Area 51: The Dreamland Chronicles Area 51: The Dreamland Chronicles Area 51: The Dreamland Chronicles is a 1997 non-fiction book about Area 51 in Nevada by David Darlington. A review in the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" called the book "a real service" for readers interested in the early history of the site, but also scolded the author for entertaining "alien seekers, the tragically abducted, and self-appointed aliens ... saucer nuts" whose record "drown[s] out any legitimate inquiry into how much secrecy and how large a restricted compound the government needs to conduct black-budget activities". The A.V. Club called it "a definitive work on the
Area 51 delivered by Lockheed to Area 51, later the A-7D's were used for F-117A chase testing and other weapon tests at the Nellis Range. 15 October 1982 is important to the program because on that date Major Alton C. Whitley, Jr. became the first USAF 4450th TG pilot to fly the F-117A. Although ideal for testing, Area 51 was not a suitable location for an operational group, so a new covert base had to be established for F-117 operations. Tonopah Test Range Airport was selected for operations of the first USAF F-117 unit, the 4450th Tactical Group (TG). From October 1979,