What is this?

[nfo2b]

Check out this satellite pic of PNAS from Google Maps. Near the center is an angled painted runway resembling a carrier flight deck with what appear to be a couple of F-14's, F-18's, and an E-2C. To the left of this is what looks to be an LHA flight deck mockup, and to the right are two large round pads with some unkown aircraft at their centers. What is all of this stuff?
Just curious. Man, Google maps is fun to play with!!

 

[Goober]

IIRC those are the firefighting training pads for the NATTC students.

 

[A4sForever]

It's also the site of old Chevalier Field .... or maybe that's obvious to all?? Here's the WW2 version looking north:

... and how it looked (below -- overhead facing north) when I got there in the late '60's. They were still doing helo test flights out of there during my tenure. Chevalier basically closed to fixed wing when Sherman Field opened in 1955. There was no NATTC Pensacola when I was there.

 

[Goober]

^Yep, even into the early 90's. My cousin was a retired airframer and worked as a civ at NADEP (then NARF) for years before they moved everything from Millington and closed the NADEP for good.

 

[Cyclic]

Oh man...I just saw the OCS sand pit....my eyes are itching now...

BTW, when did they move all the A/C from the green area at the museum??...the A-5 is bigger than the C-47 just beside it...unreal

 

[Gatordev]

Why is it that I can zoom in all the way to Pensacola on Google maps, but when I go over to bumfVck Pace or Milton and wnat to see houses I'm looking at, it won't let me zoom all the way in? I mean, come on, doesn't everyone want to see a close up of the Whiting pine trees???

As an aside, you'll also see similar setups at airfields that support helicopter landings. There will usually be an LHA pad and a small boy deck pad to practice approaches and familiarize new guys w/ the set up.