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From Blimps to Microchips: Moffett Field

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

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Silicon Valley is synonymous today with high-tech startups and technology, a center for computer research and big-name tech companies. But in the 1930s that reputation was just beginning to form when the city of Sunnyvale sold some land to the US government to establish an airbase, today known as Moffett Field. The history of that airfield and the work done there has done more than a little to earn Silicon Valley its name.
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Script by JCG
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Опубликовано:

28 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 303

@aivehn Год назад

As a child living in Mt. View, I grew up watching the P3's fly in and out of Moffett NAS. We attended many airshows there, seeing the Blue Angel's fly most years. I've walked around inside Hanger #1 many times, even seen the fog at the top. Thank you for this flight down memory lane.

@johna1160 Год назад

Came to make similar comment. For me, highlight from the mid sixties was being in Hanger One during airshow checking out all the old war birds when a small Piper/Cessna type plane flew right through the hanger. Along with everyone else, I just stood there in total amazement, mouth agape, watching this plane fly through at what must have been just above stall speed.

@rong1924 Год назад

Same here. P3s flying over were a part of daily life. The airshows were the best.

@onetake1962 Год назад

P3s were a regular part of my late 60s early 70s upbringing. Flew pretty much right over our house near Wolfe road and el Camino in Sunnyvale. The occasional C5 made the Orions seem tiny! C130s were regular too and their characteristic sound made you go look! Cool to see the blue angels at Moffett. School classes got to visit and wander through the big hangars!

@michaeljohnson1057 Год назад

P3 rolling in or taking off every 45 minutes...

@jimhenningfeld5896 Год назад

I was stationed at NAS Moffett Field. I spent three tours of duty there. I was amazed by the construction of the hanger. It rain inside the hanger a couple of times.

@stevetadlock5223 Год назад

I was in Forty 79-83 as an IFT

@michaelbruce3264 7 месяцев назад

I spent my reserve time after active duty in ASWOCs at Moffett.

@roywhiteo5 3 месяца назад

They’re tearing down hangar3 right now.

@Zehbron Год назад

My dad was a career Navy officer who retired in 1959 after 26 years. Growing up in nearby San Carlos, we used to go to the commissary and barber shop on base about twice a month, and would occasionally go to a movie there. There was still at least one blimp based there in the 1950s, and it was fun hearing an occasional jet break the sound barrier going overhead before they put an end to that. Good times.

@warchitect73 Год назад

Ohhh the commissary! Remember the frosty in the tall plastic cup?

@larryhutchens7593 Год назад

Grew up in the Navy myself & remember flying out of Moffett on a trip to Kwajalein in the Marshall islands. We spent a year there. First time flying & it was on an old C-54. At the time I think it was NATS which was later MATS or Military Air Transportation Service.

@joetoney184 Год назад

When I worked in silicon Valley I always wanted to know the history of those huge buildings between Santa Clara and SF. Thanks for making these wonderful videos.

@mitch_the_-itch Год назад

As the Marxists that run that shitehole made you sit in traffic on 101 staring at it instead of doing constructive things, lol.

@michaelgalea5148 Год назад

I used to live in Mountain View very close to Moffet Field. Loved the history of the Naval air station there.

@nelsonbrum8496 Год назад

As a Sunnyvale resident for nearly 50 years, I remember the P3 Orion patrols coming and going like clockwork. A friend's grandfather that lived a block over, a Pearl Harbor survivor (USS St. Louis), would take us to all the air shows at Moffett. We live near the outer limits of the flight path of the Blue Angels when they performed. I will never forget the day a bunch of us kids were on the roof of our house, watching what we could of their practice runs a day prior to the show, one of the jets flew so low we could see the pilot wave back at us just before he banked right and headed north, back to Moffett. The sound of afterburners in your face is f@#$ing awesome!

@jeffsaxton2051 Год назад

Don't forget to look in "your own backyard" for more content. There was a similar huge hanger for airships at Scott Field near you, and the airbase has been doing several models of same for their museum through my old employer, a local model building firm. If I'm not mistaken, the Scott hanger was even larger than the one at Moffett.

@TheHistoryGuyChannel Год назад

The photo of S-13 and 14 together is in the hangar at Scott

@petestorz172 Год назад

I'm not native to Silicon Valley, but have lived here quite a few decades. From the 70s into the 90s it was common to see P-3Cs and U2s flying into Moffett, with occasional military helicopters. Airshows were held annually at Moffett, featuring the Blue Angels. The year I went to one with my family the Angels had reverted to A-4s due to a possible problem with their F-18 Hornets. A V-22 was also demonstrated that year. Nowadays some WW2 warbirds are exhibited and flown from Moffett every Memorial Day weekend. I've seen a B-17G and a B-24 at times flying about the valley (one can pay to take a ride). Lockheed uses Moffett because some of their projects are required to use military transport for delivery (usually a C-130, though very occasionally a C-5 or C-17).

@StevenBanks123 Год назад

I live under the flight path. There is no sound like 4 Pratt & Whitney radials roaring overhead at 500 feet!

@Markle2k Год назад

Many V/STOL concepts were developed at Ames, including the V-22's direct ancestors, the XV-15 and XV-3. The YC-14 and YC-15 spent a lot of time at Moffett Field. You'll see a lot of the YC-15 in the C-17

@donaldscott3921 11 месяцев назад

Those were almost certainly not U-2s, but NASA ER-2s, used for earth research.

@StevenBanks123 11 месяцев назад

@@donaldscott3921 True. However, in essence: same airframe, same engine, different sensors. Like a Boeing 707 was an Air Force KC-135.

@donaldscott3921 11 месяцев назад

Precisely correct, Steven. One of the pleasures of working as a NASA Educator based at Ames was having the chance to be briefed by ER2 Pilots and by the fellow who dressed them for flight. @@StevenBanks123

@Kevin-to7dz Год назад

As a guest of a an Army reservist, I walked inside of Hanger 1 in 1978. It was breath taking.

@patfontaine5917 Год назад

Thanks, History Guy! My father was a Navy guy stationed at Moffett Field when I was born In Sunnyvale . This was a great trip back in time. Love your histories that deserve to be remembered.

@fob1xxl Год назад

I grew up in San Jose from 1954 to 1964. I am very familiar with Moffett Field. I loved seeing "The Blimp" in the hangar every time we would drive by. As a young boy of 10, it was pretty exciting ! Great childhood memories. Thanks for the video!

@DouglasLippi Год назад

Lucky! As a child of the 70s/80s I had always wanted to see a blimp out there, but never did 😔

@chriholt Год назад

I grew up in Sunnyvale, and remember well Moffett Field with its iconic hangars, as well as the P-3 Orions returning every afternoon from their patrols. We would also hear the roar of the massive wind tunnels at Ames. Great memories!

@PlasmaCoolantLeak Год назад

The scene of the astronauts near wind tunnels in "The Right Stuff" was filmed at Ames.

@ricke.2205 Год назад

Your videos deserve to be remembered in public school classrooms. Always well done.

@stevebailey325 Год назад

I grew up in Sunnyvale in the 60s and 70s into the 80s. I was in elementary school with the P-3 and small plan collision happend falling on the local golf course. I watched the P-3s fly in and out, had many friends serving in the Navy based at Moffett, saw the U-2 Nasa airplanes take off, was in the Civil Air Partol and participated in the Air shows, was there at the last airshow in '89, saw the sad day when they "deskinned" Hanger one. Thank you for the memories HG! :)

@armoredsaint6639 Год назад

I remember that! I lived in Sunnyvale when I was 12 about 1975 or so for a couple of years. I think my school was on Matilda if I remember correctly! And yes P3C Orion’s, U2‘s C1-30s C1 41s and C5 A’s all the time every 3 to 5 minutes I believe!

@Zehbron Год назад

Silicon Valley really got its start with two companies, Eitel-McCullough (Eimac) and Dalmo Victor, both instrumental in developing radar systems during WW II. You might look into the origins of the semiconductor business, much of which sprang from Stanford University and Fairchild. The is a lot of Fairchild “DNA” in many of the big name tech companies in the valley today.

@curtgomes Год назад

Sp very true.....

@garymartin9777 Год назад

And Varian...

@artnickel1664 Год назад

Grew up in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. Played golf at NAS Moffett while on leave in Sunnyvale. First time I saw the Blue Angels was there in the 1950s. Saw the Pogo fly there. Thanks for refreshing old memories.

@dust1209 Год назад

Hangar 1 and Moffett field were a big part of my childhood. We used to go to all of the airshows and watch the P-3s flying around. Can't wait to share this video with my family!

@randalbloomquist7812 Год назад

Great video! I was stationed at NAS Moffett Field 88 to 93 as a P-3C Flight Engineer. It was a great place to live and work and I loved the climate, the mountains and the ocean. I worked in all three hangars at different times. On October 17, 1989 at 5:00 PM (1700) we had just returned from a mission and parked the airplane at a spot on the east side of hangar-3. I was on a ladder checking #2 engine for postflight when the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta Earthquake struck the Bay Area. The aircraft was bouncing off the main mounts, the concrete flight line looked like waves on water. I took the ladder down and moved away from the aircraft, walking was difficult due to the strange movement of the ground. The shaking continued for about 20 seconds but seemed longer. A couple minutes later there was a strong 5.4 aftershock. Then it seemed to get quiet, after a while we started hearing sirens in the distance and could see smoke from fires in the marina district and Oakland. This quake collapsed the upper section of the Bay Bridge and destroyed the elevated Cypress structure on interstate 880 rendering both impassable and killing 63 people. Then two years later, from the base we saw the beginning of the 1991 Oakland Hills fire that turned into another tragedy. Many crazy memories I hadnt thought about for quite a while until seeing your video.

@curtjurgens5538 Год назад

I am a member of the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield. Our area is now known as Moffett Air National Guard Base. I have been at Moffett since 2006 and the base has undergone many changes through the years. It would be awesome if you could feature our wing or Air Force rescue in an episode. Many people don't realize what we do. For example we recently flew from Moffett to rescue an injured Costa Rican fisherman off the coast of Costa Rico. We fly to any place that needs us such as responding to hurricanes on the east coast and wildfires in our own state. We have searched for and found missing hikers in the sierras. As of this day we have been credited with saving 1159 lives.

@TheHistoryGuyChannel Год назад

I’d love to tell that story. If you have ideas about specific events please feel free to email thg@thehistoryguy.net. If your wing has an information officer, I’d be happy to talk with them as well.

@roberthevern6169 Год назад

I love your movies!

@nathanchampion9553 Год назад

My grandfather spent many of his 20 years in the US Navy at Hanger 1. Thank you for sharing the history of Moffett Field.

@NeilFraser Год назад

Actually the airship era didn't end in 1947. The Zeppelin "Eureka" operated from Moffett between 2008 an 2012. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to ride her once.

@abergethirty Год назад

An actual zeppelin, not a blimp?

@NeilFraser Год назад

@@abergethirty Yes, D-LZNT a Zeppelin N07 operated by Airship Ventures. Watching that silent monster glide overhead at not much more than tree-top level was breathtaking every time.

@notahotshot Год назад

@@NeilFrasera single zeppelin being put into operation in the US, 71 years after the last US flight of a zeppelin, doesn't exactly negate the statement that the era of the airship had ended.

@rong1924 Год назад

The big white Eureka flew right over my house a few times. Surreal.

@Jjames763 Год назад

Also, Moffett field is hosting an actual, fully rigid Zeppelin right now. LTA Research’s Pathfinder 1.

@kylecoleman1193 Год назад

As the child of a U.S. Navy airman who flew the P3 Orion aircraft; we lived on Moffett Base on 2 different occasion. (1969-1970 and 1975-1977). Thanks for making this video about such a important and historic base…there were many facts presented that I did not know about. It’s also really cool to see the house we lived in show up in photos dated back to the 1930’s. ❤

@JWsGarage Год назад

I was stationed at Tustin MCB in the early 90’s all three of the blimp hangers were still in use back than by helicopter squadrons. the size of these man made wooden structures is absolutely unbelievable.

@dazoomcat Год назад

I was with HMH-361 flying the old stallions. Man those hangers were huge. I still remember when they brought in the good year blimp for maintenance. I thought it would take up the whole hanger. Heck they parked it and the two semis that went with it in the corner. I wonder if that big ol white owl still lives in the one hanger.

@JWsGarage Год назад

@@dazoomcat I tried to get in to one of them a few years ago but was quickly stopped by security, they had a new type of airship project in the works that wasn’t for public viewing. I believe I seen a pic at one time of 4 blimps inside one hanger with plenty room to spare. Can you imagine being the poor fella that was the ATC and had to climb all them stairs to the tower in the roofs? That was a long walk.

@gyrene_asea4133 Год назад

Back in maybe 1982 at Tustin, Bell Aircraft was demo'ing the test platform for what became the V-22 Osprey. They had us rotary folk lined up on the tarmac when they zoomed past in airplane mode, then came back into helo mode and proceeded to fly through one of the hangers. Cool beyond belief. This a decade before the Osprey became a thing, and maybe before the Marines had heard of lawyers.

@JWsGarage Год назад

@@gyrene_asea4133 I was with HMLA 167 when we received one of the very first V22’s for testing that would have been in 1993-94 time frame at MCAB new river.

@JWsGarage Год назад

@@Stevie-J Ca is so rich with military history. And agreed I sat outside a restraint having lunch looking at the hangers in Tustin what back in my time were surrounded by farms and corn fields.

@garywagner2466 Год назад

Very interesting. Years ago we visited the air base where my wife lived as a kid. Most of the buildings are gone or converted to commercial use. The old family quarters were torn down. The concrete runways and ramps are still there but overgrown with weeds. Kind of sad. She had mixed emotions, as you might expect. Good to see Moffett Field still being used for something. Thanks for posting.

@jayligon3704 Год назад

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this video of yours. I was stationed at Moffett Field from late 1960 to January 1964. I was assigned to VR8, a Navy transportation squadron based there. We were residents of hanger 3 and were the maintenance squadron for VR7 which was the operations squadron. Oue planes were C121Gs (Lockheed Super Constellations). During the 3 years + I was a member of VR8 we only lost one aircraft which crashed into a mountain side on Guam during inclement weather. About 6 months before my enlistment was up the squadron began replacing the C121s with C130 Hercules.

@kcthecowboy Год назад

I grew up around there. When I was in the Sea Cadets, our classrooms were in Hanger One.

@PapaKlutch Год назад

Great video history of Moffett. Brings back a lot of great memories. I lived on base as a dependent from 75 - 77. My father was stationed there several times, and he was the XO/CO of VP-9 from 71 - 73 and was Commanding Officer of Moffett from 75 - 77.

@pinkushatejar 5 месяцев назад

William Adger Moffett was my 5x great uncle, I've always had a huge interest in aviation but had no idea about his connection with the history of Dirigibles and lighter than air travel, this video is really fascinating

@rileyk99 Год назад

Worked at NASA Ames on Air traffic control studies in college. Used to eat lunch on the grass in front of the big wind tunnel. A friend who worked there in the 80s told me that when the Macon was lost some of the workshops were just abandoned and locked up with engines on work stands and tools left where they last fell.

@antoninuspius1747 Год назад

I worked at Lockheed Space Systems for 30 years right next to Moffett. Tons of fond memories. In the 90's NASA had some U-2s (I think they were 2/3 scale) that took off from Moffett for atmospheric research. Amazing takeoff. Basically climbs at around 45 degrees or more, screaming engines the whole way. You could hear them take off regardless of where you were in the buildings.

@soaringvulture Год назад

As far as I know, there were no 2/3 scale U-2s. The ones at Moffett were the real thing and yes, they went up into the sky at 45 degrees until they disappeared. And it was only one extremely loud J-75 pushing it up there.

@ginac8055 11 месяцев назад

My grandfather worked at Moffett Field and eventually retired from there. Thanks for covering this part of local history.

@johngregg5735 Год назад

Excellent as always. But you didn't cover it's most important use. It was used to hold the annual 'Skills of Scouting' show. The SOS was a way that the scouts could share what scouts do to the community. Picture the floor of a blimp hanger filled - side to side and front to back with scouts, booths, parents etc. As a cub scout I didn't really have any skills to show off but it was a heck of an experience..

@RetiredSailor60 Год назад

Good morning from Ft Worth TX to everyone watching. Have a great weekend. Stay cool and safe. I was stationed in San Diego from 1984-89 on USS Cape Cod AD 43 1984-86 and USS Kinkaid DD 965 1987-89. Visited North Island NAS many times. It's the only area large enough to moor US Navy Aircraft Carriers.

@DalePalmer Год назад

Working in silicon Valley across hwy 237 from Moffett in the 90s, I loved watching the P3s and U2s fly out of there

@jamesculver605 Год назад

I was stationed at Moffett from 1973 to 1978, I was an Air Traffic Cintroller, always amazed by hanger #1

@richsadowsky8580 Год назад

Love this episode. Lived in San Jose and worked throughout Silicon Valley and always held Moffett Field in high regard from a historic perspective. Thanks and keep up the fun, interesting, and educational videos.

@trustyred66 Год назад

this was so interesting, I was born and raised in Sunnyvale, Ca (born in 1971) . My dad worked at Lockheed in upper management so I grew up sitting on my roof watching the Blue Angels practice. I had no idea about all the history of it's beginning. Thank you so much!

@MightyMezzo Год назад

If you’re interested in seeing Moffett in its earliest incarnation, check out the 1934 movie “Here Comes the Navy.” The last third of the movie is set at Moffett and includes shots of the Macon in Hangar One. (Watch the rest of the movie too. It has James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Gloria Stuart and location shots of the battleship Arizona. )

@donaldscott3921 11 месяцев назад

Many thanks for the reference to the movie. I'll share that with my NASA - Ames Colleagues, and friends.

@simpletruth5224 Год назад

Stationed at Moffett Field in the 1980s, P3s. Loved being there. Loved the guys I worked with. Loved seeing NASA U2s take off and land.

@davefox8948 Год назад

I briefly worked at Moffat in the 70’s and early 80’s. Thank you for this walk down memory lane and some history I never knew.

@erichusmann5145 Год назад

I had occasion to be at Hangar #1 once. It held a robotics competition: FIRST Robotics Competition, NASA Ames Regional, 1999--the first event held by that organization on the West Coast. The team my dad mentored was competing, I got to come along. (The growth of said competition... well, that's another topic. The local event moved to San Jose State the following year, and is now known as the Silicon Valley Regional.) I remember being impressed at the sheer size of this building. The competition took up maybe 1/3 of the floor space for one field and 26 team pits--for reference, that's usually crammed into 1 or 2 high school gyms. Didn't even touch most of the floorspace, didn't use 90% of the vertical height...

@martysherrygriggs8136 Год назад

WOOOWWWWW!! Thank you for this history guy!! I was stationed at Moffett Field from 1989 to 1993 flying radar on P-3's with Squadron VP-46. I loved my time there and i don't know anyone I was stationed with there that didn't love it. I was there in Oct 1989 during the Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1). We were in barracks 19 when it started and we ran outside having realized the age of the buildings and paint and plaster falling from the ceilings! When we got outside we could hear the doors on Hangar 1 banging against the hangar (boom....boom...boom). One evening i pulled a fire watch at Hangar 1 during a holiday weekend and went exploring--I climbed to the top of the hangar and wished I had my camera with me!! Lots of history in the old spaces that weren't used anymore!

@brucestarr4438 Год назад

On a clear day you could see San Fransisco from the top of Hanger 1. You had to be careful in the upper areas inside it. There was so much flammable dust built up, it could cause a dust explosion.

@LoanwordEggcorn Год назад

Thanks for covering some of Moffett Field's history.

@danielgoodson703 Год назад

Fly there regularly (with PPR#) bringing patients to Stanford. Lovely preserve.

@avnrulz8587 Год назад

We still build blimps in our hangar. They're just not airships.

@davidvyboch5534 Год назад

What's the difference between a blimp and an airship? I know very little about this.

@FYMASMD Год назад

@@davidvyboch5534look it up. Ya know, Google. 🙄

@notahotshot Год назад

@@davidvyboch5534 Blimps are actually airships, they're not zeppelins. Both zeppelins and blimps are airships. The difference between the two is that a zeppelin has an internal rigid frame, and a blimp does not.

@RufusGRufus Год назад

I was attached to a patrol squadron stationed at NAS Moffitt Field from 1990-1993 and can verify that Hanger 1 had it’s own ecosystem. At morning quarters (a daily gathering of all personnel) it was often sunny outside the hanger but ‘misty and rainy’ inside the hanger. :-)

@EXROBOWIDOW Год назад

Years ago, I attended an air show. One of the booths was selling posters of military aircraft. Most of them were dramatic photos of jet fighters doing crazy maneuvers, streaking through the blue sky. One poster was different. Titled "Airships on Parade," the old black and white photo depicted a formation of US Navy blimps cruising majestically over farmland, their blimp hangars dotting the ground in the distance. I figured the scene was shot somewhere in Ohio, or a place like that. I mounted it in a large black frame and hung it on the wall. Some years later, my husband got involved with a nationwide robotics competition for high school kids. His team went to compete up near San Jose, and our son and I went along. The competition was held at Moffatt, inside a ginormous old blimp hangar. The playing field used in the competition is about the size of a volleyball court. It barely took up any room inside that drafty old hangar. Some time after we returned home, I was looking at the old blimp poster on our wall. As I gazed at it, I began to realize something looked familiar about the oddly shaped blimp hangar in the background. Yes! It was! I had just spent a few days in that very same amazing hangar. The old Navy blimps were not flying in the Midwest, as I had supposed. They were flying over California, my state! It was interesting hearing the history of the base and the hangar. Thank you!

@edmundschultz6648 Год назад

Spent 6 years at Moffett Field flying P-3s during the early to mid 70s. Loved it there.

@scooterdon8365 Год назад

Thank you for continued great work sir💪🏼

@nozdormu89 Год назад

I grew up in Silicon Valley. Hangar One was and still is one of the most impressive buildings built in the Area for as long as I can remember. And the Wind Tunnel was also amazing. There are some amazing airshows that take place at Moffett field every year. Man I have some good memories of that Naval Airstation.

@anselmdanker9519 Год назад

Thank you for covering this piece of history. I used to work in Santa Clara and used to pass by and see the large hangars and the anti submarine Orion's flew in. Appreciate the background.

@hertzair1186 Год назад

The private airline I fly for flys into there often…the airship hangars are still there and the FBO (corporate terminal) is still basically an airbase operations setup (Baseops).

@newname4785 Год назад

Respectfully, SiliCONE is for implants. SiliCON is for chips. The valley is named for the latter.

@soaringvulture Год назад

Right. The girls here are mostly real.

@bkspurgeon8978 Год назад

My wife worked there in the 70's as a mathematician for NASA. One of our son's also spent some time there when he was in the Air Force

@adriennegormley9358 Год назад

Lived near Moffett for yrs, but closest was when I had an apt in Sunnyvale so close that the P3s not only circled over my bldg on their training rounds, but when the Blue Angels performed there on July 4, one of the crew loved to buzz down our street low enough you could see the grin on his face. At one company i worked at for several yrs was just a cpl blocks east of there and what we called the Blue Cube, which was an Air Force installation.

@RustySax1949 Год назад

As a youngster growing up in Campbell, CA, we were often in the flight path into Moffett, depending on the winds. Several times my father took me to see the Blue Angles perform, which, as a pre-teen, was a spectacular outing. One year, when I was about 10, I won a "door prize," which turned out to be a beautiful scale model of the Vought F-8 "Crusader" jet plane. That model was the centerpiece of the airplanes I hung from the ceiling of my bedroom for years. . .

@bobf4765 Год назад

Went thru Moffett RAG, Navy aircrew training, in '78. Transitioned from P3A/B to P3B Mod. Stood many fire watches, Duty Driver & AOOD... Good times in Sunnyvale! USN VP4 77-80...

@themaven2017 Год назад

I grew up in Milpitas in the 70s. I would go with my grandma shopping at the commissary on the base. The father of one of my friends worked there as an aeronautical engineer (maybe at Ames?), and helped design the shell of the atomic bomb. I remember a big celebration for the Centennial and also a new 747 plane that was on display and we could walk through.

@frankgulla2335 Год назад

Wonderful piece on Moffet Field and great video and photos from history. Thank you, THG!

@mrb.5610 Год назад

Nice to see a similar video on the Brit equivalent at Cardington ! The Royal Airship Works - but not the sheds - was mostly demolished for houses but until the 1990s still had the fabric sheds and hydrogen plant. The sheds themselves are in pretty good condition - one was completely recovered a few years ago. Useful if you need a huge covered space - a recent Batman film was shot inside ! The tall moring mast is long gone but the corrugated iron winding engine shed is still there - only just though - there were a lot of holes in it when I last visited a few years ago.

@davidross1576 Год назад

When I worked in Mt. View in the late 80’s our neighbor was a P3 Orion reserve pilot. Cool stories.

@birdsdaword Год назад

Back in the 2000s,I went ballroom dancing at NASA Ames. Although I was not an employee, I was able to go as a guest. There were old-fashioned aircraft on the grassy fields nearby.

@1shoe Год назад

I was stationed there in early 1963 as a lowly airman apprentice as a crewman of VP-46. Were the first P3 Orion squadron on the west coast. Fond memories of that place 60 years ago.

@steveanderson9290 Год назад

I was stationed at Moffett with VP-31 from '70 to '73. A climb to the top of hanger 1 via the internal staircases was pretty thrilling, and you could exit through a hatch and get out onto the roof right next to the rotating beacon. One of my squadron mates decided it would be a good idea to do that and climb up onto the beacon after a night of drinking off base, and amazingly, he managed to mount the moving beacon. He soon became dizzy and incapacitated, and ended up screaming piteously for help. Someone on base finally noticed his screams coming from way up there and notified security. Word is the marines had to find someone to shut down the beacon for a bit to get him down. I don't remember his punishment for this incident, or if there even was any. Maybe he will read this and let us know!

@pooryorick831 Год назад

I grew up next to Moffett Field. One of my earliest memories is of going to an airshow there at the age of 5. We walked into the dirigible hangar. I remember walking through that door. It was and is the largest indoor space I have ever been in. I went to other air shows there and saw the Blue Angels perform many times. I also remember the P-3 Orions that were based there coming and going. In later years, as I commuted home from work, I was entertained while sitting in traffic by all the planes landing one after another as they returned. Lots of great memories. I don't live in the Bay Area anymore, but I still have the great memories of Moffett.

@tomh6183 Год назад

Just love any video from THG,but when zeppelin’s or dirigible’s are included then my day is complete.

@2DaylnHistory Год назад

Lovely work. Make Blimps Great Again!

@agrariancraftsleather Год назад

I lived under the flight path of the P3’s that took off or landed about every 30 mins at Moffett during the 80’ and 90’s. When the airfield was active we all knew someone based their, part of the civil air patrol, or worked for Lockheed or did business with the base. Attending the air shows was always fun and prior to the shows the Blue Angels would flyover Sunnyvale to practice. The inside of the hanger was so big that condensation inside would create little clouds near the top of the hanger. I remember seeing part of the Saturn rocket boosters being stored behind the hangers and even saw the Hubble space telescope while it was under construction there at the NASA facility. Lot of memories of that airfield as it was so visible from all directions.

@stewwolfe1 Год назад

I spent 3 years in Hangar 1, attached to VP-31 in the early 1970’s. The hangar is a fascinating piece of history!

@kenkruger481 Год назад

Just an anecdotal story about NAS Moffett. I was a P-3 aviator who often came to Moffett Field in the 70s and 80s as an adjunct of my training and other liaisons. I recall one of the visits to a hangar (it must have been number two or three because it seemed mostly made of wood. What perplexed me were the numerous darts stuck mostly in the rafters of the huge hangar. I'll never figure out how they got there with its nearly 200 ft ceiling. Yes, that is a lot of distance to discern a dart at such a distance but my vision then was 20-15 uncorrected...but sailors of my sister squadron V-91 Blackcats pointed out this anomaly otherwise I would never have spotted them. It was a little disconcerting what would happen if one of these darts would suddenly work itself free due to gravity from its wooden "prison" and find its way to some unsuspecting mech's head who was doing his job on the hangar deck.

@BrilliantDesignOnline Год назад

Great shot of you in front of the hangar. When I lived in the Bay Area, I have walked around inside the hangar, and flew out of the airport with my friend. I have also been in the blimp hangar at Tillamook, Oregon and we were debating trying to soar hang gliders using the building as a 'hill' for the ridge lift. Have not done it, yet.

@SDCornishman Год назад

My last duty station as an enlisted was at Moffett Field in the early 1970’s. MANY years later I was privileged to meet and take care of the CO if Moffett Field when the USS Macon went down. His daughter described a scene of him standing out by the mooring tower looking off to the west for the ship that never returned.

@japkkpaj 9 месяцев назад

i live and work near moffett and all kinds of military aircraft still fly in and out regularly, including f-35s

@Concussed1. Год назад

A C-5 looks small next to Hanger 1. Always makes me amazed driving past it.

@danielulz1640 Год назад

I saw Orions flying in and out of Moffat when I lived in Mountain View, 83-85.

@JB-np5xi Год назад

From 1982 tru 1993, I worked at Lockheed Missiles & Space Sunnyvale, in fact, we shared a fence with Moffett Field. When I went into programs, I got to go inside it. Pictures and words cannot describe.....massive. Pigeons everywhere.....Pigeon poop covered everything. Last thing you want to do was touch anything. Many a time I would go the NCO cafeteria for lunch. On Fridays, it was beans and ham-hocks. add in rice....o-yea.

@dmutant2635 Год назад

One of the advantages to flying out of Moffett is there aren't any time restrictions for launching aircraft. SJC shuts down flights at 11:00pm I think.....Moffett was a great place to work with dedicated folks. And a great place to watch aircraft.

@F4FWildcat Год назад

I was with VP-48 based at Moffett from 19798 through much of 1981.

@OldMan_PJ Год назад

I used to live near Moffett Field and drove past the hanger many times. My best friend's Mom even worked there and I got to visit once when she went to collect a paycheck of all things (back in the dark ages before the Internet or cable TV.) Back in the 70's & 80's we would often see large aircraft landing or taking off from there. The only blimps I ever saw though were Goodyear blimps. I often wondered if the air raid siren test that used to sound in the valley originated from there.

@wdog103 Год назад

Flew over this yesterday and wondered what it could be. Great video!

@randyhoneycutt8153 Год назад

I lived near Moffat Field in the 70’s and regularly played golf on the course at the base. It was always interesting watching reserve pilots doing touch-and-goes in the Orions. Some of those guy came in so low you could hit the bottom of the plane with a high flying golf ball. Being an aviation buff, I always wanted yo take a look around the blimp hangers. Alas, the Navy didn’t think I needed to enter that part of the base. LOL. Great episode as usual. I really enjoy your channel and look forward to each new one. Cheers from Houston, TX.

@buzbuz33-99 10 месяцев назад

In 1944-45, Moffett was part of the route that B-29s flew on their way to the Marianas. Crews would stop there for a day or two before proceeding on to Hawaii. So, once again, Moffett played host to some of the most cutting edge technology in the war.

@dinoallbaugh2050 Год назад

Thanks for the history of Moffet Field i grew up in the area

@jaimeskiebel Год назад

I always enjoy your videos, but this one has got to be one of my favorite. My family came to the South Bay Area in 1968, my father taking an engineering job in Sunnyvale. Our house was under the flight path of the 32 runways and my father and I always love to watch the seemingly endless parade of P3s, which was only trumped by the occasional C5 Galaxy arrival. Thanks for the look back on a true landmark of my youth, the one which first sparked my interest in aviation.

@960kathy Год назад

As a Kiwi who lived in Sunnyvale in the early 1990s, this was really interesting. I well remember watching the Blue Angels from the roof of one of the Trimble buildings. Incredible!

@paulmezzetta6905 Год назад

I have lived in Sunnyvale for over 60 years. Thank you for featuring the history of Silicon Valley.

@craigsawyer6453 Год назад

While working on my lighter than air rating I attended a hot air balloon rally that was held inside the the large main hanger (Hanger 1) at Moffett Field. My instructor spotted a single occupant balloon and talked the owner into letting me take it for a short ride. On that memorable day I soloed for the first time, cocooned within that historic hanger.

@maynardjohnson3313 Год назад

I moved out to Santa Cruz in the '80s and worked in Santa Clara in the High Tech Industry. It is my understanding that the doors to that hanger required so much electricity to power that they used a big flywheel and a motor/generator set to spin up and store the power to open the doors. I also would have liked to hear about the Varian brothers, the klystron, the aerospace industry, the fruit orchards, Stanford University and such. I don't mean to complain. It was a very good piece. I'd also like to see you do a piece on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jack Parsons and the occult resurgence on the West Coast. Maybe a two parter that merges into Wicca, gaming and the computer industry.

@ruelruelan Год назад

Ive been to Lakehurst. Those wooden hangers are huge!

@russwoodward8251 Год назад

A technology center through the ages. Great history. Thank you!

@zhurendragon9000 Год назад

I was stationed in VP-46 at Moffett from 87 to 90. I have a lot of fond memories of that base. Thank you for this video.

@davidkimmel4216 Год назад

You always make history so so interesting. Than You 😊

@michaelcullen6375 Год назад

I was assigned to VP 50 Moffet Feild 1978 to 1982. Barracks 1 was supposed to be haunted. Never saw anything remarkable .

@grahamcann1761 Год назад

Growing up and going to (Elementary) school in Mountain View, I remember frequently looking up and seeing big military aircraft coming and going on their to / from Moffett. I remember a couple of times our Elementary School had classes go for a tour of Moffett field. I remember the really big military airplanes and the little white NASA jets (one we were told, as I recall,) had razor sharp wings. I also recall the Lockheed "Blue Cube" in the area. As always thank you so very much for the videos.

@ik04 Год назад

I grew up directly under the final approach course to Moffett Field's runway 31 (now 32) and had the sound of Navy P-3s in my head for years. Later in life, I heard those exact same airplanes fly over my head into Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA. VP-51 had been relocated to Jacksonville in the '80s.

@3siberian977 Год назад

Same, grew up under P-3s flying base leg using Monta Loma school as a landmark on runway 31 approach, airshow everyday!!!

@Brooke95482 Год назад

When I lived in Mountain View the left runway was in Mtn. View and the right runway in Sunnyvale. So Lockheed was in Sunnyvale and Ames in Mtn. View. When Ames ran the wind tunnel (only on a Sunday since it consumed a lot of power) you could hear it for miles.

@eldonfox Год назад

I remember, as a kid, watching the submarine hunters flying in and out of Moffet Field. Living up north now and I was surprised to see that familiar profile flying over my head less than a year ago.

@curtgomes Год назад

I was born and raised in nearby Santa Clara and remember Moffett Field quite well. As a child I recall driving down the two lane Hwy 101 amazed at the biggest hangar in the world. I can still see the Navy F9F panther jets flying in and out of the base. In 1964 I joined the Navy and ended up at NAS Alameda. We often flew in and out Moffett Field. I had occasion to walk through the huge hangar and view the maintenance areas. . The doors were so big that railroad cars on tracks were used to open and close them. It was a massive building designed to house Navy dirigibles. A true historical landmark. As it turned out, later on in civilian life I was assigned to assist the Secret Service. Various VIPs, including Presidents Reagan, Clinton and many other VIPs used Moffett Field as the airfield they flew into when visiting the area. Much of it has now been taken over by NASA and is used for research. The old hangar was taken down. I miss seeing it sitting out there, a massive land mark seen from all around the valley. It truly was representative of a bygone era.