Aircraft seen at USAF Alconbury (England)
Philip Taylor
to Alconbury USAF base (not far from here). The witness said
that it was very "startling in appearance" and different to other
planes he is familiar with that are known to have used
Alconbury (including A10, U2, C5s etc).
It appeared as a "large triangular array of bright lights",
with no superstructure visible at all.
Could this be a B-2, or what? Does anyone know if
any stealth aircraft are based at Alconbury and what
they might look like when seen at night?
Philip
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Philip Taylor,
Royal Greenwich Observatory,
Madingley Road,
CAMBRIDGE.
CB3 0EZ.
UK
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NCOE7
on how big the triangle was.
Just a WAG!
Scott
Jonathan Clough
p...@mail.ast.cam.ac.uk "Philip Taylor" writes:
> I have a reliable report here of an unusual aircraft seen at night
> to Alconbury USAF base (not far from here). The witness said
> that it was very "startling in appearance" and different to other
> planes he is familiar with that are known to have used
> Alconbury (including A10, U2, C5s etc).
Must be that Aurura thingamjig that has been resident over recent
months :-)
When was this ?......Early October saw a couple of F117's
operating out of Lakenheath on a regular basis on detachement from
the USA. Perhaps it was something as simple as a C130 though.
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Alistair M Henderson
When was this seen? There have been F-117As in the country in the last few
weeks or so, but I don't know that there are any around at the moment.
Ali Henderson.
Paul Robbins
: In article <39oh83$8...@lyra.csx.cam.ac.uk>
: p...@mail.ast.cam.ac.uk "Philip Taylor" writes:
: > I have a reliable report here of an unusual aircraft seen at night
: > to Alconbury USAF base (not far from here). The witness said
: > that it was very "startling in appearance" and different to other
: > planes he is familiar with that are known to have used
: > Alconbury (including A10, U2, C5s etc).
: Must be that Aurura thingamjig that has been resident over recent
: months :-)
: When was this ?......Early October saw a couple of F117's
: operating out of Lakenheath on a regular basis on detachement from
: the USA. Perhaps it was something as simple as a C130 though.
Well I wouldn't bet on anything of great importance - not
at Alconbury anyway. It's too easy to here and see stuff around there,
particularly with so many little villages - not to mention Huntingdon
itself being right next door.
Maybe it was a Spec. Ops Hercules. Plenty of those around - and
I only ever here them on the radio in the late evening.
Interested to find out though..........
Paul Robbins
University of Bradford.
Right next to Javiation !
Steinar Bang
PT> It appeared as a "large triangular array of bright lights",
PT> with no superstructure visible at all.
Probably was a Groom Lake UFO on an exchange visit.
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<hr>
Support your local <a href="http://www.falch.no/~steinarb/dod/"><b>DoD</b></a> chapter.
</html>
Thumper!
> PT> It appeared as a "large triangular array of bright lights",
> PT> with no superstructure visible at all.
I missed and can't find the post that started this thread, so I'm not quite
sure if the above comment is all there was, but...
Even from a purely vertical view, the Aurora wouldn't show as "triangular
array" in the sense that it's a plane, not a gaudy Christmas ornament. :)
On the ground/horizontal, the Aurora woould have considerly MORE vertical
height than a conventional fighter. Remember, the whole forward setion of the
fuselage is stepped up over the intake height to create a shock wave that will
incrase airflow pressure to the ramjets for more performance (as well as
creating lift (Same use of compression lift developed by NASA and used on the
XB-70).
Di I know what an Aurora looks like? (I know you're all sure I can't possible
know) Not very well. In March, flying on a commercial airliner between Las
Vegas, NV and El Paso, TX, I saw something black and triangular shaped that
didn't appear to be an F-117. But it was the briefest of glimpses, and I
can't swear it WASN'T an F-117.
No, my statements above are drawn from the logic of Aurora. If Aurora DIDN'T
use her shape for compression, it wouldn't fly, not with conventional engines.
And no one I believe has suggested that the Aurora is nuclear-powered.
Besides, all good sightings of "the black triangle" have come when it was
refueling, something a nuclear jet wouldn't need to do.
As far as the plane itself being at Alconbury, well, they could have had a
problem. The best sighting of an Aurora was done by someone working an oil
derrick in the North Sea.
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Thumper! thu...@netcom.com
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Matthew Ross Miller
aurora
Andrew Goadby
> [Article about possible nocturnal activities around Alconbury deleted]
>
> - Is it normal practise for aircraft to fly low and fast at night displaying
> large numbers of bright lights?
In answer to this, one possibility could be the MH-53s and MC-130s based at Alconbury.
I used to live to the West of Cambridge and we had regular very fast low level passes by both
of these over us, often in the dead of night and in all weathers. They both had a very quiet
approach i.e. the first you knew was the house shaking and large black shapes disappearing
into the gloom having just missed our chimney.
As to the lights, there is a small cluster of air bases around Alconbury (Wyton, Wittering,
etc) and they may show a few more lights to avoid colliding with anyone else up at that time
of night (such as the Harrier GR 7s at Wittering).
I hasten to add this is just my opinion but I find it hard to believe that it is anything more
exotic than this.
Andy
------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Goadby, Computer Manager's Assistant,
St John's College, Cambridge, CB2 1TP.
email : acg...@cus.cam.ac.uk
My own opinions, nothing more
------------------------------------------------------
MARK BRIAN PASSWATERS
erwood) writes:
>In article 8...@lyra.csx.cam.ac.uk, p...@mail.ast.cam.ac.uk (Philip Taylor) write
s:
>>I have a reliable report here of an unusual aircraft seen at night
>>to Alconbury USAF base (not far from here). The witness said
>>that it was very "startling in appearance" and different to other
>>planes he is familiar with that are known to have used
>>Alconbury (including A10, U2, C5s etc).
>>
>
>A colleague of mine had a very similar sighting at 11:30pm on Saturday 29th
>October. He was driving between Cambridge and Saffron Walden when a formation
>of 16-20 bright white lights shot over his car very low and fast. He could not
>see any shape behind the lights and the when he stopped the car the lights had
>disappeared from view. His passenger saw the same thing and neither of them
>heard a sound.
>
>In light of other sightings in the area of F117s and possibly B2s (Aurora has
>also been mentioned...), can anyone answer the following questions:
>
>- Is it normal practise for aircraft to fly low and fast at night displaying
> large numbers of bright lights?
>
> Mildenhall are nearby)?
>
>- Conventional aircraft are, of course, extremely loud at low altitude (ie.
> under 1000 feet). How do stealth aircraft compare at similar heights?
>
>- Any other explanations for this sighting?
>
>Thanks your attention...
> Piers
>
I've heard a 117 once; it made a sound unlike any other plane I've ever
heard. It was more of a whining sound than a roar; not the most quiet
thing on Earth. I think that you probably would have heard at least
something...
"I got seven women on my mind-four that wanna own me, two that wanna stone me,
one says she's a friend of mine.."-The Eagles.
"They're gonna meet Roto-rooter from the business end.."-My Dad.
"When I left you, I was but the learner. Now, I am the master."-Darth Vader.
Piers Sherwood
>to Alconbury USAF base (not far from here). The witness said
>that it was very "startling in appearance" and different to other
>planes he is familiar with that are known to have used
>Alconbury (including A10, U2, C5s etc).
>
>It appeared as a "large triangular array of bright lights",
>with no superstructure visible at all.
A colleague of mine had a very similar sighting at 11:30pm on Saturday 29th
October. He was driving between Cambridge and Saffron Walden when a formation
of 16-20 bright white lights shot over his car very low and fast. He could not
see any shape behind the lights and the when he stopped the car the lights had
disappeared from view. His passenger saw the same thing and neither of them
heard a sound.
In light of other sightings in the area of F117s and possibly B2s (Aurora has
also been mentioned...), can anyone answer the following questions:
- Is it normal practise for aircraft to fly low and fast at night displaying
large numbers of bright lights?
- Can anyone confirm that F117s and B2s have visited the area (Lakenheath and
Mildenhall are nearby)?
- Conventional aircraft are, of course, extremely loud at low altitude (ie.
under 1000 feet). How do stealth aircraft compare at similar heights?
- Any other explanations for this sighting?
Thanks your attention...
Piers
---
+------------------------------+
| Piers Sherwood |
| JP Morgan, London, UK |
| email: pshe...@jpmorgan.com |
+------------------------------+