If you heard the Bob Lazar interview on the Art Bell show, then you must of heard how Lazar got phone calls in the middle of the night telling him to report to the Key Flight terminal near McCarran to head out to S4. [You may insert "claimed" in the appropriate places if you don't believe Bob Lazar's story.] There is some confusion as to why he called the flights "Key", as these are the airplanes known as the Janet flights.
This is how the main door would appear at night. The yellow sign on the door says "Please use the secret knock after midnight". There is a vending machine to the left selling "Spook Today". Once inside, he probably sat (or allegedly sat as the case may be) on these cheap folding chairs in the waiting room.
The Janet flights carry workers from Las Vegas to Area 51, the Tonopah Test Range, Edwards AFB (North Base), and other "spook" areas. The Janet Terminal is in it own "secure" area at McCarran. This photo was taken just outside the secure area. [If you have a GPS, go to N36 05.602 W115 09.888] There is much confusion on the net as to which road leads to the terminal, due to the fact that the general area has been rebuilt over the years and the map makers haven't kept up. I claim you take Mandalay Bay to get to this spot. The 737 in the background has the standard red strip around the middle used by the Janet planes. The license plates have been altered to protect the innocent.
This photo of N5177C was taken from the San Remo Silver Tower, which is not the best viewing location because the lens needs to be nearly parallel with the window to see the Janet area. The Gold Tower at the San Remo would be much better, as would the Island Tower of the Tropicana. A 400mm lens was used, which clearly is just barely enough if you want to get the tail numbers of the plane.
This photo was taken from the long term parking garage (5th floor, row J) at McCarrin Airport. The white building is the Janet terminal. I would imagine some rooms in the Luxor have great views of the facility, though I suspect dealing with the reservation desk to get the best room would be a hassle. Perhaps you tell them that you want your room to face the Sphinx. I suspect the tilted glass will not be optimal for taking photos, so go for the tower. Better yet, stay at the Tropicana, since you can take pretty good photos from there.
The McCarrin parking garage would make a good observation point if you wanted to log Janet flights. [ If your really wanted to make the definitive Janet Airlines schedule and was willing to waste all day doing so, this would be your cheapest alternative. With two people, you could even head into the terminal for breaks or food while the other keeps post. You could do the same from your hotel room, but house keeping will wonder what the hell you are doing with a scanner and telephoto equipped camera. I suppose a small bribe would keep them from alerting security... ] Make sure you use the long term parking garage as the location that faces the Janet terminal from the short term parking garage is a very high profile area. The FAA parking is located there (at least on level 5), and I saw mag stripe readers to enter some doors. I don't think anyone would hassle you in long term parking, though there are signs indicating bicycle police patrol the area. Head for row J, then the corner of the garage. The distance between the parking garage and the Janet terminal is 1 mile, which makes observation with binoculars or telephoto lens pretty easy. The GPS coordinates of the corner of the parking garage are N36 05 13.1 W115 08 55.0, while the Janet terminal is around N36 05 36.1 W115 09 53.3. Obviously your GPS won't work in the garage, so the coordinates are just for reference. All parking levels but the top (duh) will give you some shade. The 5th floor is certainly high enough to get a good unobstructed view.
This photo, also from McCarran long term parking, shows that the Janet planes do carry some cargo, or at least they open the hatch to make you think they carry cargo.
You can photograph the Janet planes and terminal at night, but you will need a tripod. The terminal is all lit up with yellow sodium lighting. Photographing the facility at night should let you get photos of all the planes, plus you can look into the terminal windows. This photo of the interior shows benches near the door. [Of course, what else would you expect in the terminal, alien autopsy tables?] The next group of photos were all shot from the 18th floor of the Tropicana Hotel. If anyone from the hotel is reading, please clean the windows. Geez! And if any Janet pilots are reading this, please try to park the planes so the tail numbers are completely visible.
N5176 plus some partial tail numbers.
The photograph below shows how the waiting room is now hidden from view due to the new construction.
N4529W plus a peak at the waiting room. (May 2002)
The N4529W plane is a smoking gun of sorts. While all these planes are registered to the air force, there is a FCC callsign registration for this plane that links it back to EG&G:
| Callsign Results [ULS DATABASE] |
| Callsign | License ID | Licensee Name | Service |
| 4529W | EG AND G SPECIAL PROJECTS INC | AC | |
| Address | City | State | Zip |
| MS 61 821 GRIER DR | LAS VEGAS | NV | 891933747 |
| Phone | Fax | Contact Firm | Contact Address |
| () - | () - | ||
| Contact City | Contact State | Contact Zip | Contact Phone |
| () - | |||
| Expire | Phase | Developmental | Pn Accepted |
| Nov 30, 2004 | Active | N | |
| Pn Action | Action | Grant Date | Area Operations |
| Nov 30, 1994 | |||
| Special Condition 1 | Special Condition 2 | Special Condition 3 | Special Condition 4 |
| Special Condition 5 | STA Request | ||
| N |
Occasionally want ads for Janet pilots from EG&G show up in the Las Vegas Review Journal:
| Requisition Number : | EGG24062 | |
| Company : |
EG&G/LSI |
|
| Interest Category : |
Flight Operations |
|
| External Job Title : | FIRST OFFICER (PILOT) | |
| Type of Position : |
Full-time |
|
| Country : |
U.S. |
|
| State : |
Nevada |
|
| City : |
Las Vegas |
|
| Minimum Requirements : |
Must possess background and experience sufficient to pilot a Boeing 737
aircraft. Must hold an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate issued by
the Federal Aviation Administration. Must hold a First Class Medical
Certificate issued by the FAA. Work is primarily sedentary, with some
walking, bending, stretching and climbing. Lifting up to 40 pounds may
be required. Must be able to qualify for a TS/SSBI security clearance. DESIRED QUALIFICATION: 4000 hrs. of flying time, a B-737 Type Rating, and an active TS/SSBI security clearance |
|
To the editor:
I live in Summerlin near Town Center Drive and the Las Vegas Beltway• There is a "nonexistent," unmarked white 737 with a red stripe that flies over my house several times a day• This "nonexistent" plane takes off from McCarran International Airport to the west and makes a right turn to fly north to a "nonexistent" Air Force base called Groom Lake• It has, at times, awakened me at 4:30 in the morning• When I hear the noise of the jet engines over my house, I know immediately that it's the same plane•
We must not allow our quality of life to be sold out from underneath us if we want our community to remain a desirable place to live• When I relocated to Las Vegas some years ago, one of the factors I considered in choosing Summerlin was that it was quiet• The additional expense of the neighborhood was worth it to me, and probably is for the majority of Summerlin residents•
Changing the flight path will have a profoundly negative effect on our area's quality of life, not to mention our property values•
Carl Edwards
N5175U and N5294M
This photograph below shows how the new construction blocks the view of the aircraft. How convenient.
This shot of N5177C shows how close the Scenic Air planes get to the Janet terminal:
N5294E and N5294M (April 2002)
N623RA, the newest Janet Beechliner, which replaces N27RA, which crashed in March 2004.
N20RA, N27RA, N661BA (partial), and N654BA. Note the plane N4536P is not involved with the Janet operation.
N662BA (April 2002)
N661BA (May 2002)
N27RA (May 2002)
N27RA and N20RA: (April 2002)
Here is the night shift coming back on N5176Y from Groom or the NTS to Las Vegas after a long night of doing who knows what...
Hmmmh, I wonder where this Janet airplane originated?
N5175U was 72-0282
N5294E was 72-0284
N5176Y was 72-0285
N5177C was 72-0286
N5294M was 72-0287
One plane, N4529W has 290 on the nose. At the moment, this is a mystery.
If you've seen the Area 51 special on the Discovery Channel, they talk about the workers entering the plane in plain street clothing, perhaps carrying a duffle bag or backpack. Now this guy doesn't have two heads. He just neglected to stand still long enough to get his photo taken. [I'd suggest ASA 400 film to do these kinds of shots, rather than the ASA 100 I used. This photo was done with a Meade ETX90 telescope and some cropping.
Ever wonder if Area 51 is an equal opportunity employer? Well wonder no more... But what does the 00 and 45 on the door mean? (Not too bad of a photograph from 0.6 miles away.)
This photo taken from McCarrin long term parking is to give a general view of the area, that is show the Janet Terminal relative to the local hotels. Note the Luxor Towers and Madalay Bay are shown in this photo but not in the older Terraserver photo that follows. Given the odd shape of many of the buildings, picking the Tropicana is certainly the simplest solution. Choose the Island Tower facing the airport on the highest floor possible. The very top 2 or 3 floors have expensive suites, but the rooms just under the suites are fine.
Note the cloudy sky. Well, clouds or not clouds, the temperature was over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit.
This photo is a combination of 1 meter per pixel photos from www.terraserver.com . The markings show local hotels and roads, so hopefully you won't miss the terminal. Click on the photograph to get a higher resolution image. Note that the Silver tower of the San Remo lies between the "R" and "E" in the label, while the Gold Tower is between the words "San" and "Remo". I would only go to the San Remo if the Tropicana is sold out (which does happen), since the views from the Tropicana are much better. The Janet Terminal blocks the view of part of the Janet planes from the San Remo Gold Tower, while the wicked angle you need to shoot from the Silver Tower lowers the quality of the photo since the window glass often has ripples in it.
Just so you know that Janet planes do fly. Photo taken at McCarran.
Photo taken on Mt. Charleston.
Yes this is a Janet plane, but photographed through an equivalent 2000mm lens (500mm plus 4x barlow). The photo was taken near Mt Sterling. The plane was about 11 miles away.
Photographs of the Janet planes at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) can be seen here.
Janet aircraft have been recently seen at KPAE Snohomish County Airport. Photographs can be seen at:
http://microvoltradio.com/janet.htm
Accident account from a passenger
A well done primer on monitoring aviation can be found at http://www.freqofnature.com/airguide.html