The Air Force Flight Test Museum – the only museum in the world dedicated to flight test and flight test history – opened in 2000 with an 8,500 square foot facility. Visit Palmdale’s donation will contribute toward the development of a new, 75,000 square foot location that will be more accessible to the public and expand the museum’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programming for young students.
“The new Air Force Flight Test Museum will be a publicly accessible, showstopping landmark for all who visit our community,” said Austin Bishop, Chairman of Visit Palmdale. “We are incredibly excited to support the Flight Test Museum Foundation with the development of the new location and contribute another gem to our region’s buzzworthy aerospace scene.”
The new museum will be located just outside the West Gate of Edwards Air Force Base, allowing both residents and tourists the chance to explore historical air and spacecraft and rare artifacts. The larger Air Force Flight Test Museum location will also facilitate the expansion of its STEM programming, which teaches STEM subject matter to students by using aerospace and flight test principles.
The new Air Force Flight Test Museum is currently under construction. An opening date has not yet been determined. For more information on the Air Force Flight Test Museum, visit flighttestmuseum.org. For more information on Visit Palmdale, visit cityofpalmdaleca.gov/visitpalmdale.
[Information via news release from Visit Palmdale.]
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Donald J Hoperich says
Visit Palmdale Board Meeting – October 17, 2023
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT – 530 West Rancho Vista Blvd. Palmdale, CA 93551
Re: Public Comments by Don Hoperich – Non-Agenda Item
11. Public Comments (Non-Agenda Items)
DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT EXPENSE OF $50,000.00 as a donation to help Build the Aerospace Museum at Edwards Air Force Base outside of Front Gate.
Although I believe this to be a wonderful project I believe that there is a problem with the donation in accordance with the PTID guidelines for expenses. According to guidelines for this type of donation I bring to your attention the following:
PTID Management District Plan, Page 8 – 9
Specific Benefit
Proposition 26 requires that assessment funds be expended on, “a specific benefit conferred or privilege granted directly to the payor that is not provided to those not charged, and which does not exceed the reasonable costs to the local government of conferring the benefit or granting the privilege.”2 The services in this Plan are designed to provide targeted benefits directly to assessed businesses, and are intended only to provide benefits and services directly to those businesses paying the assessment. These services are tailored not to serve the general public, businesses in general, or parcels of land, but rather to serve the specific businesses within the PTID. The activities described in this Plan are specifically targeted to increase demand for room night sales for assessed lodging businesses within the boundaries of the PTID, and are narrowly tailored. PTID funds will be used exclusively to provide the specific benefit of increased demand for room night sales directly to the assesses. Assessment funds shall not be used to feature non-assessed lodging businesses in PTID programs, or to directly generate sales for non-assessed businesses. The activities paid for from assessment revenues are business services constituting and providing specific benefits to the assessed businesses.
The assessment imposed by this PTID is for a specific benefit conferred directly to the payors that is not provided to those not charged. The specific benefit conferred directly to the payors is an increase in demand for room night sales. The specific benefit of an increase in demand for room night sales for assessed lodging businesses will be provided only to lodging businesses paying the district assessment, with marketing and sales programs promoting lodging businesses paying the PTID assessment. The marketing, sales & communications and destination development programs will be designed to increase room night sales at each assessed lodging businesses. Because they are necessary to provide the marketing, sales & communications and destination development programs that specifically benefit the assessed lodging businesses, the administration and contingency services also provide the specific benefit of increased demand for room night sales to the assessed lodging businesses. Although the PTID, in providing specific benefits to payors, may produce incidental benefits to nonpaying businesses, the incidental benefit does not preclude the services from being considered a specific benefit. The legislature has found that, “A specific benefit is not excluded from classification as a ‘specific benefit’ merely because an indirect benefit to a nonpayer occurs incidentally and without cost to the payor as a consequence of providing the specific benefit to the payor.”3
• The location of the museum is outside the boundaries of the PTID, not only outside the boundaries but outside the City of Palmdale and County of Los Angeles
• The activities described in this Plan are specifically targeted to increase demand for room night sales for assessed lodging businesses within the boundaries of the PTID – with the distance of this project this cannot be guaranteed that only the Hotels of the PTID will gain this benefit.
• This project was never discussed at any Board of Directors meeting to discuss the merits and requirements and/or given the Board an opportunity to vote for approval by the Board.
• This donation clearly does not meet the requirements of Specific Benefit
Stormy says
Austin Bishop’ Print Boss uses cheap Chinese film substrate for their outdoor prints and signs. Installed in the desert these print signs do not last past 15 to 24 months as they crack, peel, fissure and go black
It is not by chance 30 something Austin Bishop decided to go politica -l job security is a given payday
Palmdale Taxpayer says
Austin Bishop has made a ton of money doing work for AVTA, the AV Fair and the city of Lancaster. Who knows how much he does for Marvin’s other pet projects like AVC and all the good old boy businesses. If you ever wanted to know why he sells Palmdale out, look no further than the ledgers of these organizations.
Iconoclast says
And we have people living on the streets in Lancaster and Palmdale wearing filthy rags. Yea, we need a new building at the Fairgrounds and we need this museum! Oh, please!
JB says
Be nice if they invested into the actual community, fix the streets, build some things for the citizens and tourists to do like out door activities. A nice panned city center. Tear down all the eye sores and rebuild. Invest in the city as a whole not just one side of town. Gentrify the hell out of all problem areas that attract scum from LA .
TF says
Invest in the actual community? With Bishop, Loa, Alacarn, and Ohlson? They are very good at sending Palmdale money out of the community. Millions to Lancaster. This museum is nice but why not invest in the airpark that is in Palmdale?
JB says
Not sure I’m understanding what you’re saying what does best shop have to do with Palmdale, those other places that be never heard about of. This is referring to Palmdale and their tourist branch investing into a museum that’s on heavily funded megalith of a company property. There are many parts of Palmdale that need immediate attention, you want tourists to be safe and willing to come out here address the socioeconomic root of the issue.
Tim Scott says
So you don’t count a museum under “things for tourists and citizens to do”?