On April 16, 2019, NVAHOF Executive Director TD Barnes spoke as the plenary speaker before the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE) at its 4TH Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference at the Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa, Las Vegas, NV, USA. Following the banquet with over 500 attendees, Director Barnes spoke on the declassified CIA projects at Area 51 where both thermal and special fuels were pioneered for the Central Intelligence Agency’s Mach-3+ A-12, high-flying reconnaissance plane that preceded the Air Force’s SR-71.

Nevada, the Battleborn State, became the nation’s West Coast Line of Defense for the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard during World War II. NASA followed with two tracking stations along its High Range flight test corridor across Nevada and its nuclear rocket engine development at NRDS, the Nuclear Rocket Development Station at Jackass Flats. The Atomic Energy Commission established the Nevada Proving Grounds for atomic bomb testing and the Central Intelligence Agency created Area 51 for flight testing its spy planes and other black projects. 

Because so much remains unknown about Nevada’s unique aviation, and aerospace history, NVAHOF, through its student participant program is capturing from those who were there this fragile and elusive history through its oral history investigation, collection, and recordation program. The NVAHOF shares this knowledge and documentation as a public service to agencies, academia, historians, authors, media, and publications. Much of this oral history comes from external sources for which NVAHOF can not vouch for its accuracy.

NVAHOF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dependent on private and corporate tax-deductible donations to finance its educational and annual induction of deserving individuals and organizations into the NVAHOF for participation and contributions that advanced aerospace and aviation from within the state of Nevada.