The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 53

MONDAY, LOS ANGELES TIMES L. "IP 3 r. fc MATERIAL v. ---fA: If ff Photos by STEPHEN J. PRINGLE For The Times Benefield Anechoic Facility, explains From left, Aerospace Walk of Honor inductees Robert Rahn, Charles Aerospace Walk ofHonor 1 Af Leonard Nimoy addresses audience at induction ceremony.

White were honored at the fifth annual awards ceremonies at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center. The inductees join 20 test pilots who "have been honored since the city began the awards program in 1990. Together, the pilots honored Sunday logged more than 40,000 hours of flight time, carried out hundreds of combat missions and flew some of the first jets ever built. "Tt means an awful lot be-X cause of all the past honor-ees, some who I've known for 50 years," Rahn said. "Jimmy Dol-ittle was a hero of mine." Salmon, a gifted test pilot who, it was said, could "feel with the plane," and Rushworth, who flew the X-15 rocket research aircraft 34 times, were honored posthumously and their awards were accepted by family members.

Bock participated in the SR-71 Blackbird Test Program in 1965, and flew more than 70 aircraft as well as flying more than 100 combat missions in jrA Brown, a retired- Air Force captain and flight test engineer, shows some of the features of the 4.6-million-square-foot chamber. B7CJ Photos by SCOTT RATHBURN For The Times C. Bock Jr. and Alvin S. White.

Inducts 5 Korea and Vietnam. When he tested the XF4D Skyray, a prototype Navy fighter jet, Rahn became the first man to break the sound barrier and perform a spin and recovery maneuver in a delta wing aircraft. He is also the only Army pilot honored in the Navy Test Pilot Hall of Honor. At a reception before the ceremony, Rahn. marveled at the Changes in1 aviation that have occurred since he left the U.S.

Air Force Test Pilot School in Lancaster nearly 50 years ago. "In 50 years, we went from 15,000 pounds of thrust for an erUre plane to 90,000 pounds of thrust and that's just one en- gine in a commercial airliner," he said. "It's just phenomenal." Alvin S. White, a World War II combat veteran, was honored for his work as an engineering test pilot. He also helped design parachutes used on the ground to slow aircraft, and ejection seats.

White took two experimental aircraft to a speed of more than 2,000 m.p.h. while working as the chief test pilot for North American Aviation. White, 76, also told a tale about how he survived a midair collision during an experimental flight in the final stages of testing for the XB-70, a bomber developed to replace the B-52. The plane was later used as a research aircraft. After his plane scraped wings with an escort fighter, the; bomber went into a spin and fell 20,000 feet before he was able to escape in an ejector seat, White said.

"We got hit at 30,000 feet, and I got out about 10,000 feet," White said. "My co-pilot was killed." Penny Bowen, 24, of Quartz Hill and Marjorie Richardson, of Palmdale, were arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a stimulant, Castillo said. Bowen was cited and released. Richardson is being held on a previous wars rant. Her bail is set at $3,500.

Two 16-year-old girls frorir Palmdale and Quartz Hill also were, arrested on suspicion of being un-. der the influence of illegal drugs, Castillo said. "We were called there to tell' them to turn down the loud Castillo said. "It was a routine' party call until we found the pipfi1 bomb." When deputies arrived at the. house, a couple of party-goers rait from the scene, Castillo said.

While, they spoke with one of the minora arrested, deputies noticed expend- ed rifle casings in the, front yard. "They conducted a search of the house and noticed the shotgun and 1JUU1JU VUU 0O1U. In a more in-depth search, they found the pipe bomb and evacuated the house until bomb squad invea-s tigators could dispose of it, he saidi An investigation is continuing Castillo said. year-old cousin, Cory Guffey, Cas- tillo said. Leif slipped on some' rocks, fell down a 50-foot cliff and died when his head hit a rock on the canyon floor, Castillo said.

The boys were visiting a cabin owned by Leif 8 uncle in the 18000 block of Lancaster Road. The brother and cousin ran home and called 911 after Leif fell, authorities said. A Los Angeles County Search and Rescue team retrieved the body Saturday evening, Castillo said. -JEANNETTE REGALADO SEPTEMBER 19, 1994 guards' control room. Air Force officials recently allowed a Times reporter and photographer to tour the chamber, but only on a day when no aircraft were in it.

But as defense downsizing continues, the Benefield facility has been caught in an ongoing struggle in Congress and the Pentagon over how to spend federal funds on electronic warfare testing. Its chief rival is the Naval Air Warfare Center in Patuxent River, where the Navy has its own, smaller anechoic chamber. Maryland's well-organized congressional delegation has pushed hard for more funding for Patuxent River, while members of Congress Southern California have pushed for Benefield. Although many defense experts think the Air Force and Navy could get along with one chamber, the Pentagon under congressional pressure has issued a stream of confusing and contradictory reports about which chamber should be funded. After a Pentagon-hired consultant in 1992 recommended developing Benefield as the "least costly alternative," Maryland representatives asked the Pentagon's inspector general to review the consultant's report.

The inspector general said the report "contained critical flaws," and urged that equipment be real- 1 located to both Benefield and Pa- tuxent River from other locations. Later, a top Pentagon test official rejected tne inspector general findings. To date, none of the aircraft tested in the Benefield chamber has seen combat, Brown said. But that is likely to change the next time U.S. jets are committed in wartime.

During a test, computer operators beam signals at aircraft in the chamber through three loudspeaker-like "threat emitters" mounted on the walls. The signals electronically imitate enemy jets, missiles Mickey R. Brown, who manages the CHAMBER Continued from Bl similar chamber in Maryland, and members of Congress from California and Maryland have squabbled over which one should get more federal dollars. The Benefield chamber is a strange -looking place, with thousands of small blue spikes protruding from nearly every square foot of its walls, floor and ceiling. With overhead spotlights barely piercing the gloom, a visitor might mistake it for some vast, heavy-metal concert hall.

Made of foam, the pyramid-like spikes absorb stray radar signals that bounce off aircraft during tests of electronic warfare devices, which allow military jets to detect, evade and jam enemy radar and missiles. Although some testing must be done in flight, the Benefield facility allows engineers and computer scientists to work out some bugs on the ground, which is cheaper and safer. Also, -precision can be made repeatedly in the chamber, something that is very difficult to do in the air. Edwards, located about 100 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, is the Air Force's premier flight test facility. "We're trying to get out of the fly-fix-fly syndrome," said Mickey R.

Brown, a retired Air Force captain and flight test engineer who is the civilian chief of testing at the chamber, which employs about 70 people. Sealed in steel, the facility is a "sterile" test environment, keeping" out the multitude of radio, TV and radar signals that could strike a test aircraft if it were flying over Edwards and such nearby residential areas as Palmdale and Lancaster. The steel also prevents electronic signals from classified military transmitters from leaking into the open air. While Air Force officials believe the threat of espionage has diminished with the Soviet Union's collapse, electronic combat signals theoretically could be picked up by foreign satellites or spy ships. The Air Force spent $82 million to build and equip the chamber, which opened in 1989.

It is named for Tommie D. (Doug) Benefield, former chief test pilot for Rockwell International, which built the B-l, the first aircraft to be tested there. Benefield died in a B-l crash in 1984. With so much classified work going on inside, the chamber is protected 24 hours a day by armed guards. Engineers, scientists and technicians are issued plastic cards that allow them access only to rooms where they have specific clearance.

So elaborate is the security system that if workers try to use their cards to get into a room where they aren't allowed, their names are automatically printed out in the RALLY Continued from Bl Moments later, the blue-and-white Air Force jet zoomed in from the west. In a black suit trimmed in pink, Hillary Rodham Clinton stepped off the ramp to loud applause. She mingled with the Little Leaguers for a few minutes and posed for photos. A cooling breeze began to blow. -The music on the loudspeakers turned to a CD from the rock group 10,000 Maniacs, who sang out: "These are days you remember." As the music faded and Clinton and Brown stepped up to a podium, the harshness was gone from the sun, replaced by a soft light that illuminated their excited faces and cut through the smog to reveal the beauty of the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance.

To enthusiastic applause, both the candidate and the First Lady jabbed at Gov. Pete Wilson, the Republican incumbent whose job Brown wants, blaming him for the state's lackluster economy. But to even louder applause, Clinton took a few moments to praise the Little Leaguers, who won the U.S. title last month in Williamsburg, before losing the world championship to a team from Venezuela. how foam absorbs radar signals.

and radar stations. "You stick the airplane in there and make it think it's on a real mission," said Richard program director for Edwards' Electronic Combat Integration Test Program: Technicians operating the threat emitters can select from a library of signals representing radar devices from other nations. Austin Page, Edwards' intelligence director, said how the foreign signals are gathered is classified. Brown said new signals are delivered to the base each month. Much of what goes on in the chamber involves testing hightech gear that lets U.S.

pilots jam enemy radar or electronically camouflage their plane's locationa tactic known as "spoofing." As military jets fly faster and air warfare becomes more high-tech, pilots must know quickly if their planes have been "painted" by hostile radar a telltale sign that enemy fighters or missiles are on the way. Warned, a pilot can take evasive action, launch decoys and jam or spoof enemy radar. If enemy technicians boost power or switch' frequencies to beat the jamming, the pilot must counter the countermea-sures. "It's a big chess game done with electronics," said Brown. "They come up with a threat, you come up with a countermeasure.

And it all happens very fast." But a powerful military jamming machine can disrupt civilian communications, interrupting traffic-control radar at airports and football games on TV. Such mishaps have occurred at Edwards, but with testing in the chamber, they are a thing of the past, said Jim Rizzo, the base's range frequency manager. "The last thing you want to see is a jammer come up on your TV station," said Rizzo. "It's a major problem at 2 in the afternoon when someone's trying to watch the soaps." snagged the First Lady's autograph. AS Clinton and Brown sped off to a fund-raiser later Sunday night in West Los Angeles, he proudly showed it off, fetching the scrap of paper and a well -used black Bic pen out of his right back pocket.

"I came totally prepared," Todd said. "You have to in a situation like this. "I like to get the autographs of people who are famous," he said. "And this is a cool one She's well, she's awesome! And so was this, 'cause I got to meet her." 7 jMjS 5 Arrested at House in Lancaster Aviation: Lancaster pays tribute to decorated test pilots two posthumously. They join 20 others.

By CHIP JOHNSON TIMES STAFF WRITER LANCASTER-Robert Rahn remembers the first time he saw a jet airplane as he taxied down a runway in 1940. Little did he know then that within 10 years he would be one of the nation's first pilots to fly one. "I saw them placing blocks underneath the wheels of this strange aircraft," Rahn said. "What's that?" he asked, calling down to a ground crew member, who told him, "It's a jet air-i plane." 1 "That's nice," Rahn recalled saying. "What's a jet airplane?" i Rahn, 73, was one of five decorated test pilots inducted Sunday into the city of Lancas-; ter's Aerospace Walk of Honor I in a ceremony that featured "Star Trek" legend Leonard Ni- moy, who separated Mr.

Spock's fictional heroics from the work of real heroes. I "I believe in the Aerospace Walk of Honor because I believe in history," Nimoy said. "History begins with the willingness of one person to do something first. To boldly go where no one has gone before," he added, borrow-: ing the now-famous phrase from the popular television series. Along with Rahn, Air Force Col.

Charles C. Bock Herman Richard Salmon, Maj. Gen. Robert A. Rushworth and Alvin S.

3 The Santa Clarlta Collectibles Club will meet at 7 p.m. at the Cordova Estates clubhouse, 27361 Sierra Highway, Canyon Country. Admission is free. Information: (805) 298-2232. The Catalyst Foundation for AIDS Awareness and Care, in conjunction with Innofusion will hold a seminar on suicide at 7 p.m.

at the Palmdale Cultural Center, 570 E. Palmdale Blvd. A $5 donation is asked, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Information: (805) 948-8559. Today's Agenda is a listing of daily events in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

All items for con-sideration are welcomed and should be received at least a week before the scheduled event. Please address items to Today's Agenda, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie Chats-worth 91311. Items can also be faxed to The Times at (818) 772-3338. 2 Victims of Car Accident Named PALMDALE Two men who died in a collision on the Antelope Valley Freeway on Saturday were identified as James Hojin Shin, 41, and Eui Yong Choi, 39, both of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County coroner's office reported Sunday. Witnesses told California Highway Patrol investigators that the two men were in a car headed southbound on the Antelope Valley Freeway near Pearblossom Highway about 5 p.m.

Saturday when another car cut in front of them. The victims' car swerved into the center divider, skidded and crossed into the northbound lanes where it was struck by a car headed north, said CHP Officer Kerri Watkins. Two people in the third car suffered minor injuries, authorities said. The driver of the car that caused the accident fled, Watkins said. Crime: Deputies responding to a call about a loud party find a pipe bomb, sawed-off shotgun and drugs.

By JEANNETTE REGALADO TIMES STAFF WRITER LANCASTER Three adults and two teen-agers were arrested after sheriff's deputies found weapons and drugs at a Lancaster house during a routine call about a loud party, authorities said Sunday. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies reported discovering a homemade pipe bomb, a sawed-off shotgun and unspecified amounts of methamphetamine and marijuana about 9 p.m. after they responded to a complaint of a loud party in the 44000 block of St. West. Scott Shows, 21, who lives at the house, was arrested on suspicion of possessing controlled substances, a sawed-off shotgun and an explosive device, said Lt.

Daniel Castillo of the Antelope Valley Sheriff's Station. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 at the station's jail, he IRFAN KHAN For The Times Mrs. Clinton met the national champion Northridge Little League team. Catcher Todd Delevie shows off First Lady's autograph. Boy Killed in 50-Foot Fall Is Identified It was a "real joy," she said, to meet the Northridge team.

She was "so impressed" with "their style and their sportsmanship and their winning." They were, she said, a "real symbol" of overcoming adversity, of "the spirit of California." As the boys bowed their heads and their coaches and parents beamed, she added that they were "what I have always thought of as Californian. Good-looking. Lots of sun. Hardworking. Strong.

Smart." And resourceful. Todd Delevie, 12, a backup catcher on the team, LANCASTER-A 14-year-old boy who fell 50 feet down a hillside to his death has been identified as Leif Lien of Lancaster, authorities said Sunday. The accident occurred Saturday afternoon when Leif was hiking and playing on a hillside hear the California Aqueduct just south of Lancaster Road, said Lt. Daniel-Castillo of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Antelope Valley Station. Leif was with his 16-year-old brother, Eric Lien, and his 14-.