WTF was that refueling

a reply to: Zaphod58
So looks like he's gone or what?

the plot thickens, did he get shut down?! We'll never know now.

a reply to: TheHans

Thanks airspace link was a good read

Back on topic wonder if we will ever discover what the OP saw ?

a reply to: Zaphod58
Whoa... what the hell just happened? Is this just a clever story teller who dropped in and has now shut up shop, or are we witnessing a rare shutdown by the US Govt of something that wasn't supposed to be out in the wild? If its the former we have seen this before over the years. But if its the later would that be the first time its happened on ATS? As a mod Zaph you should be able to find out why his profile is now clean and what actually happened.

The only thing that will be said about what happened is that he was not shut down by an outside agency. Period. End of discussion. There is nothing more that needs to be, or will be said.

a reply to: Zaphod58
Gotcha, so its the former which I thought it was (hmmm....?). Moving right along nothing to see here.

Something strange happened today. That's for sure.

Aircraft description left by PhotonicsTechnologists reminds me about a description of the Boscombe Down incident type.

This is what was said in the Boscombe incident article on DRL website.

"

In the front left hand side, the aircraft that had the incident was sitting there - and within view was not just the rear section, but the forward fuselage as well. The center section was covered in tarpaulins. They described the color of the aircraft as 'charcoal grey', and not black as was expected. Also, as well as the inwardly canted fins came another prominent feature, the Cockpit Canopy was in fact hinged at the front, and not at the back - like most 'normal' aircraft.
Also described were 'Chines' extending from the front to the back of the aircraft, similar to the SR-71 and YF-23.

Quite clearly apparent, was that the aircraft had Inward - Canted - Tail-planes - reminiscent of the F-19 'scribbles' we have seen in the past.

Just a thought but we don't know whether Boscombe Down incident type was an operational platform or demonstrator/testbed.


EDIT:
I found it in another old ATS thread.

I remember seeing shots taken from a runway in Saudi Arabia during GW1 of an unrecognized aircraft taking off.
I think they were in pop sci, the article postulated it was the latest in tactical high speed recon.

I wish saved the mag, what was shown in a series of three shots taken from outside the fence at one of the saudi bases, was definately a manned craft it was somewhat deltaish shaped with twin inward canted rudders and twin engined.
The pictures were taken at dusk just as the aircraft was taxiing for take off.

Well, while getting back into the past, I noticed something interesting what seems to match with the 'F-19' draw PhotonicsTechnologics shared in this thread.
Look into my "F-117 Companion data" thread on here.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Start reading from punkinworks10 post on page 2.

a reply to: SpeedFanatic

Speed... Yeah it does seem that something odd happened. I for one enjoyed Photonics’ stories but it looks like he was maybe preempted somehow. All we get is kind of a non-denial denial. It makes me wonder if he was (a) describing the real deal and (b) if his story about his cousin was a clever ruse - e.g. perhaps he had firsthand knowledge somehow.

The platform he described sounded like the Boscombe airframe and explains the tarp over the back. You would want to hide that the vehicle was a rocket and or used a highly exotic propulsion system (aerospike, combined cycle, SCRAM, etc.). That reveals a lot. Perhaps Boscombe was just a runway overrun. His story is also consistent with what was posted here on an Aurora (who cares what the plane is called) thread stating that silent landings in the UK were always preceded by a C-5 or C-17.

The craft sounds novel in that stealthing and near space/hypersonic tech may have been combined on one platform. It definitely sounds like how I would imagine the second stage of a TSTO/hypersonic glider bird (I’m guessing the described bird is suborbital... but who knows). That is completely consistent with what you can read on Blackstar on wiki under “other aircraft.”

en.m.wikipedia.org...(spacecraft)

Also, the described platform sounds about right for state-of-the-art 1980s tech - think a stealth X-15 Delta or X-20 Dynosaur. This video shows some of the TSTO concepts:

m.youtube.com...

Whatever happened, I’m sure this thread is being watched. Can’t have national secrets posted on the net! Only speculated about is ok. Cool thread!

a reply to: TheHans

He was about as close to the truth as I would be if I said the sun will rise in the west tomorrow. There were so many holes in that story it wasn't funny.

a reply to: SpeedFanatic

Something strange happened today. That's for sure.

Perhaps.

I'm rather surprised the group embraced someone claiming something so fantastic, has no almost no track record on the site, and so clearly spouting nonsense about other matters related to their story. While I am willing to give some latitude for bad memories and what have you. Either PT was full of it or someone fed him a line of bovine excrement.

As for his claims matching what you've heard? Well, you have posted numerous things here. It wouldn't take much to build a composite of what the group wants to hear based on that. I would have liked to have seen the pix, at least, but that seems to have not been in the cards.

Whatever happened today, some skepticism would go a loooong way for the group.

a reply to: anzha

ah come on cant hurt to hold out hope
whats the worst which could happen, him getting banned?

His story was just that, a story. Hearsay. Of course some things dont add up. They never do. Sometimes even on purpose.

Also - and this is just a thought of course - maybe, just maybe, it was not the first time certain members of certain groups have heard some odly similar stuff about alleged programs lurking in really odd places. You know, the kind of stuff that usually isnt shared publicly.
But as said, just a thought.

a reply to: mightmight

That's why I said I give some leeway for bad memories and whatnot. However, if normal folks' stories are swiss cheese with holes, his was more like the Caldecott Tunnels: large enough to support heavy traffic.

Skepticism is a good thing.

But I would have still liked to have seen the pix.

When I post something here, it means I'm trying to put pieces together and make a picture from it but it is always just a hope.

It is highly possible that Photonics just read some things on the net and tried to be funny here but you never know. We haven't seen those pics and most probably it won't happen at all.

a reply to: SpeedFanatic

I will add that trying to cheat on people it´s not funny. Just in case, of course.

a reply to: Fastmover

Oh, cheating is the worst thing but I never doing it. If I post here something these are always just my thoughts or educated guess which base on a rumors floating around.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Zaph... You’re a legend on here, so if you say it’s mostly BS I’ll accept that.

Two final points I’ll make regarding Photonic’s story/posts are (a) having served in the military, they occasionally do some sloppy, dumb stuff and (b) I found his weird insistence on small, but not insignificant details, such as the lack of ailerons, stacked nozzles, vintage look, and inward-canted tail fins pretty odd. Why would you go there? Quoting an Air Force pilot I know... some of their stuff is state-of-the-art 80s tech.

Still, he was quick to draw attention to the canopy(s) hinging from the front, a common theme from the Boscombe down story. What happened to the mothership? First our XR-7 or whatever is on the back of a blue XB-176/SR-75, then it’s on a cradle. I don’t think I’d have a hinged cockpit on a space plane! Think I’d stick with a hatch.

Anyways folks, I bought a nice DSLR with a telephoto. Maybe I’ll (or someone) get lucky one of these days.

originally posted by: anzha
a reply to: mightmight


But I would have still liked to have seen the pix.

There were no pics

a reply to: Forensick

Quite probably not. However, I'd like to have seen his bluff called.

originally posted by: anzha
a reply to: Forensick

Quite probably not. However, I'd like to have seen his bluff called.

Lets for a moment say he did have photo's. Surely, even a private contractor would not be allowed to publish such stuff whilst working for the government inside the base. ( Could that be classed as spying ? )
Does 18 USC 1905 come into effect ? I am not sure if that applys to a contractor, but surely there must be some sort of law. Anybody here up on the legal stuff ?

a reply to: nelloh62

If they're taken on a base then I'm pretty sure that's illegal to do like Zaph said earlier Base rules apply for everyone who's on there. If they were taken outside the base by a civilian then I'm pretty sure you'd be free to post them. The Texas and was it Wichita airframe pics were published so that's what I'm going off.