What is this??

[dbjos]

I use to work in the area and told this was top secret.
It is not an airport, the structure on the far right moves
on rails. What is it covering?

[Forkboy2]

Check the Google Earth Community layer and you'll have your answer.

[dbjos]

Thanks for the info on the Community Layer.

I am still curious about what is under that structure, by the shadow
it is very tall and and moves pretty far on those rails. I think it might
be more than just to test drone aircraft. What is it covering?

[Poomuckl]

That's nice. A secret boeing test site in the middle of nowhere.
That white thing looks for me like some kind of rocket hangar on rails. Don't they have such things at cape canaveral as well?

If you compare the shadows of the buildings on the airfield looking structur with the hangar it's really huge. I'd guess more than 50m high.
So they can hide pretty big drones in there :)

[sladys]

Here is a photo of it:

http://www.omen.com/f/bzap.jpg

[dbjos]

Sladys that is a great picture of it, where did you get that picture from?
Was there any description with it? I have my doubts about it being a
landing strip it's only 50' wide and no hangers.

[Jrod]

It reminds of one of those old g-force testing facilities, where they would strap in a person to a seat and shot him down the tracks with rockets.

[sladys]

Sladys that is a great picture of it, where did you get that picture from?
Was there any description with it? I have my doubts about it being a
landing strip it's only 50' wide and no hangers.

I googled it with picture search and then it showed up after entering informations from GEC: Boardman test.

On the site whe the photo is, there is no description as I see it. Maybe you can find it out. It describes a Boardman OR 33 but that's up north.

http://images.google.dk/url?q=http://www.omen.com/f/fly9907.html&usg=AFQjCNEgB-Iq0darzo2PU2Lxm2mHs44s-w

But as you notice on the image I found and on GE there are yellow X-marks on the runway. That means it's cancelled as runway. For me it looks like a low flight test facility because of the cancelled runway and the radars to the left.

[McMaster_de]

RCS RANGES

Some of the most significant defense-related facilities in the United States are Radar Cross Section (RCS) test ranges. These facilities, being either contractor or government operated, conduct some of the most sensitive test programs in the defense industry. RCS ranges are used to test the radar signatures of various objects, most significantly with the aim of measuring their ability to evade radar detection against various radar types. Stealth platforms like the HAVE BLUE were tested at an RCS range in order to validate the design before flight testing, for example, to ensure that the RCS of the aircraft would meet the requirements of the test program. Due to the sensitive nature of the testing conducted at these facilities, they are typically located in isolated areas.

The primary outdoor RCS test ranges can be located at the following coordinates:

Boardman: 45°44'53.55"N 119°47'10.02"W
Grey Butte: 34°34'13.01"N 117°40'11.27"W
Helendale: 34°49'30.40"N 117°17'45.83"W
Junction Ranch: 36°02'15.81"N 117°30'10.69"W
Kirtland AFB: 34°57'33.77"N 106°29'59.27"W
RATSCAT: 33°10'59.71"N 106°34'23.81"W
Tejon: 34°55'27.49"N 118°31'44.76"W

Boardman

Located in an isolated area west of Boardman, Oregon, the Boardman RCS range is owned and operated by Boeing. The facility consists of a radar array at the west end and a pylon for mounting test articles at the east end. The pylon can be covered by a large, moveable hangar, to protect sensitive test objects from view. When RCS testing is ongoing, the hangar slides out of the field of view of the radar sensors on a set of rails. The sliding shelter concept is similar to what was used at the former Grey Butte RCS test range.

http://geimint.blogspot.com/2007/08/us-restricted-and-classified-test-sites.html

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/boardman.htm

[dbjos]

McMaster_de & Sladys thanks for the links and helping to solve this mystery.
I use to work at the coal plant just south of there, and they hauled rock
into that site 7 days a week 24hrs day for 2 to 3 months, and everything
was hush hush top secret. So I have been curious about this ever since.
Thanks again for the help you guys are awesome!!!

[SSSALVI]

It is RF alignment 'Test Range' and the 'strip' may not be a solid one but made up of RF absorbing material which stops surface reflections of signals transmitted from Tx antenna towards Rx antenna.

Area surrounding the 'strip' ( looks like dark soil in Sladys' photograph ) has also been made RF absorbant but in a less efficient manner.
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S^3