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
Kickapoo State Recreation Area was located at the junction of the Middle Fork and Salt Fork Rivers. The village was home to Kennekuk, a Native American known as the "Kickapoo Prophet," who brokered many treaties between the European settlers and Native Americans. Kennekuk was a proponent of a new form of Christianity that had elements of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The Native Americans lived in the area which is now Kickapoo State Park until sometime during the 16th century. Europeans were drawn to what is now the Kickapoo State Recreation Area with the discovery of salt springs in 1819. Most of the immigrants to