Area 51 Previously Unreleased Photos

[Mark]

New photos of spy plane launch Area 51 intrigue

 

[Wycen]

Saw the photo. Looks very much like an SR-71, so I see why it would be released, nothing new, except maybe the shiny skin.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Yep, it was one of about 30 prototypes that was tried before they came up with the classic SR-71 body frame that worked. I was watching a program on The Discovery Channel the other day about Area 51. There is some conjecture that the famous "UFO crash" at Roswell NM, was a prototype U2 spy plane that went down. Just think, that was 1947 and the U2 didn't become public knowledge until 1960.

Sounds like the F117A, first operational mock-up 1975, first flight 1977, operational since 1983, known operational 1991. "Little green men" doesn't fit my idea of rational thought, government cover-up of highly classified information, yeah, I'd buy that.

 

[Pbartender]

It definitely is an SR-71 (or a prototype of it), but what I don't under is... Why is it upside-down?

 

[Scott DeWar]

radar reflectability test.

 

[RangerWickett]

It definitely is an SR-71 (or a prototype of it), but what I don't under is... Why is it upside-down?

Also to screw with Soviet spy satellites.

Apparently they had very precise information on when satellites would be overhead, so they would have to constantly move mock-ups like this in and out of hangars for testing, so that they wouldn't be spotted.

Then they discovered that the Soviets were able to still tell the outline of the planes based on the heat signature of cooler ground where the plane had been casting a shadow.

 

[Scott DeWar]

how very sneaky of those soviets

 

[Cergorach]

"Little green men" doesn't fit my idea of rational thought, government cover-up of highly classified information, yeah, I'd buy that.

What have Goblins to do with it and what are you doing here if they don't figure in your rational thought pattern ;-)

 

[Ghostwind]

Back in college, I had a very good friend who's brother was a head air traffic for one of the major airports (I forget which one). His brother got a request for a flight change to 100,000 ft. Thinking the pilot was being a smartass, he cleared him for 100,000. The pilot responded with "Roger. Descending to 100,000 feet."

It was his first experience with an SR-71.

 

[Scott DeWar]

Back in college, I had a very good friend who's brother was a head air traffic for one of the major airports (I forget which one). His brother got a request for a flight change to 100,000 ft. Thinking the pilot was being a smartass, he cleared him for 100,000. The pilot responded with "Roger. Descending to 100,000 feet."

It was his first experience with an SR-71.

There are a number of "ghost sightings" of the blackbird, such as being on final approach to Baton Rouge-from Mexico City.