AIR OF HISTORY; TOURS OFFER PEEK AT EDWARDS' PAST.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

For those looking for something to do this summer or for those who want to explore the Antelope Valley, Dennis Shoffner has some advice: Take in Edwards Air Force Base.

The public doesn't have to wait until the annual open house in October to get a glimpse of the Air Force's flight test center in action. The base has a museum, an open-air display of historic aircraft, and two tours - one by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and another by the Air Force, said Shoffner, an Edwards spokesman.

``People have visitors over the summer, an aunt or an uncle, and they need places to take them,'' Shoffner said. ``Why not see Edwards Air Force Base in operation?''

The 90-minute Air Force tour includes a short film, ``First Flights,'' narrated by base historian Jim Young, and then a bus tour along the Edwards flight line. Time and weather permitting, a stop is made along Rogers Dry Lake bed.

The weekly tour begins at 10 a.m. Fridays. Tours for large groups can be arranged for other days. For reservations and directions to the Edwards public affairs office, call [phone].

``Visitors must make reservations by Wednesday morning,'' Shoffner said. ``Unless we know they are coming they are not allowed on base.''

The flight test center averages about 500 visitors a month, Shoffner said.

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center tours are conducted at 10:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. daily Monday through Friday. The 90-minute tour includes a short video on Dryden's history, and then a walk-through of one of the center's hangars and a glimpse of the flight line.

Visitors can see a reproduction of the X-15 rocket plane, the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle used by Apollo astronauts to practice landing on the moon, F-18 chase airplanes and whatever research aircraft happen to be on the flight line at the time.

Reservations can be made the same day of the visit, but large groups must call in advance. For reservations and directions, call [phone], [phone] or [phone].

Last year, NASA had 11,584 visitors take the tour.

Edwards also has the Air Force Flight Test History Museum, a collection of artifacts in what once was a dime store. The museum has exhibits of Edwards' history, information on the formation of Rogers and Rosamond dry lake beds, photographs, X-1 and X-15 rocket engines and wind tunnel models.

Since it opened in 1994, the museum has had more than 50,000 visitors.

The museum operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. To visit the museum, call [phone]. Visitors must provide their names, an estimated time when they will arrive and which gate they will use to enter the base.

Guards at the gate will provide a map to get visitors to the museum.

Visitors also can see the Jimmy Doolittle Airpark, located at the corner of Lancaster and Rosamond boulevards. The airpark display includes a B-52D bomber, F-84F fighter, NF-104A research jet, F-111A fighter-bomber, T-28B trainer and Gloster Meteor jet.

Next to the airpark is the future home of the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum, a 12,000-square-foot building that is being prepared for an opening sometime in 2000.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO A group of visitors in 1994 tours an aviation exhibit at Edwards Air Force Base.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News