Another throwback picture from an airshow at NAS Moffett Field… I ‘think’ this was 88…
The top of the Hangar 1 is 198 feet, and the average hot air balloon is about 70 feet.
IF I remember correctly, they were ‘flying’ them about 50-70 feet up giving the kids rides.
The white 2 story ‘building’ on the right was where FASO held training classes.
Here’s a ‘windshield tour of Moffett in 2022 by somebody. Good pics of the current status of the hangar now, and a bit of the museum. That drive in was SO familiar!!! Six years at Moffett off an on…
Wow. Got to drive by the hangars twice, and they looked huge from the freeway. Up close, that’d be massive vertigo. A 20-story building, about 1000 ft long?
I never was at Moffett but they did have a similar set up at Lakehurst NAS.
In the late 70s through the mid 80s, I lived in San Jose and worked in Palo Alto. My morning commute was on US101. One of the more memorable commute moments was coming up to Moffett just as a C5 was coming in for a landing. Not Navy, but interesting. 🙂
Huge plane, and a shitload of landing wheels.
Where I live now, it’s F-15s doing runs. We have a F-15C training base not too far away and they’ll fly over us when they go to play in the boondocks. Rather different sound than the occasional airliner. Sometimes, they’ll push the All-weather envelope…
Spent 3 years living on Kwajalein island. Which meant C-141s flying over the house ever hour or so, along with other aircraft. That got to be normal. When the C-5 flew over, and over and over and over, man, that thing was huge. And, yes, lots and lots of wheels.
Ah yes, VP-31. Was there twice for P-3’s. Once when we transitioned from P-2’s and again on my way to VP-6. Had to make a couple of trips back as I was the P-3B Upgrade COMNAVAIRPAC Natops for IFT and RO.
When coming back north from Reid-Hillview airport the hangars were a welcome landmark in the smoggy almost IFR conditions.
It’s great to see Hangar One getting its makeover! We spent a lot of time stationed at Moffett. We lived in Santa Clara 65-67 and 71-73 and were on base 75-77. My father trained in P-3s 65-67 with VP-47, then was XO/CO of VP-9 from 71-73, and finally, was CO of Moffett from 75-77. My mother witnessed the P-3/Convair 990 collision in April of 73 while she was parked between Hangars Two and Three.
All- Thanks for the comments! Steve- Your dad was the CO when I was there the second time!!!
Which VP that time?
VP-50
My father was stationed there during the 70’s. Got to go into that hanger as a kid. It was amazing then and it’s something I wont forget. This brought back some memories. Thank you!
Anyone at Moffett in ’77? One evening heading north on 101, just as I hit the crest of the overpass for the road into the base, my ’66 Ranchero got hit with a powerful jet blast that came close to blowing me off the roadway. It was a handful keeping it pointed forward. I looked out the passenger side, and there was a large 4 engine jet with a serious nose up attitude that appeared to have a significant sink rate.
It had 4 separate engine pods under a delta wing. I recognized it as a B-58 Hustler. I don’t recall if it had the belly pod. Supposedly, those aircraft had already been withdrawn from service, but there is nothing else that matches that planform that I’m aware of. I’m thinking that getting one of those into and out of Moffett might be a bit difficult. I’m not sure if the runway is long enough.
Will, I was there in 77, but deployed a lot, so I don’t remember that, but Ames did have ‘odd’ acft in and out of there. Moffett had 8000 feet, plenty for a B-58 at anything other than max gross.
Ahhh, I knew several kids with a Dad in VP-50.
Indeed, NASA always had interesting stuff coming and going. We used to watch their U2 all the time. I don’t know if NASA ever used a B-58? Sometimes we’d see unusual aircraft stopping in for a fill-up that wasn’t stationed there, too. And, yes, those runways were plenty long. As I recall, the runway closest to the tower was 8000+ feet, and the runway closest to Hangars 2/3 was 9000+ feet?
Steve- You are correct! 32L was 8100 feet and 32R was 9200 feet.