is 3.38.

In the base the population is spread out with 36.1% under the age of 18, 19.9% from 18 to 24, 42.1% from 25 to 44, 1.8% from 45 to 64, and 0.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 23 years. For every 100 females there are 121.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 130.4 males.

The median income for a household in the base is $36,915, and the median income for a family is $36,767. Males have a median income of $27,118 versus $23,536 for females. The per capita income for the base is $13,190. 1.3% of the population and 1.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 1.3% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• Edwards AFB (http://www.edwards.af.mil)
• Global Security (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/edwards.htm)
• MapQuest's map of Edwards AFB (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?address=&city=&state=&zip=93524&country=US)
• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=34.921701&longitude=-117.933043&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=34.921701&lon=-117.933043&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-117.933043&lat=34.921701&w=750&h=500)