Combat Aircraft – September 2019

BRINGING YOU THE LATEST TALK

FROM AROUND THE SQUADRONS

BY

SCOTT WOLFF

2020 September 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

I

WAS RECENTLY SITTING in

Starbucks when I was sent an

innocuous text message by a

friend containing a link to an event

on Facebook, entitled ‘Storm Area

51 — they can’t stop all of us’. All I

could do was to stare in sheer disdain.

We can agree this event was spawned

in jest – and there is comfort to be found

in a little comedic relief at a time when

the headlines are wrought with chaos,

strife, bitterness, and all manner of political

tomfoolery. But it also occurred to me

that a few wayward individuals out there

would probably take it seriously. Therein

lies the problem.

Slated for September 20 in the ‘thriving

metropolis’ of the Amargosa Valley,

Nevada, it currently — at the time of

writing — has nearly a million people

(allegedly) attending, with almost as many

listed as being ‘interested’.

I’ve heard some bad ideas in my lifetime,

but, in the history of bad ideas, this one

sits near the top of my list of the most

hare-brained, you-cannot-possibly-be-

this-stupid conceptualizations in the

history of... well, everything.

‘We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien

Center tourist attraction and co-ordinate

our entry. If we ‘Naruto run’, we can

move faster than their bullets. Let’s see

them aliens.’

First of all, I don’t know what Naruto

running is, but I can promise it won’t be

faster than 3,100ft per second, which is

— approximately — the muzzle velocity

of the 5.56mm NATO ammunition carried

by US Air Force Security Forces personnel,

and their Department of Energy

counterparts up range.

Groom Lake

The Nevada Test and Training Range

(NTTR) contains the location in question ,

which is described as a Major Range Test

Facility Base (MRTFB). The NTTR supports

advanced training for all branches with

the US Department of Defense (DoD), as

well as the research and development of

STORMING

AREA 51

WHERE

FANTASY

AND

REALITY

DON’T MIX!

The fi rst fl ight of the Lockheed A-12 took

place on April 30, 1962. Lockheed test pilot

Lou Schalk is seen getting airborne from

Groom Lake for that maiden fl ight. Lockheed

20-22 Ops Desk C.indd 20 18/07/2019 15: