Actually the problem with the Jesse James thing was at Vandenberg AFB. They were so pissed about things that happened that Vandenberg the Air Force won't let anyone run there for a long time. It is 15,000 ft long, about 8 ft thick and machined smooth.
Last fall, we (NAE) applied to do more test runs at Edwards on the shuttle runway. It is dirt and 5.5 miles long (RWY 15-33). We passed muster and all was looking good when some beaurocrat got involved. They approved our use but attached a fee for use of the runway at $37,600.00, just to use it with no other support! We would have to pay extra for use of any other facilities ie: hanger, escorts, rooms at the motel and so on. Kind of reminds me of our "Return to Muroc" and the ending of that.
We will be returning to El Mirage for one more test session then probably all future runs will be at Black Rock (soft, dirty and windy) unless we decide to pursue the Cold Lake idea. One major problem with dry lakebeds, like BR, is the wind blows sand around and it imbeds itself into the soft talcum powder surface. That creates what they call sand serpents that are similar to buried speed bumps. Even though we dragged 6 miles of nice smooth surface, during the first run we made last October, I hit one of those buried sand serpents that caused the NAE to leave the ground for about 12 ft. The in cockpit camera shows just how hard the hit was. It was a good test of the suspension system and the structural strength of the vehicle. That, I guess, is what test runs are all about. By the way, El Mirage, as you dry lakes guys know, is much smoother but still dirty, windy and a little short...............Ed
