eh... .....ok




good picts

can you give more info?

Interesting. I'm surprised you didn't get that many people for this thread. Cool images. Those blue things look like tremors coming out of the ground. What are those things? A fence?

I'd say they definitely have some secret advanced technology there, captured from various incidents.
Or thats what they want os to think so we think the gubberment is very powerfull.
Neither way, I want to know

Looks like I helped bumped your thread a bit.

Good Luck.

Maybe a new engine for the NGB

maybe some authority suggested that Groom behave more like a legit Air Force operation rather than the wild wild west we don't need no stinkin' badges outfit that it was prior to the EPA lawsuit.

Cool find thanks for posting Always wondered what those were the few times I had seen them.

The Blue panels kind of look like a bunch of Chaise Lounges in the Google earth shot.

Good stuff!

What kind of plane can do engine test in this Hush house? I think its too small for a bomber type of plane, may be for a fighter size experimental aircraft.

Why they built it on the north of the base, there is no huge hangar near to stock an experimental plane?

There are four large hangars and a few smaller ones on the North Parking Ramp. The total hangar space is more than sufficient for an entire fleet of experimental planes. The need to maintain the Red Hats squadron alone more than justifies the construction of a hush house.

Any speculation from anybody in this thread as to what the hush house will be used for aircraft testing wise. Or do you guys think this hush house will be used for just about every type of engine testing from little engines used on drones, to whatever the hell they are using to thrust the aurora?

May be this hush house is to protect the people on the base, about a ne w type of very noisy engine.

It doesn't matter whether the surrounding area is populated or not. Hush houses are common at many Air Force bases. In 2008, the estimated number of installations that have hush houses at Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Reserves, Navy, Marine Corps, and Army bases exceeded 100. There is one at Edwards even though it is in the middle of nowhere, but security is as much of an issue as noise abatement. According to one DoD report, "The structure allows continuous maintenance on all manner of military aircraft that could only previously be conducted outside or in open hangars, potentially disturbing surrounding communities, and occurring in sight of prying eyes."

The air intake and exhaust systems of indoor engine test cells and hush houses are designed to optimize the engine air flows, and to discharge cooled jet exhaust through a vertical stack. Supposedly, the intake and exhaust systems have silencers to reduce noise transmitted to the surrounding outdoor area, but I have to say that it doesn't seem to keep the noise down all that much. Military aircraft produce high-decibel sound, particularly in the afterburning mode. For example, a F-4 Phantom creates a noise level of 123.5 decibels adjusted (dBA) at 250 feet at regular military power and 130.6 dBA in afterburner mode. An F-16 creates a noise level of 122.0 dBA in military power mode and 129.3 dBA in afterburner mode. During an engine run in a hush house, people in the nearby surrounding area feel a bone-rattling, deep, low hum. I find it exceedingly unpleasant.

There are two basic types of aircraft acoustical enclosures: the hush house, and the test cell. Hush houses are hangar-like structures designed for testing air-driven jet engines, including turbojet, turbofan, turboprop, and turboshaft engines. A jet engine test cell is usually an indoor engine testing facility designed only for out-of-frame testing of aircraft engines. These test cells are constructed from concrete, have an intake stack, test enclosure, a blast augmenter, and an exhaust ramp and/or stack. There are two engine test cells at the southernmost end of the Area 51 complex that were originally built to support the OXCART program. Judging from recent satellite images, they appear to remain available for use. The hush house on the north end can accommodate aircraft with the engines installed, allowing four integrated testing. Engine maintenance has always been a challenge for the Red Hats programs at Area 51 due to the paucity of spare parts for the foreign aircraft, and engine performance testing is an important part of any aircraft evaluation program.