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General |
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One of the places any aviation enthusiast must have visited once in his lifetime is Nellis Air Force Base in the middle of the desert in Nevada.
This airbase is most famous of his large, multi-national 'Red-Flag- exercises' which is held 2-3 times a year. Of course , the most special aircraft based at this airbase are the spectacular painted Aggressor-aircraft and the F-22A Raptors.
The base is packed with aircraft and at times of a Red Flag exercise it is even worse. We can recommend to have a look at google earth and zoom into the base. (Press the back button and zoom in on the overview map. Then click the "satellite button".
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Getting There |
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Nellis AFB is located northeast of Las Vegas, NV. directly along the S-604 (N Las Vegas Blvd.), just near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Follow the I-15, direction Mesquite and take exit 'Speedway'. Continue following the Speedway Blvd till you've reached the S-604. On the opposite side of the S-604 is the airbase located.
Important is that you should stay at all times away from the fence to avoid problems with the security-forces and will be send away. |
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Around The Airport |
 Runway 3 |
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From the I-15, take exit 45 to enter the S-147 (E Lake Mead Blvd) (direction Sunrise Manor). After a while at the S-147 , you should take left at the 7th large intersection to get on the S-612 (N Nellis Blvd). Just before the golfcourse (on your right) you should take a right (E Cheyenne Av.) This part of the road is underneath the landing of runway 3L/R. Follow the road till you have a good view of the landing. |
 Landing runway 21 (1) |
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The land underneath the landing is recently fenced off. Now you can view/photograph the landing aircraft from a spot along the N.Las Vegas Blvd (S-604). This spot is mainly suitable during the (late) afternoon (2pm+) and could be found at the intersection of N Hollywood Blvd, Howdy Wells Ave and N.Las Vegas Blvd (S-604)
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 Landing runway 21 (2) |
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Almost the same as spot 2, but now somewhat up the road (north), just near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Checkered Flag Ln). This spot is mainly suitable during the (late) afternoon (2pm+). |
 Reading Serials (1) |
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For the numbercrunchers we recommend spot 4 which is best very early in the morning. From here you will have an overview of the base and be able to read the serials on the ramp with a good mono or binocular (at sunrise). The road going fuhter north is closed but you can turn left after the last house on your left. To get here from the S-604, take the N Nellis Blvd (S-612) southbound. Continue on the road till you're arrive at the intersection with the E Lake Mead Blvd (S-147) and go left. Follow this road till you can turn left onto the N Hollywood Blvd. This road brings you to spot 4. |
 HH-60's |
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This is spot is at the crashgate along the S-612. From this crashgate you can see the HH-60's perfectly. It's even possible to photograph them. Keep in mind that you really don't stay here too long otherwise you'll get security problems. If you coming from spot 2 or 3 you should drive in the direction of the city. The first crashgate you'll see on your left is the one. |
 Landing runway 3 (R) |
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This spot is almost the same at spot 1 (Cheyenne Ave), but at a less visible location (for security). It's a public park and is located behind the gas station on the city-side of Nellis Blvd. Photos are only possible for aircraft landing at runway 3R. Aircraft landing at 3L will pass straight over your head. An advantage of this spot is there are some trees that will bring a welcome shadow during the mostly hot days.
To get here from spot 1 you should drive back on Cheyenne Ave to the intersection with Nellis Blvd. Continue on Cheyenne by passing Nellis Blvd and after passing the gas station on your left, there is a parking lot also on your left. Park your car here and find a spot in the park.
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 Reading Serials (2) |
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This spot is located on the corner of Shatz St and Cecile Ave, just around the corner of spot 4.
From here you can read the serials like from Aggressor F-15s from even inside the barns. |
 Reading Serials (3) |
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Number you could not read off from spot 7, you could try here once more. You will will see almost the same as from spot 7 but then from a different angle. This spot is on Alto Ave, across Windy Butte. |
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