The City of Palmdale will host an unveiling ceremony for its refurbished F-100 “Spirit of Palmdale” plane on Monday, Nov. 21 at 10 am at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The first part of the ceremony will be held inside the airpark’s maintenance shop, and at the conclusion, the ceremony will move outside to unveil the plane.

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On hand for the ceremony will be Mayor Jim Ledford; Palmdale City Councilmembers; California State Assemblyman Steve Knight, son of the late William “Pete” Knight, former Palmdale Mayor, State Assemblyman and State Senator who flew the “Spirit of Palmdale; Gail Knight; members of the Air Force Association Antelope Valley Chapter who have “adopted” the aircraft as part of the City’s Adopt-a-Plane program; and Airpark volunteers who refurbished the F-100.  Palmdale’s Assistant Superintendent of Maintenance Rod Holtz will serve as master of ceremonies.

Originally designed as a land-based fair-weather air superiority fighter for the US Air Force (USAF), the F-100 was later developed into a land-based all-weather multi-mission aircraft capable of close air support, interception and forward air control. Manufactured by North American Aviation in Inglewood, CA, it was the first operational USAF aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in level flight.

The airpark’s C-46 plane, which was unveiled last November after it was refurbished by Airpark volunteers, will also be on display for visitors to go inside the aircraft.

The C-46 originally served as a military transport aircraft during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces. It was renowned for its operations in the China/Burma/India theater and the Far East, where it was used extensively to fly over “The Hump,” a nickname for the Himalayan Mountains.  Although several different transports were used in the campaign, only the C-46 could handle the wide range of adverse conditions created by the mountain range.  It was vital in transporting desperately needed supplies to troops in China from bases in India and Burma.

For additional information on the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42, including hours of operation and location, visit www.cityofpalmdale.org/airpark.