Check The History Channel

[Charlie in Dayton]

Currently playing as I enter this (8pm EDT 4 Apr 2005)
on the History Channel
UFO Files
Area 51: Beyond Top Secret
"Born during the Cold War, Area 51 in Nevada, also known as Groom Lake or Dreamland, became not only the Air Force's most strategic test site, but also a symbol of everything that was sneaky about the U.S. military-industrial-intelligence complex...."

Story includes the extremely mundane story about how Area 51 got its name. Check it out -- this is nothing short of cool!!! Kelly Johnson and the boys at The Skunk Works would be so proud...

[Gullible Jones]

Wasn't Area 51 where they built the prototypes for the F-117 Nighthawk?

[Tensor]

Wasn't Area 51 where they built the prototypes for the F-117 Nighthawk?

Not just prototypes. The actual aircraft flew out of there for a while.

[tlbs101]

The F-117's actually were based at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) for most of the 1980's. The TTR is part of the larger Nellis Air Force Base Test range, and is located northwest of Area 51. Of this, I have 1st and 2nd-hand knowledge.

I am sure the prototype(s) were tested out of Area 51, but once Lockmart started producing them, they moved to the TTR. The same thing was probably true of the B-2.