About Us

Pancho Barnes Composite Squadron is located at the Blackbird Air Park in Palmdale, California at the center of the aerospace testing universe in the Aerospace Valley. It is called the Aerospace Valley because the valley contains the Air Force Test Center, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, NASA, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Squadron 49 is named after the female pioneer aviator Pancho Barnes, who helped paved the way for women in aviation and was close friends with other legendary aviators such as Chuck Yeager, Jimmy Doolittle, Buzz Aldrin, Jack Ridley, and Amelia Earhart. Pancho Barnes contributed greatly to the community in the Antelope Valley and helped inspire new generations of aviation enthusiasts. 

Today, Squadron 49 continues the legacy of Pancho Barnes by serving our local communities in Rosamond, Palmdale, and Lancaster by growing youth into outstanding leaders of tomorrow. We have a fast-growing squadron and we train our members in Emergency Services, Aerospace Education, and Leadership. We are extensively involved in the community of the Antelope Valley. We specialize in training our cadets in leadership techniques, aerospace education, and community service. 

If you are interested in attending our virtual meetings or are looking for more information about Civil Air Patrol, please contact our Squadron 49 Commander, 1st Lieutenant Mauricio Gonzalez, at Mauricio.GonzalezMujica@cawgcap.org. We look forward to continuing to serve the center of the aerospace testing universe in the Antelope Valley.