Nellis Threat Training Center - I finally made it!

parrothead · by **parrothead** » 10 Oct 2005, 08:30

Hey there guys! I've heard about this place and seen a few references online, but I don't know too much about it. Some people say that the public is allowed to visit, but I didn't see any references to it on the official Nellis website. I understand that they've got some Soviet hardware (both air and ground) including some fairly modern MiGs which I haven't seen yet. Sure, I've seen some MiG 15s, 17s, 19s, and even a 21 at airshows, but never a 29.

Anyone have any more info on this and a possible means of me (a lowly civilian) gaining admittance? Thanks guys!

Eggroll135R · by **Eggroll135R** » 10 Oct 2005, 15:18

parrothead wrote:.

Anyone have any more info on this and a possible means of me (a lowly civilian) gaining admittance? Thanks guys!

Look in the phone book and call the Nellis AFB public affairs office. They should be able to tell you what kind of tours you can get.

Eggroll135R · by **Eggroll135R** » 10 Oct 2005, 15:23

parrothead wrote:.

Anyone have any more info on this and a possible means of me (a lowly civilian) gaining admittance? Thanks guys!

Look in the phone book and call the Nellis AFB public affairs office. They should be able to tell you what kind of tours you can get.

Roscoe · by **Roscoe** » 11 Oct 2005, 14:51

The "petting zoo" is a pretty cool place. Most of the stuff there is unclassified (and outside), but in 1997 you had to have a secret clearance to get in. Can't speak for now...

aggressor267 · by **aggressor267** » 11 Oct 2005, 15:03

Just go watch the Operation Red Flag IMAX movie, they spend about 10 minutes of the movie giving a walkthrough of it.

parrothead · by **parrothead** » 11 Oct 2005, 19:54

Thanks for the replies guys

! I haven't tried the PAO for this one yet, but I know where to look 'em up. Roscoe, I think you understand why I want to go there! Aggressor267, I still haven't seen that IMAX movie, but it's still at the Luxor and I'll get around to it soon! Thanks again guys!

aggressor267 · by **aggressor267** » 11 Oct 2005, 21:38

It's a good flick. My pilot from when I was in the Aggressors is one of the main characters. He is the main aggressor that is focused on. There were a couple of cheesy animated 16's scenes, but overall, I thought it was pretty good.

229guy · by **229guy** » 22 Jan 2006, 07:37

6mo ago I went there. Had to have a secret clearances, and not open to the public...Lots of cool stuff. Check out google earth if you want to see whats outside! (google earths info is about 5yrs old)

There is a mig 29 out in the open on nellis if you know where to look..has been there for some time now, who knows whats up with that.

ajsr71 · by **ajsr71** » 22 Jan 2006, 10:04

They have a MIG 17 , SU -9 outside. Mil-8 , Mil 24, MIG 21 in the compound. MIG 23 and MIG 29 inside the building.+ other hardware.

sweetpete · by **sweetpete** » 22 Jan 2006, 19:40

Hey Parrothead if yo are ever 5 hours north in Fallon the have a Mig 15, 17,21 and 29 all out in the open at their airpark. I guess it's so the Top Gun drivers can show all their groupies. You dont need a clearance just a way on base (tour,airshow).

Pete

parrothead · by **parrothead** » 23 Jan 2006, 16:15

Thanks for all the replies guys

!

I actually got to chat with some of the guys from the Threat Center at Aviation Nation who told me that all I needed was a way on base. Then I ran into a couple of friends from the Road Runners Internationale who said that they could get me on base no problem so now it's just a scheduling thing :wink:

.

Sweetpete, I'll try to stop by if I get up that way

.

parrothead · by **parrothead** » 04 Feb 2006, 05:58

I'd like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Mark for getting me into the Threat Training Facility today - what a BLAST :thumb: !!!

I've never sat in a fighter jet before, so it was a real kick to be able to sit in both a MiG-29C and a MiG-23! I've seen in U.S. cockpits and I've flown a couple light aircraft, but I've never had the chance to play with all the doodads in a cockpit without worrying about what might happen if I hit the wrong one :shock:

.

The MiG-29 was an interesting aircraft - simple, rugged, and very retro in the cockpit if you know what I mean :wink:

. Lots of tapes, round dials, and switches everywhere. The aileron hinges are beefy and the pushrods hang out in the breeze both for the ailerons and the rudders. The strangest thing was the "venitian blinds" that extend out from the sides of the glare shield and what looks like a sun shade in front of the HUD. I don't have a clue about the sun shade, but the "blinds appear to be there to block the glare from the instruments at night from reflecting off the inside of the canopy. Now if I could only read Russian :lol:

!

The MiG-23 was a wake up call! OK, so I lowered myself into the cockpit and found that the canopy rail would come up to about my shoulder and there was little to no visibility to the sides and behind due to the intake ramps creating blind spots. Oh yeah, the seat gets in the way, too. Even more switches in awkward places than in the Fulcrum, and a lever to control the wing sweep manually. Advancing the throttle from cut-off to idle and vice versa is just about a two hand job and I had to really reach to get to the levers to allow the throttle into 'burner. The landing gear is a large, heavy, complex piece of equipment that I'm glad never went onto a U.S. jet. My final conclusion on the Flogger is that I'm glad we don't fly 'em into combat!

By the way, what's with the RWR antennas in these birds??? I mean, they look like a fireplace poker gone wrong

!

We also went out to the open lot behind the main building to look at the armor and the anti aircraft equipment. I found out that the T-72 is now my least favorite piece of armor in the world :evil:

! Not only is the turret cramped beyond belief, but the darn thing took ahold of the back of my shirt and wouldn't let go - it tore one of my favorite shirts!

Seeing all the SAMs brought a weird feeling. I've read about them in books, seen pictures and movies, but now here they are right in front of me. The SA-2 from Vietnam - AKA the "flying telephone pole" that took down so many of our jets was right there on display along with lots of other stuff.

Well, it's getting late, so I'm gonna pack it in for the night. My thanks go again to Mark for making this happen and to the U.S. Air Force for letting us in :thumb:

!

parrothead · by **parrothead** » 04 Feb 2006, 06:07

Some more pics...

parrothead · by **parrothead** » 04 Feb 2006, 06:19

Can you tell I took lots of pics :wink:

?

AfterburnerDecalsScott · by **AfterburnerDecalsScott** » 04 Feb 2006, 06:37

U suk!

Here's an interesting Iraq shot, which shows just how limited the view is from a MiG-23 thru the windscreen.

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/A ... own/03.jpg

Even if you could see thru the glass, you can tell it would be tough to see much directly ahead, and this is w/o the gunsight in place.

You look like you need a phone book to sit on,