Red Flag

[Z06George]

I will Be in Las Vegas whilst there are Red Flag operations going on at Nellis AFB, on there website they say that the exercises go from July 16-27. Anyone have any ideas what days of the week are best to go and watch them take off? Anyone watched any before?

TIA
George

[TheFungle]

If you were in Vegas would you want to be working a weekend?

[Z06George]

Haha I know, but i was just wondering if they did specific days or just every week day in the dates specified.

[TheFungle]

As a very general rule, based on exercises I've been on both home and abroad you would expect one early and one late wave, for arguments call it 11am and 3pm.

I'm not sure what you would actually see at Nellis, it's huge and even from inside the wire the jets taking off look like mere specs of dirt in the sky.

I'd suggest a good pair of binos and heading up the top of the Strat

[Z06George]

Ok cheers for the advice.

[GGibbo]

As above, the day push is normally early afternoon. IIRC there's a road that runs down the back of the camp near sunrise mountain that might give you a bit of a view. Don't hang around on nellie ave outside the camp for too long, but of a dodgy area I think.

[PaulG40]

That's what always amazes me about Vegas, you head out a couple of miles toward Nellis and it's proper chain link fences and gangster town! One time we stayed in the Super 8 outside base, we didn't hang around too long outside. st shower shave and back on it!

[GGibbo]

Apparently the 7/11 over the road from the gate is where 2pac got shot. I assume he was an aircraft geek at heart watching the buccaneers last flag or something...

[TheFungle]

PaulG40 said:

One time we stayed in the Super 8 outside base

Gutted

[Fat Albert]

US Airbases are on a different scale to the UK, I visited Beale (home of the U2) with a recently retired USAF airframe fitter. We drove for 20 minutes once past the gate at an average of 60mph and the control tower was still a speck in the distance....

[anonymous-user]

You can get some decent viewing of the aircraft coming and going from the base. I would check out the ukar forums as there have been some good photo reports posted on their. Go to the right place and there will be a few people watching.

[Z06George]

Thanks again for all the input.

[Ginetta G15 Girl]

I would suggest that your best bet is later in the Ex when BLUFOR start doing the combined packages.

[GGibbo]

Ginetta G15 Girl said:

I would suggest that your best bet is later in the Ex when BLUFOR start doing the combined packages.

Full COMAO frm day one now... Always an interesting HQ check in!

[Z06George]

Just an update going to head down this afternoon, if I get any decent pictures I shall post them up.

[Eric Mc]

GGibbo said:

Apparently the 7/11 over the road from the gate is where 2pac got shot. I assume he was an aircraft geek at heart watching the buccaneers last flag or something...

Sadly, I think the Buccaneers got the chop before 2pac did.