Secret spy planes.

[Brigand]

The Yanks have that drone that is a large triangular aircraft, like a smaller version of the B2, that's what it'll be.

EDIT: Boeing seem to be working on a drone called the Phantom Ray, which according to the concept pictures on Google look identical to the small triangular object in the original pictures; Boeing have probably got a prototype of it up and running.

Edited by Brigand on Saturday 19th April 09:53

[tuffer]

Saw this on Twitter yesterday:

[jmorgan]

Is it me or is that not looking right for the contrail?

Probably a the angle of the dangle and all that.

[Martin4x4]

It's the aurora aircraft supposedly the latest generation of American spy plane. It went into service twenty years about the same time the Blackbird SR71 became acknowledged. That makes me wonder, if it only just being acknowledged, they probably already have the next generation ultra secret spy plane already lined up.

Edited by Martin4x4 on Saturday 19th April 12:46

[Dr Jekyll]

Have we had the 'Boscombe down incident' theories yet?

[dr_gn]

Martin4x4 said:

It's the aurora aircraft supposedly the latest generation of American spy plane. It went into service twenty years about the same time the Blackbird SR71 became acknowledged. That makes me wonder, if it only just being acknowledged, they probably already have the next generation ultra secret spy plane already lined up.

Edited by Martin4x4 on Saturday 19th April 12:46

I think not. The sweep angle is nowhere near enough for a hypersonic airframe. Something around 75 degrees is the optimum.

[jmorgan]

No but they are stacking up in the right places if you look. (In reply to Dr Jekyll )

I think people want this to be something so bad it itches their teeth.

Edited by jmorgan on Saturday 19th April 13:15

[dr_gn]

Brigand said:

The Yanks have that drone that is a large triangular aircraft, like a smaller version of the B2, that's what it'll be.

EDIT: Boeing seem to be working on a drone called the Phantom Ray, which according to the concept pictures on Google look identical to the small triangular object in the original pictures; Boeing have probably got a prototype of it up and running.

Edited by Brigand on Saturday 19th April 09:53

Concept pictures? You're years out of date: The Phantom Ray exists and is ancient history in terms of test flights.

[Brigand]

dr_gn said:

Brigand said:

The Yanks have that drone that is a large triangular aircraft, like a smaller version of the B2, that's what it'll be.

EDIT: Boeing seem to be working on a drone called the Phantom Ray, which according to the concept pictures on Google look identical to the small triangular object in the original pictures; Boeing have probably got a prototype of it up and running.

Edited by Brigand on Saturday 19th April 09:53

Concept pictures? You're years out of date: The Phantom Ray exists and is ancient history in terms of test flights.

No doubt; it was a quick Google to find the much smaller 'wing' drone that was shot down over Iran a year or so ago, but the above pic looked a bit like the one that was being shown at the beginning of the thread so I went with that instead.

[chuntington101]

dr_gn said:

Simpo Two said:

dr_gn said:

AFAIK Derwentwater isn't a dam, it's a lake, and the Dambusters never trained there

Well googling would have been cheating What was the big lake they practiced on?

One of them was Derwent Reservoir in the Peak District (where the anniversary flypasts are). I think they chose it because of the towers at each end of the wall which were very similar to one of the German dams.

Derwentwater is in the Lake District, and it's not a reservoir. I dpn't think they ever practiced there.

ETA I've got a book of paintings by Michael Turner. On of them is this:



Captioned as "Spirit of 617 Squadron. A Tornado follows a Lancaster over the Derwentwater Dam."

So at least you're in good company.

Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 29th March 21:33

That actually trained on ladybower dam in Derbyshire. They selected that one as the run in was similar to the target area Lovely place, spent far too many hours walking around the place as a kid.

[dr_gn]

chuntington101 said:

dr_gn said:

Simpo Two said:

dr_gn said:

AFAIK Derwentwater isn't a dam, it's a lake, and the Dambusters never trained there

Well googling would have been cheating What was the big lake they practiced on?

One of them was Derwent Reservoir in the Peak District (where the anniversary flypasts are). I think they chose it because of the towers at each end of the wall which were very similar to one of the German dams.

Derwentwater is in the Lake District, and it's not a reservoir. I dpn't think they ever practiced there.

ETA I've got a book of paintings by Michael Turner. On of them is this:



Captioned as "Spirit of 617 Squadron. A Tornado follows a Lancaster over the Derwentwater Dam."

So at least you're in good company.

Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 29th March 21:33

That actually trained on ladybower dam in Derbyshire. They selected that one as the run in was similar to the target area Lovely place, spent far too many hours walking around the place as a kid.

Ladybower has an earth embankment. As I said, they trained on the Derwent Dam, that's the wall with the towers in the painting. There's another similar wall with towers further to the north, which is the Howden dam.

[mybrainhurts]

dr_gn said:

chuntington101 said:

dr_gn said:

Simpo Two said:

dr_gn said:

AFAIK Derwentwater isn't a dam, it's a lake, and the Dambusters never trained there

Well googling would have been cheating What was the big lake they practiced on?

One of them was Derwent Reservoir in the Peak District (where the anniversary flypasts are). I think they chose it because of the towers at each end of the wall which were very similar to one of the German dams.

Derwentwater is in the Lake District, and it's not a reservoir. I dpn't think they ever practiced there.

ETA I've got a book of paintings by Michael Turner. On of them is this:



Captioned as "Spirit of 617 Squadron. A Tornado follows a Lancaster over the Derwentwater Dam."

So at least you're in good company.

Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 29th March 21:33

That actually trained on ladybower dam in Derbyshire. They selected that one as the run in was similar to the target area Lovely place, spent far too many hours walking around the place as a kid.

Ladybower has an earth embankment. As I said, they trained on the Derwent Dam, that's the wall with the towers in the painting. There's another similar wall with towers further to the north, which is the Howden dam.

Put him out of his misery and tell him Derwent is next to Ladybower, you bad man...

[chuntington101]

Sorry guys your right! Being a kid I always remember the top stone dam as (and incorrectly) ladybower dam. Did they trains on both stone dams or just derwent?

[dr_gn]

chuntington101 said:

Sorry guys your right! Being a kid I always remember the top stone dam as (and incorrectly) ladybower dam. Did they trains on both stone dams or just derwent?

I think just Derwent, a straight approach to the Howden wall at the right height is probably a bit short:



Video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaV1YWKHvd8

Howden wall at 1' 50", Derwent wall at 2' 26"

[aeropilot]

dr_gn said:

Brigand said:

The Yanks have that drone that is a large triangular aircraft, like a smaller version of the B2, that's what it'll be.

EDIT: Boeing seem to be working on a drone called the Phantom Ray, which according to the concept pictures on Google look identical to the small triangular object in the original pictures; Boeing have probably got a prototype of it up and running.

Edited by Brigand on Saturday 19th April 09:53

Concept pictures? You're years out of date: The Phantom Ray exists and is ancient history in terms of test flights.

And Phantom Ray has a single engine.......so unless it's got a bifurcated jet exhaust it won't be making two exhaust contrails....??

[dr_gn]

aeropilot said:

dr_gn said:

Brigand said:

The Yanks have that drone that is a large triangular aircraft, like a smaller version of the B2, that's what it'll be.

EDIT: Boeing seem to be working on a drone called the Phantom Ray, which according to the concept pictures on Google look identical to the small triangular object in the original pictures; Boeing have probably got a prototype of it up and running.

Edited by Brigand on Saturday 19th April 09:53

Concept pictures? You're years out of date: The Phantom Ray exists and is ancient history in terms of test flights.

And Phantom Ray has a single engine.......so unless it's got a bifurcated jet exhaust it won't be making two exhaust contrails....??

Sweep angle is wrong too. Assuming the photo is slightly oblique, the angle looks to be around 45 degrees, maybe even a bit less. Does look like two engines. Of course at some point it will have two contrails no matter how many engines there are. Having said that I don't think the contrails are anywhere near far enough back from the wing to have formed into two due to tip vortices.

[red_slr]

A "U2" (yeah right) caused a reboot of the entire US ATC system last week...
Apparently on a "training flight". ATC computer could not deal with its altitude and heading and tried to send several aircraft into avoiding action which resulted in other aircraft having to avoid them... and so on.. and then it decided to give up.

[slybynight]

They should have kept the SR71 instead of the U2.... would have been a different story then....

LAX ATC: "AAARGH **** **** WHAT IS THAT!! GROUND EVERYTHING!!!!!!"
......
LAX ATC"What? oh ... nothing, its gone now.. must have been a bug on my screen.. sorry"

[pherlopolus]

red_slr said:

A "U2" (yeah right) caused a reboot of the entire US ATC system last week...
Apparently on a "training flight". ATC computer could not deal with its altitude and heading and tried to send several aircraft into avoiding action which resulted in other aircraft having to avoid them... and so on.. and then it decided to give up.

I'm betting it was more a case of, too fast, momentarily at the wrong altitude in the wrong direction, the ATC system plotted a course at that speed / vector and threw a wobbly. That would mean it wasn't a U2 though so that can't be correct.

[onyx39]

Dr Jekyll said:

Have we had the 'Boscombe down incident' theories yet?

I find the stories behind this fascinating.... DID anything happen?

From memory, the described aircraft sounded like an F-22.