UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record

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In summary: Leslie Kean has written the book to prove them right. She takes us on a compelling journey from the earliest reports of unidentified flying objects to the most recent revelations, and she presents the evidence in an intelligent, well-organized, and convincing manner. I highly recommend UFOs to anyone with an interest in this complex and controversial topic.” —Donald E. Keyhoe, Ph.D., Former Director, USAF Scientific Advisory Committee In summary, Leslie Kean's new book investigates the phenomenon of UFOs and presents evidence that suggests the US government is aware of them and has been involved in some way.
  • #491
FlexGunship

your points are valid. I was not attempting to show that I was in some way right because i made an observation and a conclusion. I was stating that the process of making observation in inherent to learning new things.

As for the combative tone. I have heard that before, I'm not combative just a poor writer.

As for the Experience. I feel that the explanation i gave was the best that i had and while speculation on the subject granted, I would be more than happy to send you a PM with links to serious scientific research by NASA and AIAA on the subject.

Please stop the personal attacks I made a mistake in my grammar and you and nismaratwork became very combative about this subject right off the bat.
 
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  • #492
christopherV said:
so that answered exactly nothing... how is this reasonable? you can't support your arguments and continue to make personal attacks because you have nothing to back this up with.

do not feed the trolls.

done

First, please correctly format your quotes.
Second, how is confronting you with the likely reality of your experience trolling, and enough of this wounded doe, "you're being mean to me!".

I'm not combative... I'm challenging your assertion that you saw a 1/8-1/4 mile flying triangle and that you've uncovered military secrets. What you're doing now is deflecting... I'll ask you again:

How do you in support these two extraordinary claims?

christopherV said:
My only claim was that I experienced an Unidentified Flying Object and in my personal quest to determine what it was. I discovered information that leads me to believe that the government has a secret weapons program that might involve experimental aircraft...
 
  • #493
christopherV said:
FlexGunship

your points are valid. I was not attempting to show that I was in some way right because i made an observation and a conclusion.

Just what do you think a conclusion is, if not a decision that something is right, wrong, or indeterminate? You decided that in all likelihood your experience was the result of secret government weapons testing. That is, to be blunt, 'an assertion of rightness'.

christopherV said:
I was stating that the process of making observation in inherent to learning new things.

As for the combative tone. I have heard that before, I'm not combative just a poor writer.

As for the Experience. I feel that the explanation i gave was the best that i had and while speculation on the subject granted, I would be more than happy to send you a PM with links to serious scientific research by NASA and AIAA on the subject.

Please stop the personal attacks I made a mistake in my grammar and you and nismaratwork became very combative about this subject right off the bat.

Your grammar isn't the issue, your belief sans proof or even a shred of evidence, of a secret government weapons program involving aircraft is the issue. Your inability or unwillingness to re-examine your experience or reconsider your "conclusion" makes your entire time in this thread seem more like a 'sharing' experience than anything to do with the OP!
 
  • #494
christopherV said:
Please stop the personal attacks I made a mistake in my grammar and you and nismaratwork became very combative about this subject right off the bat.

This is a decoy. I pointed it out once with no further comment, then cracked a joke about it later. Nismar may have poked a bit harder, but I think this is behind us.

I suppose if you can't laugh about your own mistakes, then the chances you are willing to "be wrong" about something you claim are mathematically insignificant.

Furthermore, if you are so wounded by that type of comment, then you have very little chance of being convinced of being wrong.

It's a dangerous combination to have such thin skin and then make such a strong proclamation.
 
  • #495
nismaratwork said:
First, please correctly format your quotes.
Second, how is confronting you with the likely reality of your experience trolling, and enough of this wounded doe, "you're being mean to me!".

I'm not combative... I'm challenging your assertion that you saw a 1/8-1/4 mile flying triangle and that you've uncovered military secrets. What you're doing now is deflecting... I'll ask you again:

How do you in support these two extraordinary claims?

I can not of course support the first claim. All i can make is the reasonable statement that I am impeachable as a legal witness on all counts except my bias.

as for the government secret weapon program...seriously. ok

The SR-91
sr-91.jpg

sr914.jpg


unacknowledged combat aircraft
F-23 ”Black Widow II”
YF-23A
MX-47 “Ripper”

and supposedly the The X-115 “Lifter” is a non-combat aircraft designed to test electrostatic propulsion. Though i have found only one reference to it and it may not be real.

how about NASA’s scramjet X-43
x-43a-_lg.jpg


publicly does mach 9.6

And the elusive TAW-50 "space fighter" constructed by Lockheed-Martin Skunk Works and Northrop which supposedly has been leaked but i can't find a whole lot of information that i would deem credible... mostly because it stretches even my imagination...it supposedly does mach 50.
 
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  • #496
christopherV said:
I can not of course support the first claim. All i can make is the reasonable statement that I am impeachable as a legal witness on all counts except my bias.

as for the government secret weapon program...seriously. ok

The SR-91
sr-91.jpg

sr914.jpg


unacknowledged combat aircraft
F-23 ”Black Widow II”
YF-23A
MX-47 “Ripper”

and supposedly the The X-115 “Lifter” is a non-combat aircraft designed to test electrostatic propulsion. Though i have found only one reference to it and it may not be real.

how about NASA’s scramjet X-43
x-43a-_lg.jpg


publicly does mach 9.6

And the elusive TAW-50 "space fighter" constructed by Lockheed-Martin Skunk Works and Northrop which supposedly has been leaked but i can't find a whole lot of information that i would deem credible... mostly because it stretches even my imagination...it supposedly does mach 50.

1). The photo at the top is a fake. It has been debunked before. You can also check Snopes.

2). In an ealier post, perhaps a PM, you cited the Biefield-Brown effect. If you check the rules, you will see that this topic is banned as the alleged effect cannot be duplicated - it has been debunked.

3). The rules were here long before you were. The requirement for a peer-reviewed paper has been in effect for about five years.

4). Yes, we have higher standards than a court of law. That is true of science generally.

5). I made an effort last night to find a paper about ionic propulsion that might be acceptable. I only noticed one from NASA that might qualify. I checked with the staff to see what they think, but the paper was not peer reviewed.

6). The rules are not subject to debate.
 
  • #497
christopherV said:
The SR-91

EDIT: <deleted by author, redundant>

christopherV said:
unacknowledged combat aircraft
F-23 ”Black Widow II”
YF-23A
MX-47 “Ripper”

Well, far from unacknowledged, the YF-23 "Black Widow" was one of two prototypes built for the F-23. Is the "Gray Ghost" also an unacknowledged combat aircraft?

YF-23A? Is that a reference to a video game? (http://acecombat.wikia.com/wiki/YF-23A_Black_Widow_II)

Other than someone talking about it (on a blog... again) even the INTERNET doesn't know of anything called the MX-47.

christopherV said:
and supposedly the The X-115 “Lifter” is a non-combat aircraft designed to test electrostatic propulsion. Though i have found only one reference to it and it may not be real.

Yes, probably not real. Best to leave this one out.

christopherV said:
how about NASA’s scramjet X-43
publicly does mach 9.6

Yeah, 'cause it's basically a missile.
300px-X-43A_technicians.jpg


christopherV said:
And the elusive TAW-50 "space fighter" [...] it supposedly does mach 50.

Non-existent things often seem elusive (sic. unicorns). I'm not saying the TAW-50 is non-existent (that would be an unsubstantiated claim), but other than rumors (AND BLOGS) there seems to be no evidence of this plane.

Finally, we arrive at the end, and all we have for examples are PLANES! You told us this was large and hovered.

christopherV said:
The UFO was amazingly large, mind numbly staggeringly large. maybe a football field or so, yet it hovered silently, displayed vector thrusting to the point of being able to turn 90 degrees without banking and while standing almost still. It had no wings no obvious airfoil or rotor.

As far as I can tell, your list of (questionably existent) aircraft does nothing to further your case for a football-field-sized triangle balloon.

EDIT: It does, however, reveal to us which types of websites you get information from, and what you consider to be "evidence" of something possibly existing.
 
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  • #498
This thread has already overwhelmingly been an argument about wether or not anyone could ever see something, and have a clue what they saw.

The conclusion some have drawn, is that trusting what you see as real, and not illusion is a function of how ordinary what it is you saw. This thinking leads to a view where it is impossible for a person to see anything out of the ordinary without assuming it was something common and uneventful, and being done with it.

It isn't just you, it is anyone and everyone, who they have discredited in advance under all circumstances as observes.
 
  • #499
jreelawg said:
This thread has already overwhelmingly been an argument about wether or not anyone could ever see something, and have a clue what they saw.

The conclusion some have drawn, is that trusting what you see as real, and not illusion is a function of how ordinary what it is you saw. This thinking leads to a view where it is impossible for a person to see anything out of the ordinary without assuming it was something common and uneventful, and being done with it.

It isn't just you, it is anyone and everyone, who they have discredited in advance under all circumstances as observes.

Personal opinion:

I agree. I think the idea that no one can trust anything they've seen has been taking too far [generally speaking]. We can't accept observations as scientific evidence, but I don't think it is reasonable to completely dismiss observations as useless. It would be pretty difficult to mistakenly see an object the size of a football field, at close range, when nothing was there.
 
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  • #500
jreelawg said:
It isn't just you, it is anyone and everyone, who they have discredited in advance under all circumstances as observes.

I think that's an unfair characterization.

The statement is this: if you are going to postulate the existence of a giant hovering triangle the size of a football field that makes no sound then you must do better than a personal story. It is an interesting experience, but history has shown that when someone says something like this, they are sometimes mistaken.

Does anyone remember this: (http://abcnews.go.com/International/video/new-ufo-sightings-in-china-11813189)? Hundreds of people saw it, and it turned out to be a helicopter.

China UFO:
china-ufo-2010.jpg


Helicopter over DC:
pic55102.jpg


EDIT: I guess there is still some debate over this. I will say that it "seems well explained as a helicopter."
 
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  • #501
Ivan Seeking said:
We can't accept observations as scientific evidence, but I don't think it is reasonable to completely dismiss observations as useless. It would be pretty difficult to mistakenly see an object the size of a football field, at close range, when nothing was there.

Could there be a middle ground where we accept the observations, but NOT as evidence of a floating football field?

(Forgive my crude paraphrasing.)
 
  • #502
FlexGunship said:
Could there be a middle ground where we accept the observations, but NOT as evidence of a floating football field?

(Forgive my crude paraphrasing.)

That is what I try to do. But I suspect we have differing opinions about what constitutes the middle ground. :biggrin:

I think there comes a point where one has to assume that all observers are complete idiots, which clearly isn't true, in order to ignore the essential elements of their reports.

I should note that the [photo] alleged stealth aircraft was a prop from a movie. Btw, I posted that one myself before I realized it was a fake. It was sent to me by a former Col. in the Marines. Given that it fooled him, I didn't feel too badly about it.
 
  • #503
Flex, I agree that it is easy to misinterpret something seen in the sky. But, for example, you posted the stuff about a mistaken helicopter. What differentiates that report from reports that would interest me, is that a helicopter would exhibit typical flight characteristics for a helicopter. So there would be nothing implicit to the report that makes it unique. That is one of the est 95%-99% that don't interest us here.

Note that classically speaking, the favored number was about 90% - i.e. 90% of all UFO reports are uninteresting. I have seen the number 95% used, and assume because of the internet that we are probably closer to 99%. It is so easy to post a report to a UFO website that we see a lot more clutter. It used to take some work to file an "official" report.

Interestingly, it was also estimated classically [pre-internet] that only about 10% of all UFO sightings were reported.
 
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  • #504
Ivan Seeking said:
That is what I try to do. But I suspect we have differing opinions about what constitutes the middle ground. :biggrin:

I agree that we differ about this middle ground. In my personal view, I find speculation about football sized hovering triangles to be unfruitful; but discussing possible mundane explanations for it (i.e. cargo plane overhead) often yields answers.

Ivan Seeking said:
I think there comes a point where one has to assume that all observers are complete idiots, which clearly isn't true, in order to ignore the essential elements of their reports.

I maintain that this is a false dichotomy. While there are many common threads, I think it is a premature leap to group all "black triangle" reports together. Some hover, some have 3 lights, some have 4 lights, some make a humming noise, other are silent, some have "engines" in the back, others have windows.

If it's necessary to lump them all together to find establish a compelling argument, then shouldn't all the reports at least agree on the details? And if they don't... how many types of black triangles do we have floating around? :-p

Ivan Seeking said:
Flex, I agree that it is easy [...] used to take some work to file an "official" report.

I apologize. I wasn't pushing it forward as a "compelling" case. I was just trying to illustrate that even something as mundane as a helicopter can be misunderstood by entire crowds of people (that live near an airport, nonetheless).

If these people can misidentify a helicopter under those situations, then perhaps we could do the same.

It was more of a "well, if they can mess that up, surely we can mess this up!"

EDIT: Condensed to prevent a double post.
 
  • #505
Don't have time to talk any more right now, but I do want to make it clear that my personal opinion is just that. In no way does this determine what is appropriate for discussion. Hopefully the posting guidelines eliminate any need for subjective judgment on my part.

Wrt to the quality of the reports. If something is topical, personal [a personal observation], or compelling, it is fine to start a thread about it. Flex, I know you started one thread that I locked. There is soooooo much nonsense out there that I try to limit the discussions to the really interesting stuff. It is fine to reference specific prosaic events to make a point, as you were doing here. I wasn't complaining.

We do look to credible news services and the like as a mininum standard. Please do not link to UFO reporting sites in order to start a discussion.
 
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  • #506
My only regret is that I was too slow to respond to the "evidence" of military skulduggery.

Anyway, the great bit about the scientific method is that we don't need to agree on middle grounds, just the basic rules. It may be that it takes time to work through the process, but as long as all parties are committed to following it then we should either reach a correct conclusion, or conclude that we have too little information. This only breaks down when the mutual exchange of ideas becomes a one-way conduit for junk such as ChristopherV's last post.

I would remind folks here that Red Sprites and Blue Jets are pretty otherworldly, but that doesn't make them from another world. We can see things that are genuinely out of the ordinary (ball lightning, a real experimental aircraft), but the fact is that usually we see clouds and other mundane objects. It's through the rigorous application of skepticism that the genuinely interesting UFOs can be plucked from amidst the vast sea of crap that makes up so much of the field.

Go back 10 pages or 15, and the quality of the discussion was far greater because we were talking about compelling and bewildering cases with relevance to the OP... now we're not, and things have suffered as a result.

OH, and the YF-23A is indeed a bonus aircraft of purely fictional nature from the Ace Combat videogame series by... I think... Bandai? I'm pretty sure that Bandai isn't on the "approved source" list...

Jreelawg: The more out of the normal range something is, the less likely we're going to be able to correctly interpret the nature of that thing in a relatively short period of time. Naturally it's going to be widely observed, repeatable (and repeated), events or phenomenon that get attention. When someone says that flying objects shut down missile readiness, or that there was a football-field sized triangle in the sky... well... it takes more than doctored photos, videogame references and vague allusions to a personal quest for truth to even start a discussion.

Skepticism isn't about temperament... it's about using a method to ensure that personal inclinations to believe something, or not, is based on rational examination of evidence.
 
  • #507
FlexGunship said:
I think that's an unfair characterization.

The statement is this: if you are going to postulate the existence of a giant hovering triangle the size of a football field that makes no sound then you must do better than a personal story. It is an interesting experience, but history has shown that when someone says something like this, they are sometimes mistaken.

Does anyone remember this: (http://abcnews.go.com/International/video/new-ufo-sightings-in-china-11813189)? Hundreds of people saw it, and it turned out to be a helicopter.

China UFO:
china-ufo-2010.jpg


Helicopter over DC:
pic55102.jpg


EDIT: I guess there is still some debate over this. I will say that it "seems well explained as a helicopter."


You know it's funny you post that event because UFO skeptic and space flight expert James Oberg thinks it was military testing, but there are no secret weapons projects right.

here's the article http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/space-expert-china-ufos-likely-from-this-world/19560026

and here are the people that don't fly the stuff of course...this is silly
http://www.afspc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3651

YF-23A

300px-Northrop_YF-23_DFRC.jpg


The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 was a prototype fighter aircraft designed for the United States Air Force. The YF-23 was a finalist in the U.S. Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter competition. Two YF-23s were built and were nicknamed "Black Widow II" and "Gray Ghost", respectively. The YF-23 lost the contest to the Lockheed YF-22, which entered production as the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

YF-23A PAV-1 (s/n 87-0800) is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft was recently put on display following restoration and is located in the Museum's Research and Development hangar

General characteristics
Crew: 1 (pilot)
Length: 67 ft 5 in (20.60 m)
Wingspan: 43 ft 7 in (13.30 m)
Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.30 m)
Wing area: 900 ft² (88 m²)
Empty weight: 29,000 lb (14,970 kg)
Loaded weight: 51,320 lb (23,327 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 62,000 lb (29,000 kg)
Powerplant: 2× General Electric YF120 or Pratt & Whitney YF119 , 35,000 lbf (156 kN) each
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.2+ (1,650+ mph, 2,655+ km/h) at altitude
Cruise speed: Mach 1.6 (1,060 mph, 1,706 km/h) supercruise at altitude
Range: over 2,790 mi (over 4,500 km)
Combat radius: 865–920 mi[23] (750–800 nmi, 1,380–1480 km)
Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (19,800 m)
Wing loading: 54 lb/ft² (265 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 1.36
Armament
None as tested but provisions made for[1]
1 × 20 mm (.79 in) M61 Vulcan cannon
4–6 × AIM-120 AMRAAM or AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles
4 × AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles

reference link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_YF-23


MX-47

300px-X-47A_rollout.jpg


The Northrop Grumman X-47 is a demonstration Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle. The X-47 began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and is now part of the United States Navy's UCAS-D program to create a carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Unlike the Boeing X-45, initial Pegasus development was company-funded. The original vehicle carries the designation X-47A Pegasus, while the follow-on naval version is designated X-47B.

General characteristics
Crew: 0
Length: 19 ft 7 in (5.95 m)
Wingspan: 19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)
Empty weight: 3,836 lb (1,740 kg)
Loaded weight: 4,877 lb (2,212 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 5,903 lb (2,678 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5C turbofan, 3,190 lbf (14.2 kN)
Performance
Maximum speed: "high subsonic"
Cruise speed: "high subsonic"
Range: 1,500+ NM (2,778+ km)
Service ceiling: 40,000+ ft (12,192+ m)
Thrust/weight: 0.65

reference link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_X-47A_Pegasus
 
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  • #508
but wait..theres more. check out the bold letters

310px-Speed_is_Life_HTV-2_Reentry_New.jpg


The DARPA Falcon Project (Force Application and Launch from Continental United States) is a two-part joint project between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the United States Air Force (USAF). One part of the program aims to develop a reusable, rapid-strike Hypersonic Weapon System (HWS), now retitled the Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle (HCV), and the other is for the development of a launch system capable of accelerating a HCV to cruise speeds, as well as launching small satellites into Earth orbit. This two-part program was announced in 2003 and continued into 2006.[1]

The latest project to be announced under the Falcon banner was a fighter-sized unmanned aircraft called "Blackswift" which would take off from a runway and accelerate to Mach 6 before completing its mission and landing again. The memo of understanding between DARPA and the USAF on Blackswift — also known as the HTV-3X — was signed in September 2007. The Blackswift HTV-3X did not receive needed funding and was canceled in October 2008.[2]

Current research under FALCON program is centered around X-41 Common Aero Vehicle (CAV), a common aerial platform for hypersonic ICBMs and cruise missiles, as well as civilian RLVs and ELVs. The prototype Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-2 (HTV-2) first flew on 22 April 2010; further tests are scheduled for 2011.

reference links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA_Falcon_Project
http://www.darpa.mil/news/2010/HTV-2ERBReviewRelease.pdf

X-41
X-41 is the designation for a still-classified U.S. military spaceplane. Specifications or photos of the program have not been released to the public yet; as a result not much is known about its goals. It has been described as an experimental maneuvering re-entry vehicle capable of transporting a 1,000 lb payload on a sub-orbital trajectory at hypersonic speeds and releasing that payload into the atmosphere.
This vehicle is now a part of FALCON (Force Application and Launch from Continental United States) program sponsored by DARPA and NASA.Arizona April, 3rd 2010 a UFO sighting. Right place right time..right supposed shape...probably just a coincidence.
sorry for posting a UFO website link I think that it is topical and relevant to the current post. I will remove it if you would like.
http://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/2010/04/triangle-ufo-spotted-in-tucson-arizona.html

And so I ask once again nismaratwork and FlexGunship:

what part of my statement was extraordinary again?
 
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  • #509
Ok... so you have one doctored photo, and an artists rendering of a test vehicle that PUBLICLY returned from LEO after a 6 month sojourn (I think, or just some generalized hypersonic vehicle). The YF-23 is exactly what Flex said it was, except for your videogame reference which you've chosen to ignore.

Those projects you talk about that are REAL, are far from some kind of denied weapons system, or even craft (like the B-2 Spirit was, or the F-117)... which is why you can do things like cite WIKIPEDIA. I suppose you move from ordinary to extraordinary when you start talking about 1/4 mile floating triangles.

Frankly, other than quoting some websites and wikipedia about projects utterly unrelated to this discussion... what's your point? No one has said that it's absurd that some UFO sightings could be civilian or military aviation, and it's confirmed that the B-2 Spirit was reported as a UFO more than once during its development. The result was something quite singular, but using a lot of old tech and ideas implemented in a new and successful manner with modern fly-by-wire tech. There was no jump from air-breathing jets to magic floating football fields with vector thrust, and really, what's the point of a huge and highly visible target?

You use "weapons project" the way that other people use aliens, or extra-dimension reptile conspiracies... it's just a placeholder for: magical thinking.
 
  • #510
nismaratwork said:
Ok... so you have one doctored photo, and an artists rendering of a test vehicle that PUBLICLY returned from LEO after a 6 month sojourn (I think, or just some generalized hypersonic vehicle). The YF-23 is exactly what Flex said it was, except for your videogame reference which you've chosen to ignore.

Those projects you talk about that are REAL, are far from some kind of denied weapons system, or even craft (like the B-2 Spirit was, or the F-117)... which is why you can do things like cite WIKIPEDIA. I suppose you move from ordinary to extraordinary when you start talking about 1/4 mile floating triangles.

Frankly, other than quoting some websites and wikipedia about projects utterly unrelated to this discussion... what's your point? No one has said that it's absurd that some UFO sightings could be civilian or military aviation, and it's confirmed that the B-2 Spirit was reported as a UFO more than once during its development. The result was something quite singular, but using a lot of old tech and ideas implemented in a new and successful manner with modern fly-by-wire tech. There was no jump from air-breathing jets to magic floating football fields with vector thrust, and really, what's the point of a huge and highly visible target?

You use "weapons project" the way that other people use aliens, or extra-dimension reptile conspiracies... it's just a placeholder for: magical thinking.

If you wil notice the designation of the YF-23A PAV-1
I'm afraid that it is you who did not do your research this time...tisk tisk.

As for the UFO I saw i have provided an (possible)explanation in the X-41
once again..you failed to read the material placed in front of you...I am begin to to question whether this is just biased retroduction.

Please re read the material...slowly.
 
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  • #511
Christopher,

I can't tell if you actually don't see what's wrong here, or if you're just messing with us. For the sake of the thread, I plan to characterize your mistake as a global problem facing the UFO phenomenon in general.

The X-41 is NOT a candidate for what you claim you saw. No literature describes it has hovering or having a total length in excess of 100 yards. In fact, the one thing the X-41 seems to be known for is NOT hovering, but going balls-to-the-wall fast!

What has happened here is "fact-fitting." And it is a plague on UFO reporting and a reason why it is so easy to distrust so many reports (thank you for demonstrating it to clearly). You want there to be a amazing explanation for what you think you saw so badly, that you will overlook such glaring differences between your report and reality just to make the story fit.

In future revisions of your story, you are likely to change the size and flight characteristics of the object to more closely match your mental image of an X-41. Finally, when you are done, you have invented a story about seeing an X-41 which may or may not withstand a cursory review by other "believers."

And someone will say: "but surely you can't discount how well the details line up! Why would he make that up?"

And I will respond: "I don't know why he would make that up, but sometimes people do it without meaning to. And don't call me Shirley."
 
  • #512
BTW it was a football field wide not a 1/4 mile...lets continue to be accurate.
 
  • #513
FlexGunship said:
Christopher,

I can't tell if you actually don't see what's wrong here, or if you're just messing with us. For the sake of the thread, I plan to characterize your mistake as a global problem facing the UFO phenomenon in general.

The X-41 is NOT a candidate for what you claim you saw. No literature describes it has hovering or having a total length in excess of 100 yards. In fact, the one thing the X-41 seems to be known for is NOT hovering, but going balls-to-the-wall fast!

What has happened here is "fact-fitting." And it is a plague on UFO reporting and a reason why it is so easy to distrust so many reports (thank you for demonstrating it to clearly). You want there to be a amazing explanation for what you think you saw so badly, that you will overlook such glaring differences between your report and reality just to make the story fit.

In future revisions of your story, you are likely to change the size and flight characteristics of the object to more closely match your mental image of an X-41. Finally, when you are done, you have invented a story about seeing an X-41 which may or may not withstand a cursory review by other "believers."

And someone will say: "but surely you can't discount how well the details line up! Why would he make that up?"

And I will respond: "I don't know why he would make that up, but sometimes people do it without meaning to. And don't call me Shirley."


LOL nice movie quote. Actually there is no leaked information on the X-41 other than on kook job web sites...

Are you leaking classified information?

Or more likely just speculating?

Sorry not buying it...also funny how you and nismaratwork seem to answer each others posts and be on at the same time...are we being our own wing man?
 
  • #514
christopherV said:
BTW it was a football field wide not a 1/4 mile...lets continue to be accurate.

My post clearly says 100 yards which is the in-play length of an American football field. Are you implying that 100 yards is a quarter mile? I'm lost.
 
  • #515
FlexGunship said:
My post clearly says 100 yards which is the in-play length of an American football field. Are you implying that 100 yards is a quarter mile? I'm lost.

no no the one before you.

nismaratwork said:
. I suppose you move from ordinary to extraordinary when you start talking about 1/4 mile floating triangles.
 
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  • #516
christopherV said:
Are you leaking classified information?

Or more likely just speculating?

This has to be a joke. I'm not crazy right? You JUST posted information on the X-41 which described it as a "hypersonic spaceplane." There no need for me to look anything up, or speculate, or leak information; your own hand-picked information has "impeached" you.

A hypersonic spaceplane with 1000lb payload (as per your own description) does not match the vector-thrusting hovering football field (as per your own description).
 
  • #517
FlexGunship said:
This has to be a joke. I'm not crazy right? You JUST posted information on the X-41 which described it as a "hypersonic spaceplane." There no need for me to look anything up, or speculate, or leak information; your own hand-picked information has "impeached" you.

A hypersonic spaceplane with 1000lb payload (as per your own description) does not match the vector-thrusting hovering football field (as per your own description).

"It has been described as an experimental maneuvering re-entry vehicle capable of transporting a 1,000 lb payload on a sub-orbital trajectory at hypersonic speeds and releasing that payload into the atmosphere." is precisely what i said

or maybe

"Current research under FALCON program is centered around X-41 Common Aero Vehicle (CAV), a common aerial platform for hypersonic ICBMs and cruise missiles, as well as civilian RLVs and ELVs."

To launch civilian ELVs you would need a large stable platform. <--speculation on the ground i don't know an computer system capable of hanlding the launch.

seriously.
 
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  • #518
This is your description of the craft you saw:
christopherV said:
I did witness a "Black Triangle", not as a distant thing but with in about a eighth to a quarter of a mile. It was as real and solid as the laptop I'm now typing on.

Take an large number of asymmetrical capacitors (been around since the 50's), some black budget money, a handful of scientists, and a nuclear power plant, boom instant flying hovering triangle...

The UFO was amazingly large, mind numbly staggeringly large. maybe a football field or so...

...yet it hovered silently, displayed vector thrusting to the point of being able to turn 90 degrees without banking and while standing almost still.

Mine had a strange blue haze across the bottom but no lights as i saw. though it was silhouetted on the night sky.

It was almost standing still when it turned and then shot off at a clip of 100-150 mph.

And this is your description of the X-41:
One part of the program aims to develop a reusable, rapid-strike Hypersonic Weapon System (HWS), now retitled the Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle (HCV), and the other is for the development of a launch system capable of accelerating a HCV to cruise speeds, as well as launching small satellites into Earth orbit.

The latest project to be announced under the Falcon banner was a fighter-sized unmanned aircraft called "Blackswift" which would take off from a runway and accelerate to Mach 6 before completing its mission and landing again.

X-41 is the designation for a still-classified U.S. military spaceplane.

It has been described as an experimental maneuvering re-entry vehicle capable of transporting a 1,000 lb payload on a sub-orbital trajectory at hypersonic speeds and releasing that payload into the atmosphere.

I added some emphasis to call attention to, what I consider to be, significant differences. I'm not saying that a single craft can't do all of the things we see above, I'm just saying you have no reason whatsoever to believe what you saw was an X-41.

This would be like me saying: "I saw a giant blue bird flying in the woods, wingspan about 6 feet, and it had no discernible beak." Then, I show you this: "A pelican [...] is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae."

They aren't mutually exclusive, but I have no reason to believe the bird i saw was a pelican (and upon closer investigation, it seems that it probably isn't). Your report and the speculative description of the X-41 aren't mutually exclusive, but you have no reason to believe that what you saw was an X-41 (and upon closer investigation, it seems that it probably isn't).

Now, for some good advice!
christopherV said:
Please re read the material...slowly.
 
  • #519
hey take the advice you saw read it again... you are describing the HWS, HCV, the blackswift and the X-41 all in the same quotes...the fact that you have to confuse the subject with 4 aircraft when you say you're talking about one...just to make a point..sad.

However then you make the point that they aren't mutually exclusive. That i agree 100%. Truth is I have no idea what i saw but I hope to heck it was ours. As for being a balloon... poppy cock that's like confusing a football field (close approximation to what I saw) to a fighter jet. from a quarter mile away...it's absolutely ridiculous to assume that straight off the bat.
 
  • #520
I'm going to wait a bit in the hope that a mentor cleans this thread and deals with ChristopherV. The last three pages make it clear that this is about one crackpot taking this thread for a diversion.
 
  • #521
nismaratwork said:
I'm going to wait a bit in the hope that a mentor cleans this thread and deals with ChristopherV. The last three pages make it clear that this is about one crackpot taking this thread for a diversion.

Yeah, I stopped posting for the same reason. Don't want to get caught in the crossfire.

EDIT: Woah, this post is very Hofstadter.
 
  • #522
christopherV said:
If you wil notice the designation of the YF-23A PAV-1
I'm afraid that it is you who did not do your research this time...tisk tisk.

As for the UFO I saw i have provided an (possible)explanation in the X-41
once again..you failed to read the material placed in front of you...I am begin to to question whether this is just biased retroduction.

Please re read the material...slowly.

The "A" designation is only for the museum model, not a specific line of YF-23. This is why it helps to use more than one source... tisk... oh I can't even in jest, who the hell tisks?

You say you provide a possible explanation for a football field sized triange with ANY of the aircraft you describe (I mean, one is a 19'x19' drone you couldn't see with the naked eye on a sunny day) with the X-41... how so? What explanation have you give for a thrust vectoring football-field-triangle in the sky that doesn't involve magic, banned topics (magic)...

...Hell, why even MAKE something that large that flies? When you think about it, that's a target that would be hard to miss, right? Really, nothing about your posts, motives, or explanations for your experience make sense.
 
  • #523
FlexGunship said:
Yeah, I stopped posting for the same reason. Don't want to get caught in the crossfire.

EDIT: Woah, that post was very Hofstadter.

Heh, I fell off the wagon for one last post... some of this stuff is just mind bogglingly silly.
 
  • #524
nismaratwork said:
I'm going to wait a bit in the hope that a mentor cleans this thread and deals with ChristopherV. The last three pages make it clear that this is about one crackpot taking this thread for a diversion.

it's cool I'm so over it.
 
  • #525
christopherV said:
it's cool I'm so over it.

...Are you from southern california?
 

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