Planespotting Mojave — KMHV
Mojave is the strangest airfield on the West Coast and proudly so. Burt Rutan's designs first flew here, SpaceShipOne made the first private crewed spaceflight from here in 2004, and today it hosts flight-test companies, the National Test Pilot School and Stratolaunch's six-engined Roc, the aircraft with the largest wingspan ever flown. Alongside the experimental work it is a long-established airliner storage and scrapping site, with rows of jets parked in the desert north and east of the runways. Three runways — 12/30 at over 12,500 ft, plus 8/26 and 4/22 — handle a mix of test flights, training and the occasional heavy ferry flight. Edwards Air Force Base, 17 miles east, keeps fast jets and test aircraft in the skies overhead. Plan a visit around one of the airport's open days if they are being held, and combine it with Victorville or Palmdale's Blackbird Airpark.
- N234TY RV12
Conditions right now
Runways
- 12/30 RWY 12 3,816 × 60 m · 12,520 × 197 ft asphalt
- 08/26 2,146 × 29 m · 7,041 × 95 ft asphalt
- 04/22 1,466 × 14 m · 4,810 × 46 ft asphalt
Ask the sky
What flew over this morning? Where was that loud one heading? Ask in plain words — the answer comes from real recorded traffic.
Airport profile
Typical traffic by hour
Relative intensity by local hour — a typical day, not live data.Peak: 10:00
Typical traffic mix
- GA30%
- Widebody20%
- Narrowbody15%
- Bizjet15%
- Military12%
- Turboprop8%
Spotter score
Our editorial rating (0–100).Best time of year
When the interesting traffic peaks.Where to spot
Legacy Park & Voyager Restaurant
Just outside the terminal building, Legacy Park displays the Rotary Rocket Roton and replicas of SpaceShipOne and Voyager, with a memorial to test pilots. Inside, the Voyager Restaurant looks onto the flight line and lets you listen to the tower while you eat.
- Getting there
- Enter from the south via Airport Boulevard off Highway 58. Public parking by the terminal; check the restaurant's current opening hours before travelling.
- Best time
- Morning to midday for flight-line views from the terminal side.
- Lens
- Wide angle for the exhibits, 100–400 mm for flight-line movements.
Airport Boulevard gate displays
At the airport entrance stand one of the few surviving Convair 990 Coronados, used by NASA, alongside an F-4 Phantom and a Saab Draken — a quick photo stop on the way in.
- Getting there
- Airport Boulevard at the Highway 58 entrance; pull over only where it is safe and legal.
- Best time
- Morning or late afternoon for low, warm light on the aircraft.
- Lens
- 24–70 mm.
Highway 14 north of Mojave town
Side streets east of the airfield, reached from Highway 14 north of town, look across to rows of stored airliners. It is a logging spot rather than a photo spot: binoculars or a scope will read most registrations, but the jets are behind the fence and often distant.
- Getting there
- By car. Pull off onto side streets — never stop on the highway shoulder — and do not enter the airport property.
- Best time
- Morning, with the sun behind you as you look west across the storage area.
- Lens
- 300–600 mm, binoculars or a spotting scope.
Plane Crazy Saturday open day
The airport's monthly open day has historically been the one time the public gets closer: hangars open, aircraft on display, organised tours and a fly-in crowd. It has been paused and revived over the years.
- Getting there
- Terminal area, Airport Boulevard. Check the airport's website or social media for whether it is running and the current date.
- Best time
- Morning, before the heat and wind build.
- Lens
- 24–200 mm.
Respect private property, signage and the airport security perimeter. Spotterra predicts the active runway from live weather on the dashboard.
What you'll see
There is no airline service. What you see is flight test and training: National Test Pilot School types, prototypes from companies based on the field, Stratolaunch's Roc when it flies, plus general aviation and bizjets. Stored airliners — 737s, 747s, 767s, 777s and older classics — arrive for parking or part-out and occasionally leave for a new operator. Edwards AFB traffic, from F-35 and F-16 test jets to tankers and unusual programmes, regularly crosses the area, and Mojave is a fire-fighting tanker base in summer.
FAQ
What's that plane over Mojave?
Spotterra's live map shows ADS-B traffic over the Antelope Valley in real time — Mojave test flights, ferry flights into storage and Edwards traffic. Some test and military aircraft fly with limited data, so set alerts for the operators you care about.
Can I tour the Mojave boneyard?
There are no regular public tours. The storage areas are inside the airport; you can log much of it from public roads east of the field, attend an open day when one is held, or book a flyover from the Los Angeles area.
What else is nearby?
The Blackbird Airpark and Joe Davies Heritage Airpark in Palmdale (weekend opening), the B-52 'Balls 8' outside Edwards' north gate, and Victorville's storage yard about 90 minutes south-east.
Spotterra watches the sky over Mojave
A live ADS-B map of your area and smart alerts on military transports, warbirds and rare types — with 10–30 minutes lead on long-haul arrivals. Free forever, no card.
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