# Area 51 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 13, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437 "2015-11-13T02:32:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/1 "2015-11-13T02:32:16Z")
Do you suppose that the Air Force mounts strobe lights on helicopters and flies them around to piss people off? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/2 "2015-11-13T02:36:28Z")
[ct mode] The real Men in Black haven’t used black helicopters for years. They use either red with yellow striped or blue with white striped helicopters with removable decals on the sides of the logos of local TV or radio stations on them[/ct mode] ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/3 "2015-11-13T02:38:17Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Do you suppose that the Air Force mounts strobe lights on helicopters… Yes. I’m pretty sure ALL aircraft have strobes attached. > [@](#): > > … and flies them around to piss people off? It’s for safety reason I believe. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/4 "2015-11-13T02:42:05Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > [ct mode] The real Men in Black haven’t used black helicopters for years. They use either red with yellow striped or blue with white striped helicopters with removable decals on the sides of the logos of local TV or radio stations on them[/ct mode] Hey, I didn’t say black. Any old helicopter with strobe lights, disco balls and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/5 "2015-11-13T04:07:55Z")
There’s nobody out there to piss off. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/6 "2015-11-13T14:17:41Z")
I thought folks sneaked up to watch, and try not to be caught by guards. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/7 "2015-11-13T14:26:24Z")
I realize this is MPSIMS, but what are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/8 "2015-11-13T14:37:51Z")
Area 51, the airbase where planes are tested, and some folks think the Air Force keeps pet aliens and space ships there. People see UFOs and decide they are alien space ships. ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/9 "2015-11-13T14:44:27Z")
If they do, I hope they coordinate their efforts with the tour groups. [http://www.adventurephototours.com/area51.php](http://www.adventurephototours.com/area51.php) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/10 "2015-11-13T14:49:40Z")
Maybe they do use some fake effects to find and flush out trespassers. I think the military actually likes the Area 51 myth, it does part of their counter-intelligence job for them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/11 "2015-11-13T15:14:35Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Area 51, the airbase where planes are tested, and some folks think the Air Force keeps pet aliens and space ships there. > People see UFOs and decide they are alien space ships. I understand both the facts and the ULs about Area 51 pretty well. I was trying to make sense of the body of the OP. Why would you ask this question today? What triggered your interest? Is there some media event I haven’t heard of? Why strobe lights instead of some other lights? Why helicopters? Who is the “they” the USAF is trying to piss off? Etc. IOW, the sentence you wrote is fine grammatical English. But everything after that is a complete mystery to me. But I admit I’m sometimes rather too literal-minded for my own good. Humor me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/12 "2015-11-13T15:21:06Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I was trying to make sense of the body of the OP. Why would you ask this question today? What triggered your interest? Is there some media event I haven’t heard of? Why strobe lights instead of some other lights? Why helicopters? Who is the “they” the USAF is trying to piss off? Etc. There was a program about Area 51 on television, with pictures of helicopters flying about with spotlights being touted as alien craft. I thought it would be funny as hell if the Air Force was faking out UFO aficionados. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/13 "2015-11-13T15:24:45Z")
Ahhh, thank you. Makes sense now. To be sure, if they use helicopters to patrol the perimeter at night those helos would have the typical aircraft warning lights plus high powered spotlights to light up the ground and any trespassers. It take a special kind of dumb to confuse a guard helicopter coming after you for an alien ship coming after you. Then again, Area 51 True Believers are a special kind of dumb. And then again _again_, either way the encounter may end with anal probing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/14 "2015-11-13T15:25:33Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I thought folks sneaked up to watch, and try not to be caught by guards. Pretty hard to get close enough to see anything. There used to be a ridge that overlooked it from a distance, but I hear access has been blocked to that recently. If you want to see crazy shit, you’re better off going to The Bay Area. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/15 "2015-11-13T15:56:54Z")
I have strobes on my airplane, but I have never flown around to piss people off. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/16 "2015-11-13T16:10:08Z")
If you’ve ever watched the documentary [Mirrage Men](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage_Men) you’d know the Government definitely likes fucking with people’s heads. I LOVED this documentary because it confirmed an armchair theory of mine I’ve had since I was a teenager. Which is basically the government intentionally wanted people to think Roswell incident was “aliens” to distract people from what they were really doing. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/17 "2015-11-13T16:17:52Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > If you want to see crazy shit, you’re better off going to The Bay Area. HEY! Just what are you implying? > [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > I have strobes on my airplane, but I have never flown around to piss people off. Well, you’re no fun. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/18 "2015-11-13T16:23:10Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > If you’ve ever watched the documentary [Mirrage Men](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage_Men) you’d know the Government definitely likes fucking with people’s heads. > > I LOVED this documentary because it confirmed an armchair theory of mine I’ve had since I was a teenager. Which is basically the government intentionally wanted people to think Roswell incident was “aliens” to distract people from what they were really doing. As I mentioned before, there’s value in counter-intelligence. I doubt the government planned the Roswell or Area 51 nonsense, but they can take advantage of it easily. Pretty much anything they do or don’t do will stoke the suspicions of the CT crowd, and they’re fine with that because it creates a cloud of disinformation. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/19 "2015-11-13T16:45:53Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > I have strobes on my airplane, but I have never flown around to piss people off. I should imagine that the FAA frowns upon that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437/20 "2015-11-13T16:51:23Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > There’s nobody out there to piss off. Not entirely true: [http://www.lasvegasnow.com/news/nevada-family-fights-government-over-property-near-area-51](http://www.lasvegasnow.com/news/nevada-family-fights-government-over-property-near-area-51) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51/737437.md?page=2)