Hawthorne is also the birthplace of the Northrup Flying Wing - another advanced design that died from a bad case of 'my pull is bigger than your pull'.
As for using it as a weathering site, the open air near LAX probably represents a sort of worst-case environment for just about any surface: combination of humid salt air, sand, dust, lots of smog, jet excreta and NO2, NO3, with ample lose O3.... So. Calif. living at its best.