SubscribeSo, how does all of this work for a Janet flight from Las Vegas to Groom Lake? The answer is a makeshift system of “nudges and winks” and “cover stories” between the Janets and the regional control centers. A routine Janet flight will take off from LAS with a flight plan filed for TNX (Tonopah Test Range) using the callsign “Janet.” Once in the air, the plane is handed off to the regional control center, which is Nellis Center. Again, the callsign remains “Janet.” What happens next depends on whether the Janet is actually flying to the Tonopah Test Range, or whether its destination is actually Groom Lake. If the real destination is TNX, then the plane will operate under the control of Nellis until it’s handed off to the local air traffic controller at TNX, who will clear the plane to land at the air base, again using the callsign “Janet.” Interestingly, however, when this hand-off from Nellis to TNX occurs, the Nellis controller will not issue the Janet a specific frequency for the TNX approach, as is the custom with other destinations. But, if the actual destination is Area 51, something else happens. Once the Janet enters military airspace near Groom Lake, Nellis Center will simply clear the Janet for handoff to something called simply “control.” Nellis center approves a frequency change to the new controller, but doesn’t issue a frequency – with a nudge and a wink, the Nellis Control says in effect “I know where you’re going, and you know that I know where you’re going, and you already have the frequencies you need.”Whooahhhhhh.
In an updated version of the patch, “Classified Flight Test” has been replaced with the words “To Serve Man,” referencing a classic episode of “The Twilight Zone.”Or a classic short story by Damon Knight, but who's counting?
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posted by DU at 12:31 PM on November 28, 2007