Area 51

[S-70 Blackhawk 0]

Yeah but look at the size of the runway! What aircraft needs that kind of landing space!?....

 

Just look at how much activity is at the base and the tire marks on the runway some of them last for a long time like something that was going at an extraordinary speed when it landed! And if ya look closely at the land you can actually see hangers that seem to go underground or into the hills......

 

Hey Falcon161,

As posted above, even with the dirt runway extending off the main one, that makes it only 13,000ft long. Sydney Intl airport in Australia has a runway that is 13,000ft long, reason being it gives them a safety margin when operating 747 (and now A-380) aircraft. If I remember correctly, the USAF has a number of 747's, and 'Area 51' having such a runway could POSSIBLY allow it to be an alternate field for the space shuttle (although Edwards AFB is more likley). Additionally, SR-71's, B-52's and loaded KC-10's and KC-135's need one heck of a runway to take off/land, and that should just about suit the bill. The best way to be telling what uses that runway is how strong the runway is, which is near impossible with that satellite image, which, I might add, is 5 years old. The other way to tell is looking at the shelters/hard standing and taxiway's. That should give an indication of what operates there.

 

With the hangars going underground/into hills, that is not unusual. Its cheaper building a hardened shelter into a mountain than it is to build a free standing shelter and you aviation buff's out there would know that hangering an airframe increase the life of it. Ordinance and fuel is often stored in bunkers as well, and IMHO, that set of bunkers at the bottom left corner would be ammo, and some of those 'hangars' around the base could easily be simply hardend shelters (unless you are a trained intelligence analyst and can tell the difference with a satellite image such as that, I know I can't, but my dad can :D).

 

Oh, with regards to long tire marks on the runway, that USUALLY means the aircraft that landed there has a long wheel base. This would apply for aircraft such as 747's, 707's (even SR-71's) and, of course, the B-52. Simply have a look at images from Edwards AFB, known to operate the above aircraft at one point or another, and you will find that it has very similar runway markings. :)

 

Hope I could help

Blackhawk

Edited January 28, 2008 by S-70 Blackhawk

[S-70 Blackhawk 0]

And trust me I know Area 51 is not abandoned as there is too much damn activity their for it to be a farse to take peering eye's off of another base cause thats just too exspensive of a damn ruse! Sorry this is a subject I study heavily on and im not talking websites about aliens! Just look at how much activity is at the base...

 

Oh, while I'm at it, just outta curiosity, why exactly were you taking pictures and measuring activity levels at an active US Militay base? I seem to remember that's kinda illegal......

Cheers

Blackhawk

[+Jimbib 747]

As Blackhawk has mentioned, we all know that the buff was heavily involved in a project there right?

[sparkomatic 7]

Hmm...awfully quite...maybe the "men in black" found him

 

BTW..."men in black" since we are talking about Area 51 had nothing to do with Will Smith getting jiggy with some aliens...the original men in black we actually the opposite, they supposedly hunted down Americans who claimed to have seen UFO's and "dissuaded/discredited" them so though their story may have been plausible, their lost credibility would make others not believe them

[SayethWhaaaa 245]

Getting away from this "conspiracy theorist" horses**t for a minute and back on to the cloaking materials (sorry, I can't stand conspiracy theories )

 

Jedi, do the materials you're talking about look something like this?

This example is not an example of invisibility per se, as there's a host of cameras, projectors and processors involved and can only really be viewed from certain directions AFAIK. But it's more of a proof of concept. Read more here:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.08/p...&topic_set=

[sparkomatic 7]

Uh...the title is Area51...I mean if you hate it so much, why read it? Kind of like if I hate cabbage, then go to a place called "Cabbages are us"...cant really get miffed about it and call it equine refuse without looking silly, eh?

[JediMaster 451]

I recall they had placed lights all over the surface of the plane and had them on at varying intensities and groupings to see how best to make the plane blend into the sky. I don't remember what plane(s) they used.

 

One of the longest active runways in the world is right here, the SLF. Gets used for most shuttle landings.

[The Old Ranger 0]

There was a NOVA show about camouflage a few years ago that mentioned Yehudi Lights. Hereis a quick Wikipedia blurb about them:

 

Yehudi lights are lamps placed on the underside of an aircraft to raise luminance, to disguise the aircraft against the background sky. The technique was successfully employed in World War II by RAF Shorts Sunderland aircraft in attacks on U-boats.

 

In 1945 a Grumman Avenger with Yehudi lights got within 3,000 yards of a ship before being sighted. This ability was rendered obsolete by the radar of the time. Since the development of stealth technology, Yehudi lights have come under renewed interest

[Russkie Raider 0]

Ever heard of the Philadelphia experiment? Stealth has been in the works for a looong time now.

[JediMaster 451]

Isn't that where they coated a ship with cream cheese in an attempt to disguise its nature?

[ONETINSOLDIER 2]

Ever heard of the Philadelphia experiment? Stealth has been in the works for a looong time now.

 

Im not denying the fact that stealth capabilities has been in the works for a long time,but "the Philadelphia experiment" was nothing more than a giant degaussing coil to reduce the chances of setting off mines.

Oh,and by the way,hello everyone,Im new here.

[Falcon161 3]

Sorry for ranting bout that! But what I was trying to say was that I think it is still used as a secret testing facility nothing more. BTW those damn MIB keep on peering through my window! And I will stand by my statement about the Doughnuts on a rope contrail! As it happened right in front of me! While I was standing outside talkin to my parents I looked around to see if there were any aircraft flying about in the in the sky as there was no cloud cover that day,not seeing any aircraft and contrails I then turned to look at my dad then I heard a loud crack then a roaring boom. My parents and I looked around and saw a weird looking contrail which was not their previously! I do not know waht kind of aircraft made this contrail and sonic boom but it wasnt anything that I know of. I dont care if you believe me or not I know what I saw and heard so im sticking to my statement!

[sparkomatic 7]

Of course, now please, see the nice man over by your street corner in the Ford Taurus with the tinted windows, he would like to have a pleasant chat about what you saw, maybe even give you some ice cream...that's the way...

[JediMaster 451]

Sorry for ranting bout that! But what I was trying to say was that I think it is still used as a secret testing facility nothing more. BTW those damn MIB keep on peering through my window! And I will stand by my statement about the Doughnuts on a rope contrail! As it happened right in front of me! While I was standing outside talkin to my parents I looked around to see if there were any aircraft flying about in the in the sky as there was no cloud cover that day,not seeing any aircraft and contrails I then turned to look at my dad then I heard a loud crack then a roaring boom. My parents and I looked around and saw a weird looking contrail which was not their previously! I do not know waht kind of aircraft made this contrail and sonic boom but it wasnt anything that I know of. I dont care if you believe me or not I know what I saw and heard so im sticking to my statement!

 

 

I've posted here previously about that. I know a guy here who worked on that engine. It was for the "Aurora", a code-name for a plane to replace the Blackbird. It was mounted on the back of a Blackbird, where the D-21 drones were launched from, for testing. That's what he was involved with and what created those contrails. If an actual flying prototype was made, he didn't say, but you can bet it wouldn't have flown in daylight. He also confirmed the program was cancelled "pretty much" because of the high cost and end of the Cold War combined with the effectiveness of satellites, U-2s, and the coming introduction of UAVs like Darkstar and Global Hawk.

 

So basically what the pics were of in AW&ST that everyone saw were advanced engine tests on a 20+ yr old airplane.