BILL NUMBER: ACR 119 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 1, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Runner
(Principal coauthor: Senator Knight)
SEPTEMBER 13, 2001
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 119--Relative to the Aerospace
Highway.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 119, as amended, Runner. Aerospace Highway.
This measure would dedicate a specified portion of State Highway
14 as the "Aerospace Highway." This measure also would request the
Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate
plaques and markers showing that special designation and, upon
receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the
cost, to erect appropriate plaques and markers.
Fiscal committee: yes.
WHEREAS, The aerospace industry is a major economic and social
force in America, employing approximately 900,000 people; and
WHEREAS, California has been a leader in the aerospace industry;
and
WHEREAS, Edwards Air Force Base, the home of the Air Force Flight
Test Center (AFFTC), has served the aerospace world for more than 50
years, from America's first jet airplane to the landings of the space
shuttle; and
WHEREAS, Numerous milestones in flight have taken place at the
AFFTC in its 50-year history, including the following: Air Force
Captain Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager piloting the rocket-powered Bell
X-1 became the first man to penetrate the so-called "sound barrier"
in 1947, and in 1949, he completed the first, and to this day, only
ground takeoff of an experimental rocket plane in the Bell X-1; and
WHEREAS, More than 150 confirmed "first flights" have taken off,
from Edwards Air Force Base, and this list represents a conservative
compilation of confirmed first flights of new experimental and
prototype air vehicles; and
WHEREAS, The XB-70, conceived in the 1950s as a high-altitude
bomber that could fly three times the speed of sound (Mach 3) and
considered one of the world's most exotic airplanes, was used as a
research aircraft for the advanced study of aerodynamics, propulsion,
and other subjects related to large supersonic aircraft; and
WHEREAS, In 1953, Jacqueline Cochran, flying a Canadian-built
(Canadair) F-86 Sabre, became the first woman to exceed the speed of
sound and established a new women's absolute speed record of 652.337
mph over a low-level course at Edwards Air Force Base; and
WHEREAS, In 1953, the prototype North American YF-100A Super Sabre
became the first aircraft in history to fly supersonic in level
flight on its maiden flight from Edwards Air Force Base; and
WHEREAS, In 1954, test pilot Major Arthur "Kit" Murray piloted the
Bell X-1A to a new altitude record of 90,440 feet and became the
first man to actually see the curvature of the earth; and
WHEREAS, In 1958, test pilot Captain Walter Irwin set a new
official world absolute speed record when he piloted a Lockheed
F-104A Starfighter to an average speed of 1,404.09 mph; and
WHEREAS, In 1959, with test pilot Major Joe Jordan at the
controls, a Lockheed F-104C became the first jet-powered
(air-breathing) aircraft to climb above 100,000 feet; and
WHEREAS, In 1962, Major Bob White became the first man to fly an
airplane above 300,000 feet, to 314,750 feet, and the first to fly an
airplane in near space (above 50 miles) and was the first of eight
X-15 test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base to earn their astronaut's
wings by flying an airplane above 50 miles; and
WHEREAS, In 1967, Air Force test pilot Major William J.
"Pete" Knight piloted the modified X-15A-2 to a speed of Mach 6.7
(4,520 mph) and thereby recorded the fastest speed anyone has ever
flown in an airplane; and
WHEREAS, In 1976, Air Force Captain Eldon Joersz set a new
official world absolute speed record when he piloted a Lockheed
SR-71A to an average speed of 2,193.64 mph at Edwards Air Force Base;
and
WHEREAS, In 1977, the nonorbiting Space Shuttle Enterprise
demonstrated the soundness of the shuttle design and confirmed the
approach and landing techniques after being launched from a 747 and
landing on Rogers Dry Lake 5 minutes and 21 seconds later; and
WHEREAS, In 1979, at a remote location, test pilot Lieutenant
Colonel N.K. "Ken" Dyson completed the final flight of Lockheed's
classified Have Blue low-observables concept demonstrator flight test
program, and convincingly demonstrated low observability against a
wide array of the most sophisticated air- and ground-based air
defense systems, and the successful conduct of these tests led to the
development of the F-117A Nighthawk in the early 1980s and the
stealth revolution began in earnest; and
WHEREAS, In 1981, the Space Shuttle Columbia landed safely on
Rogers Dry Lake following its first orbital mission, and marked the
first time in history an orbital vehicle had left earth under rocket
power and returned on the wings of an aircraft; and
WHEREAS, In 1986, Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager piloted the
experimental Voyager, and nine days, three minutes and 44 seconds
after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base, the aircraft touched
down on Rogers Dry Lake after completing the first-ever nonstop,
unrefueled flight around the world; and
WHEREAS, Given the importance of the aerospace industry to our
nation and the significant contribution of the AFFTC at Edwards Air
Force Base to the Department of Defense and the State of California,
it would be a fitting tribute to name a portion of State Highway 14
near Edwards Air Force Base as the Aerospace Highway; now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
concurring, That the Legislature hereby dedicates the portion of
State Highway 14, from the Pearblossom Highway to the Kern
County line State Highway 395 , as the Aerospace
Highway; and be it further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to
determine the cost of appropriate plaques and markers, consistent
with the signing requirements for the state highway system, showing
this special designation, and upon receiving donations from nonstate
sources sufficient to cover that cost, to erect those plaques and
markers; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.