EDWARDS SCRUBS AIR SHOW OFFICIALS CITE WAR ON TERRORISM FOR DECISION.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Edwards Air Force Base's annual open house and air show, which annually draws 150,000 to 500,000 visitors to see the Air Force's latest aircraft, has been canceled, officials said Thursday.

The open house, scheduled for Oct. 20-21, was canceled after a review of safety, security and workload requirements, the base said in a statement.

``While it's important to provide American taxpayers demonstrations of current air power capabilities, conducting an open house safely at this time would divert critical resources from the war on terrorism,'' said Maj. Gen. Doug Pearson, the base commander. ``We will continue to work with our community leaders to keep them informed of our activities. We appreciate the outstanding support from our local communities.''

The open house was to be a two-day event this year to mark the 50th anniversary of the Air Force Flight Test Center. Civilian flying acts had already been signed up to participate.

Although flight test work began several years prior, the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards' main unit, was officially created June 25, 1951, the same year Muroc Air Force Base was renamed for Capt. Glen Edwards, who had died testing a YB-49 flying wing.

Edwards' air show becomes at least the seventh in the United States to be canceled over the past two weeks.

The Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo, scheduled for June, was canceled earlier this week because of financial and security concerns, including the difficulty in lining up military displays and the cost while airlines are losing billions of dollars.

An Edwards spokesman said he didn't know the last time an open house had been canceled, although the 1996 show was cut short because of high winds.