Message posted by lone wolf on July 25, 2003 at 23:26:26 PST:

Regarding parking by the Nellis fence, with the exception of those head-on shots of B52s, I think the photos are better from the LV Blvd provided you have a 400mm lens and shoot in the afternoon. [The shots from under the flight line emphasize the landing gear, and I don't like that emphasis.] Security won't chase you from that fence line. Personally, while it is cool to be under the flight line, I agree with the land grab. Some jerk with a SAM could hit a C130 from under the flight line. I generally rant about excessive security, but I really think the base is closing up a hole that should have been closed up long ago. Thus far five C130s have had SAMs fired at them in Iraq. I guess these missiles are poorly maintained junk because a C130 is quite a target and I would think it would be hard to miss.

Note that you can often get good photos at the fence line of the planes that are circling while one lands. For those who haven't hung out by the fence, the planes come to the base in formation. One plane breaks formation and lands while the rest orbit, then each in turn lands one at a time. My understanding of this technique is that the airfield is considered a secure site, and for the safety of the planes, it is best that they circle over the secure site while waiting to land rather than over enemy territory. If you go to an airshow with a C17 demo, they often do a spiral landing for this same reason. Getting back to the orbiting planes, you can get a good photo of the top of a plane as it orbits since the plane will be tilted a bit. While you are not getting tail numbers, you aren't getting landing gear either.

Just a note to those who haven't been to the Groom area before, if your budget is tight, be sure to allow for lots of fuel. For example, the distance from the power line overlook to the Cedar Pipeline Ranch is 58 miles.

In Reply to: Nellis North fenceline posted by Jim bob on July 25, 2003 at 20:47:02 PST:

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