Area 51 YF-117A. At 6:05 am on 18 June 1981 Lockheed Skunk Works test pilot Hal Farley lifted the nose of YF-117A "79–780"' off the runway of Area 51. Meanwhile, Tactical Air Command (TAC) decided to set up a group-level organization to guide the F-117A to an initial operating capability. That organization became the 4450th Tactical Group (Initially designated "A Unit"), which officially activated on 15 October 1979 at Nellis AFB, Nevada, although the group was physically located at Area 51. The 4450th TG also operated the A-7D Corsair II as a surrogate trainer for the F-117A, and these operations continued until
North American P-51 Mustang variants for the P-51 came from tests carried out at facilities such as the USAAF's "Flight Test Engineering Branch", based at Wright Field near Dayton, Ohio and, for the RAF, the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE), based at Boscombe Down. North American Aviation carried out their own performance tests, as did the only other manufacturer of the P-51, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of Australia. North American P-51 Mustang variants Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after the Second World War, some of which were employed also