Flight times at Area 51

I am thinking about coming out to the Nevada area and through ATS members posts and doing my own research Ive came across details of flight testing times of supposed alien craft, does anybody know what time these test flights start and finish and where is it best to view? Thanks

the only thing you could possibly be referring to is Red Flag. And let me assure you, there are no alien craft flying around for red flag. Very cool sometimes never before seen military craft, but no aliens.


Heres some info

Red Flag 09-1: 10/20/2008 - 10/31/2008

Red Flag 09-1: 10/20/2008 - 10/31/2008 Role Aircraft Home Base Red Team Air F-15 / F-16C 64 and 65 Aggressor Squadrons Nellis AFB, NV Blue Team Air F-15 F-16 18 Wing, Kadena AB, Japan 31 Fighter Wing, Aviano AB, Italy Air-to-Ground A/OA-10 F-16 F-18 F-16 F-15E 355 Wing, Davis-Monthan AFB Greece Spain Singapore 4 Fighter Wing, Seymour-Johnson AFB SEAD EA-6B NAS Whidbey Island Command & Control Reconnaissance E-3 E-8 RQ-1 U-2 Tinker AFB Robins AFB Creech AFB Beale AFB Airlift HH-60 HC-130 23 Wing, Davis-Monthan AFB Moody AFB Refueling KC-135 KC-135 KC-135 128 Air Refueling Wing, Wisconsin 185 Air Refueling Wing, Iowa 127 Air Refueling Wing, Michigan

thats a crude list. go to dreamlandresort.com for more info.

From my time in the military ive heard of Red Flag and its really really cool. Its something that would be awesome to see however its ultra dangerous since they actually bomb ground targets so you my camping friend, no camping during Red Flag..lol

reply to post by cmd18B


they do not bomb anywhere near the rachel valley. So camping is safe during red flag. and camping is actually at its peak during red flag to catch a glimpse of something cool. hence that many red flags are curing horrific camping times ( too hot or too cold)

the last good one for a while will be the middle of october. if you want to ocme out for one, that would be a good one. camping is still bearable. but its starts to get realyl chilly at night. lows now, hover around 50-55, while highs are in the mid 80's. perfect for camping imo.

Well I would love to come out and snoop around and possibly catch a glimpse of something out of the ordinary ..Im used to the desert and cold so that should be the least of my worries, I would like to do a little dance in front of the camo dudes, Id be copying off another persons work but I was saw a youtube video of two guys dancing wildly right in front of the No Tresspassing signs and the camo dudes..I made me laugh

reply to post by cmd18B


Since there are no alien craft at Groom Lake, I wouldn't trust the flight test schedules you found on line. ;-)

It is easy to predict when a secret aircraft will be tested. It is night time and there is no moon. Go to this page:
sun moon

I make a spreadsheet of the data when I try to time a visit. It is hard to explain, but what you are trying to do is note the time when darkness begins and light begins. For darkness, you need to insure the moon has set and the sun has set for about two hours. Light can start with either the moon rising or two hours before sunrise. That is, you want to avoid dusk and dawn. I like to insure there is at least an hours worth of "test worthy" darkness if I'm going to hike Tikaboo. However, I've only seen one night time test in countless Tikaboo camp outs.

Groom test flights of non-secret aircraft are done during the day. Just climb Tikaboo and bring your binocs. They even fly aircraft over the free territory if they don't consider the craft secret.

This page has a SU-27 that I photographed from Coyote Summit and a F117a I photographed from Tikaboo:
Groom Lake birds