Founding Members: Scott Kaczorowski and Greg Frazier
Founding Members: Scott Kaczorowski and Greg Frazier
West Mojave Aviation Archaeology was founded in April 2000 by two long-time friends. With a rich background in aviation and space technology as well as years of wreck chasing experience, our team set out to study and record the crash sites of some of history's most significant flight test operations accidents. It is our goal to locate these sites and use proven archaeological methods to produce accurate historical records of these sites before they disappear.
As of late 2002 our team has conducted over fifty surveys and excavations of sites in and around the Mojave Desert. Over ten thousand miles have been driven in this effort. We have collected reams of data not only from these expeditions, but also from dozens of trips to archives and personal interviews with the people involved.
In our home laboratories we have conducted thousands of hours of analysis and interpolation of our collected data. We have done this in an effort to bring to the aerospace history community the best possible accounts of these events.
Like Tom Rosquin and the X-Hunters before us, our first success at finding a historically significant crash site was that of the XB-70-2.
The Team Greg Frazier:
Pilot, aircrew instructor, photographer and aerospace historian. Greg is a senior officer in the U. S. Air Force Auxiliary and has over twenty years of air search and rescue experience in Southern California. This eventually led to wreck chasing as a hobby. That hobby has grown into a scientific dedication to this project. Greg has also studied and worked as a prehistoric archaeologist. Greg holds a degree in Aviation and Space Technology from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California.
Scott Kaczorowski: Software engineer, aerospace historian. Scott has worked on the C-17, Space Station, Delta II, and sundry other programs. He has both family and personal history with Douglas Aircraft and North American. An interest in early flight test and a love of California's deserts are additional motivations.
Rich Russell: Telecommunications expert, world traveller, photographer. Rich is an expert surface survey man and has made many of our most significant finds. Rich holds a degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
The Team wishes to convey our thanks to our long time friend and supporter Mr. Tom Rosquin of Rosamond, California. As a lifelong resident of the Antelope Valley, Tom has made countless expeditions into the desert in search of information about these sites. He has been instrumental to our success and has taught us much of what we know. Tom pretty much still kicks our ass at this game. Many thanks Tom, we still owe you a few beers...
Having the proper documentation/information is vital. Without it, the search will most likely prove to be frustrating, even when searching for sites that are well-known.
Searching well outside of the main crash site is often fruitful, and can reveal much about the nature of the accident. The perspective itself is ofen enlightening.
Stumbling across some petroglyphs while searching for the Walker F-104 site. Safety first: We always take two vehicles on these excursions - even if it's just two of us.
