Destruction Inc. [ Mystery - Area 51 Mini FAQ ]

Area 51 is a top-secret military test and development facility, owned and operated by the US Air Force. It is located within the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), about 85-95 miles north of Las Vegas. It is operated as Detachment 3 of the Air Force Flight Test Center, headquartered at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The name "Area 51" supposedly came from a designation appearing on an old map of the Nevada Test Site. The airspace around the base is off-limits even to most military pilots and has been referred to on aviation frequencies as "Dreamland."

The restricted airspace around Area 51 covers a rectangle of 23 x 25 miles, with Groom Lake in its center. That is an area of 575 square miles, commonly referred to as the Box or the Container by military pilots.

The entire Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), including Area 51, the Tonopah Test Range (TTR), the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and the bombing and gunnery ranges covers an area of 5,200 square miles north of Las Vegas. The Nevada Test Site alone covers about 1,600 square miles, partially contaminated with radiation from nuclear tests.

Area 51 was founded in 1955 to test the newly developed U-2 Spy Plane. Since then the base was constantly expanded, and used for various Black Project developments including the A-12 "Blackbird", the F-117 Stealth Fighter and the B-2 Stealth Bomber. More recent projects include research on Stealth Technology, various unmanned reconnaissance and combat aircraft (UAVs and UCAVs) and possibly a rumored high speed high altitude platform known as "Aurora".

Some believe that the research at Area 51 also includes Alien technology. However, there is no credible evidence to support such claims.

[ Is Area 51 a thing of the past? ]

Over the years, many have come to believe that Area 51 has been closed or not operational. The truth is No, the base is not closed. A poorly researched article in Popular Mechanics started this rumor in 1997. The author failed to meet his "contact" in Rachel, then got lost in the desert and ended up at the gate to Bombing Range 61, some 20 miles from the "real" Area 51 gate. He mistook this remote, locked gate for the gate of the "closed" Area 51 and came up with the absurd story that Rachel had been deserted, Area 51 closed, and all projects moved to an abandoned missile launch site in Utah.

In reality, Area 51 is not going anywhere. The base is well alive, with over a dozen daily Janet flights between Area 51 and Las Vegas, transporting an average of 1500 workers each day. Also, the white bus that brings in workers from Alamo and other nearby towns can be seen regularly going in and out on Groom Lake Road. A new runway was added in 1992, another one in 2001, a taxiway in 2003 and new hangars in 2004 and 2005. The base is expanding, and all indications are that one or more major new projects have in fact recently moved into the southern area of the base.

[ What are the Janet flights? ]

"Janet" is the radio call sign of a private airline operated by EG&G, which shuttles workers into Area 51 from Las Vegas McCarran Airport. They operate a fleet of six Boeing 737's and five smaller Beechcraft King Air turboprops with around 12 flights a week. The planes are all white, with no airline name or logo. The 737's all have a red stripe along the sides. The planes are registered to the "Department Of The Air Force" in Layton, UT. They can be seen at McCarran Airport, where the Janet airline has its own high security terminal in the northwest corner of the airport.

Each weekday about 20 flights in each direction transport between 1000 and over 1500 workers from Las Vegas to their jobs at Area 51 and at the Tonopah Test Range. The first Janet plane lands at Groom at 4:35am. Its bright landing lights when landing at Area 51 have often been mistaken for a UFO.

The Las Vegas Janet terminal is located in a fenced-off area in the northwest corner of Las Vegas McCarran Airport. It is surrounded by a large parking lot, with approximately 1620 marked parking spaces, which is usually more than 2/3 full on any given workday.

[ Lost identity? ]

As mentioned above, the name Area 51 originated from old maps of the Nevada Test Site from the 1950's. On these maps, the land around Groom Lake and Papoose Lake was marked as Area 51.

The Groom Lake Base was first named Watertown, after CIA Director Allen Dulles' birthplace: Watertown, New York. In June of 1958, in preparation for the Lockheed A-12 Oxcart project, a 38,400 acre section of land around Watertown and Groom Lake was withdrawn from public land and designated Area 51. This designation was officially used until the late 1980's, during the time when the base was mostly controlled by the DoD and CIA. After the Air Force took over in the late 1980's, the name changed to Air Force Flight Test Center, Detachment 3, or short AFFTC Det. 3. This is still the official designation of the Groom Lake Air Force Base today.

However, Area 51 is still commonly used to refer to the base. Other names include Dreamland, the Ranch, Paradise Ranch, the Box and several others.

[ What / Where is Groom Lake? ]

The base at Groom Lake has traditionally been America's testing ground for the latest generation of secret aircraft. The U-2, A-12, SR-71 and F-117A were flight tested here long before being made public. Since the government won't acknowledge anything about the base, it's hard to be know what is going on there now. Common rumors suggest several possible new aircraft, including an ultra-high speed spy plane dubbed "Aurora" by aviation watches, various unmanned aerial reconnaisance vehicles (UAVs), stealth helicopters and a possible replacement for the F-117A. The existance of these projects is speculative, however, and most activities at Groom are probably more mundane weapons and systems testing, of interest only to hard-core military buffs.

Groom Lake Road is the long dirt road that you can see leading south from Hwy. 375, just as you get down into Tikaboo Valley from Hancock Summit (between mile marker 34 and 35). It is a well-maintained dirt road, suitable for all cars, that leads directly to the border of the restricted area around Groom Lake.

[ Getting there ]

About 130 miles from Las Vegas, at Mile Marker LN 29.5 on remote Nevada Highway 375, is a lone mailbox used by a local rancher. Since the "Black Mailbox" (now a white mailbox) is the only landmark on this stretch of the highway, this is where the true believers come. Many visitors claim to have seen flying saucer here, although the rancher himself claims to have seen none. There is a lot of intense military war games activity in this area that produces a lot of flares and other interesting lights in the sky--great "UFOs" if you want to see them.

When you go down Groom Lake Road to the Warning Signs you are as close to Area 51 as you can get on public land. However, you are still about 15 miles away, and you can not see the base from there. Not even the Guard Shack, which is about 0.85 miles down the road around a curve. All you can see is the security vehicle of the Cammo Dudes and the surveillance cameras.

The closest view spots "White Sides" and "Freedom Ridge", 11 and 13 miles away, were seized by the government in April 1995 and are no longer open to the public. You can still see the base from Tikaboo Peak, about 26 miles east of the base but it requires a strenuous 1-1/2 hour hike from a remote dirt road.

There are other view spots, like Reveille Peak north-west of Rachel, from where you look right down the two runways at Groom Lake. But that spot is over 45 miles from the base and you need good binoculars and a very clear day to see any kind of detail.

[ Who are the "Cammo Dudes"? ]

That's the nickname for the members of a private security firm, EG&G Technical Services, Inc., guarding the outer perimeter of Area 51. They wear camouflage outfit (hence the name), without insignia and patrol the border in white Jeep Cherokees or dark Chevy 2500 pickup trucks with Government plates. They can usually be seen sitting on top of a hill near the signs at Groom Lake Road, watching traffic on the road through high-powered binoculars.

The Cammos do not have legal authority outside the restricted area, and in fact have order to avoid contact with tourists. However, if you cross the border for ANY reason, they will detain you and call the Lincoln County Sheriff to arrest you. Technically they can even shoot trespassers, although there are no known cases where this has been enforced.

[ What happens if you cross the restricted border of Area 51? ]

The greatest danger is wandering across the unfenced military border, which would result in your immediate arrest and a fine of $650. You will be pulled out of your vehicle, and held at gunpoint, face down on the ground. The cammos will then call the Lincoln County Sheriff.

When the sheriff shows up (usually about an hour later) he will arrest you and you may get to see the inside of the Lincoln County jail, while the sheriff investigates your story. If he concludes that you accidentally crossed the line, you will be released after receiving a $650 citation for trespassing and a notice by the "Installation Commander" of an unspecified "Military Installation" that you are not welcome there. In more severe cases the fine may be up to $5000 and possibly up to 6 months in jail.

Wherever a road crosses the border, it is marked by clear "Restricted Area" signs which should not be crossed. In the desert, the border is marked by orange posts every 50 yards. It is unwise to hike near the border unless you are certain of the location of the border. It is even worse to hike at night because the posts become invisible.

Another major danger, when driving, is getting stuck on an remote, unmaintained dirt road that your vehicle cannot handle. To get stuck in the sand and then run out of water can be deadly.

[ What is the Tonopah Test Range (TTR)? Is this the new Area 52? ]

The Tonopah Test Range, about 30 miles southeast of Tonopah, is another semi-secret test facility within the boundaries of the Nellis Range Complex. It is located roughly 65 miles northwest of Area 51. The official designation of TTR is Area 52.

Originally founded in 1957 as a ballistic range for testing airborne weapons, it later became a primary test site for explosive studies, managed by Sandia National Laboratories. In the mid-1980's, the first squadron of top-secret F-117 Stealth Fighters was stationed here for tactical evaluation, after initial development at Area 51, but long before the project was unveiled to the public. In more recent years the base has been used as a center for the surrounding electronic combat ranges, and quite likely evaluation of various black projects. Since 2005, possibly longer, a newly formed squadron at TTR performs tactical evaluation of new UAV designs and operational strategies.

[ Source ]

http://www.sacred-texts.com

http://www.dreamlandresort.com

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