Groom Lake Su-27

[dicanio]

Hi All,

I stopped by Tikaboo Valley, near Groom Lake, last month and was lucky enough to watch a Su-27P Flanker-B dogfighting with an F-16, presumably one of the four Groom Lake based -D models.

The quality of these pictures is low as they were operating between 20 and 30 thousand feet and my old fashioned autofocus couldn't cope. Hopefully you would find them of interest anyway as I think the Groom Flankers have rarely been photographed.

Enjoy!

DC

[DJ17]

Very Interesting and nice to see photo documented.

[Cornish-guy]

Did you get any shots of a certain base?

C.

[scottoz8]

Ah the Base that does not exist !!!!!!!!

[dicanio]

Haha, well I actually didn't bother 'graphing the non-existent base this time.

I did the Tikaboo Peak hike in 2009, but once was enough for me. You can see the base clearly, but its 26 miles away and you literally have to stare at the base through your scope to detect anything moving.

What surprises me still is the lack of photos of Russian stuff flying in the area. I've been 3 times and photographed MiG-29's and Su-27's on 2 of the 3 trips. I have friends who have been and photographed Su-27's and F-117's within the last 5 years. I guess its just too remote and time consuming (and possibly dull) for most people to bother with?

Anyway, if you're interested in Groom Lake stuff, all my previous 3 trip photo's are on my blog:

http://area51trips.blogspot.co.uk

Cheers,
DC

[herbert]

Really interesting stuff. I took a look at your blog too. Fascinating.

[neilg27]

Very interesting and also reading your blog, something I would want to do !!!

[page_verify]

Thank you DC for sharing those with all of us. You're right, most people seem to travel to Groom Lake and expect to take photos of the next big secret project whereas the base's day-to-day role is looking at them in the face but they're not seeing it - albeit because they can't determine the jets at 30 miles aren't American. I bet there's more solvable mysteries about what Soviet era jets they have and where they came from compared to when people try to guess what UFOs or black projects are hidden away. I once spoke to a pilot from Lakenheath who I knew would've flown around Groom Lake and he said the reason they're kept out there is mainly because they'd be a distraction if they flew from Nellis rather than anything sinister!

[Reiver]

These are very interesting photos indeed. I wonder where exactly the Americans got the Su-27 from ? Are there others ?

[POL]

Take a look at his blog

[page_verify]

Yes, I read DC's interesting blog. Seeing his 50mm photo of a Mig overhead was what made me think how many jets people in that area must hear, but not look twice at - I suspect almost all of them.

[Blackcat1]

Pretty cool shots, different and interesting!

[Hugolechat]

Fascinating stuff, and an interesting blog - thanks, DC!

[TankBuster]

Interesting pics! I wonder if they were being flown by little green men .

Wouldn't we all love to have a butchers around Groom Lake, it must be a fascinating place to see. I wonder what other military aircraft are tucked away at that location and whether any of the alleged black projects ever existed or not? Perhaps they'll let FC'ers have a base tour .

Thanks for sharing,

TankBuster

[The Phantom]

Great images DC (and interesting site as well)

[jem60]

REIVER. I think that you will find that there was a PRIVATELY OWNED and flown SU27 in the States a couple of years ago. Don't know if it is still extant tho'.

[timb]

Great stuff and very interesting blog, thanks for sharing it.

[powerslave]

Great shots.

Ian

[Cornish-guy]

Seen these photos on twitter linked to someon called https://twitter.com/TheAviationist

Hope this is the OP's tweet.

C.

[dicanio]

It's ok it's all above board, thanks. I've followed that blog for a while and is popular in the US, so he ran a quick article.

Amusingly the first response on Twitter was "its fake, it's photoshopped "!

Thanks everyone here for all the generous comments, btw.

DC