page_title: Tonopah Test Range Airport
section_title: F-117A Operations
hierarchical_section_title: Tonopah Test Range Airport / History / F-117A Nighthawk Program / F-117A Operations
caption_attribution_description: English: Two 4450th Tactical Group F-117As refueling from KC-135 tanker and an A-7D chase plane Nevada. Note the aircraft in the for ground with the grey/black paint, this is the first F-117, 780. This photo dates from about 1984
context_page_description: Tonopah Test Range Airport, at the Tonopah Test Range is 27 NM southeast of Tonopah, Nevada and 140 mi northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a major airfield with a 12,000 ft × 150 ft runway, instrument approach facilities, and nighttime illumination. The facility boasts over fifty hangars and an extensive support infrastructure.
context_section_description: Routine F-117A operations began in late 1982.  Before each night's sorties, there would be a mass briefing of the pilots, followed by target and route study.  The hangar doors were not opened until one hour after sunset. This meant the first takeoff would not be made until about 7:00 P.M. in winter and 9:30 P.M. in the summer.  Eventually two waves were flown per night. This involved eight primary aircraft and two spares, for a total of eighteen sorties. The aircraft would fly the first wave (called the "early-go"), then return to TTR and be serviced. A second group of pilots would then fly the second wave (the "late-go").  Typically, the training flights simulated actual missions.  A normal mission would have two targets and several turn points. On other nights, there would be a "turkey shoot" with some fourteen targets. The pilots would get points for each one; at the end of the night, they would be added up to see who "won." The missions ranged across the southwest, and the targets were changed each time, to make it more challenging.  
  The second wave was completed by about 2:30 or 3:00 A.M. in the winter, a few hours later in the summer. The planes had to be in their hangars and the doors closed one hour before sunrise. After landing, the pilots would be debriefed.
  The area around TTR was closely monitored. If a truck was seen in the hills around the base, it would be checked out, as were airplanes flying near the base's restricted airspace.  Air Force members were also  prohibited from driving into the town of Tonopah without special permission.   Internal security at the base was also stringent.  Personnel crossing into the double-fence area housing the hangars and flightline were required to pass through a security control point.  This relied upon the Identimat hand geometry scanner, a biometric technology acquired by Wackenhut, the same company that provided perimeter security on the TTR.  The F-117 operations building was a giant vault with no windows.  Within the building was another vault room where the flight manuals were stored.  When in use, the manuals always had to be in the pilot's physical possession.  If a pilot had to go to the bathroom, his manuals were loaned to another pilot or returned to the vault.
  The new F-117 fleet was considered for several high-profile military operations during the mid-1980s, but operations remained largely confined to nighttime flights around Nevada and California for a number of years.  It took a presidential authorization to begin off-range flights. In the event of an unscheduled landing, the pilots carried a signed letter from a senior Air Force general ordering the base or wing commander to protect the aircraft.
caption: F-117s and an A-7D performing an aerial refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker
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