For maps to Edwards AFB & NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), click here:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Dryden/map.html, http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Dryden/detmap.html http://www.edwards.af.mil/maps/images/pa-map_072.jpg
To get to DFRC, you will need to pass through one of three Edwards Air Force Base gates, guarded by military police with weapons. Probably the easiest entrance for most new employees to find and use is the north gate just south of state route 58, shown on the map at the first link above. The north gate has less traffic than the other two and is easier to get through. Take the exit marked Edwards AFB. To gain access to the base, you will need the letter announcing your employment, a valid driver’s license, plus proof of registration and insurance. Be prepared with a phone number of either Dryden Human Resources or your supervisor in case the gate guards need verification of your employment.If you plan to be accompanied by a non-U.S. citizen, you must apply for access to NASA Dryden and Edwards AFB through your organization head at least 45 days before you arrive. Once on base, be sure to wear your seatbelt and drive no faster than the posted speed limits. Proceed south on Rosamond Boulevard to Lilly Drive , turning left at the F-16 aircraft on the corner. Then turn right at the HL-10 aircraft (a lifting body [aircraft without wings]) and proceed to the left turn into a parking area (beyond the row of display aircraft) where you can park and enter Building 4825 at the door marked “visitor control.” Entrance
When you arrive at DFRC on your first day, you will need to check in at Building 4825 at the main entrance, following the directions above. DFRC has only one entrance for vehicles, just northwest of Building 4825 and just south of Lilly Drive . For security reasons guards are posted at the gate. If there are passengers in the vehicle, they will need to have identification to show the guard. The inbound gate is open from 6:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. At other times, there is only card access for entrance.
Badges & Decals
At Building 4825, you will receive a personal identification badge to be worn at all times while on site. To get badged, you will need a picture ID. NASA Headquarters must approve non-U.S. citizens for employment at least 30 days before they arrive on site. If you are a naturalized citizen, you must bring a copy of your naturalization certificate. To register your vehicle, once you have checked in at Dryden, you can drive south on Rosamond Blvd. to Bldg. 3000 on Edwards Air Force Base proper. It is at the intersection of Rosamond and Yeager Blvds. but actually faces Seller Ave. To park, turn left on Yeager and left again on Seller, then turn left into the parking lot. Be sure not to park in a reserved parking space. You will need to take with you your Dryden badge, your vehicle registration, proof of insurance showing the vehicle’s VIN #, and a current driver’s license. The driver’s license does not need to be from California, but the Air Force will not issue a pass for more than 60 days without a California smog check unless the vehicle is a 2001 model or later, in which case it may have information inside the hood indicating that it complies with California clean air standards. If you are driving a vehicle owned by your parent or guardian, you will need to present a letter from the owner certifying the currency of the registration, the fact that insurance meets California requirements, and the driver’s permission to drive the vehicle. All vehicles entering and exiting the base are subject to random vehicle inspections by security personnel. This is to prevent the introduction of prohibited items and to prevent the unauthorized removal of property.
Where to Live
In searching for a place to live near Dryden, the Edwards Air force Base Web site at http://www.edwards.af.mil/base_guide/index.html has links through “Off-base” to “community profiles” with information about their chambers of commerce. It would be a good idea for new employees to contact the chamber of commerce in the community they think they might like to live in and get information about what parts of the city are most desirable from various perspectives. There are also other web sites available to check on apartments and their neighborhoods. It will be well worth the time to find a neighborhood where you really want to live and not be tied to an undesirable location by a long lease. New employees should also avail themselves of househunting trips, temporary lodging benefits, and the like, if the terms of their employment provide them.
Communities near Dryden include Lancaster, Palmdale, Rosamond, and Mojave. All are within easy driving distance of Los Angeles and its surrounding beaches along the Pacific Coast as well as Hollywood and other attractions. The desert surrounding Dryden contains unique plants, including Joshua trees, that cannot be found elsewhere in the United States . The communities surrounding Dryden are also about a three-hour drive from Las Vegas . Rosamond and Mojave are the closest major towns to Dryden but are smaller than Lancaster and Palmdale as well as further from Los Angeles but closer to Las Vegas . A fifth community that is close to Dryden is California City . Many Dryden employees choose to live in Tehachapi, which is located in the mountains and offers cooler weather in the summer (but colder in the winter) than the other nearby communities. Some internet sites with information about the local area are listed below. Dryden does not endorse any of the commercial establishments linked to these sites but provides these links for the general information of employees new to the local area.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=627
http://www.colapublib.org/history/antelopevalley/
http://www.palmdalelibrary.org/history/part1.shtml
http://www.chamber.california-city.ca.us/
http://lacounty.info/arts_culture.htm (includes information on beaches)
To find information about school districts, go to the internet at http://www.edwards.af.mil/base_guide/index.html , click on “off base” and then “community profiles,” where there are phone numbers to call.
There does not seem to be any consistent way to find out which utilities are provided by which vendors in the various communities surrounding Dryden. The best advice is to go to http://www.edwards.af.mil/base_guide/index.html , click on “off base” and then “community profiles,” and get the phone number for the chamber of commerce in the community where you want to live. Then call it for information about utilities.
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