Pictures Of Mystery Plane Over Wichita

a reply to: AlphaHawk

Is it just me or does the engine exhaust in the pic look a bit weird even when considering the dark and the horrible quality...
Are we looking at it from the front or the rear, because if its from the rear the exhaust seems to be either above the wing or very inward from the trailing edge. If it is from the front probably even more so...

Excuse me if my conclusion are a bit off. I have only a limited aerospace background, it is more like a hobby these days What are your thoughts on this?

a reply to: spaceman42

I think we're looking at it from the rear as it's taking off, with afterburners on.

originally posted by: AlphaHawk
a reply to: Zaphod58

Ok found the pic..it's hosted on rense.com, so maybe it's a fake, and almost certainly not top secret :/

ATBspirit, welcome aboard mate!

The photo AlphaHawk posted, is that the one you're talking about?

Oh and spaceman42, welcome to the forums, as well!

a reply to: weavty1

Nah, I wasn't talking about a picture I don't think. It appears that photo originated from a forum overseas, I couldn't recognise the language though.

a reply to: weavty1

The F-117 companion isn't a triangle either.

a reply to: AlphaHawk

I'm going with fake. The exhaust doesn't match up well with the exhaust design for early stealth designs. Even as late as the B-2 the exhaust was buried pretty deep in the fuselage, or vented up like on the F-117.

a reply to: AlphaHawk

I also think it is fake. Looks like all the other CGI creations of the TR3-B floating around.

..........Oh and it definitely isn't the BLACK MANTA.

a reply to: AlphaHawk

Ive only seen one drawing on the net that remotely looks like it. And even that is a little off.

a reply to: boomer135

Can you send me the link to that drawing?

Okay, so we have these super secret advanced craft but never use them operationally because we never go up against an advanced A2A system?

Grrr. I just want to know what these triangles are!

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Who said they weren't used operationally?

Seriously though, it depends on which ones we are talking about.
The ones recently photographed? Most likely not yet.
The other, older ones mentioned in this thread? Absolutely.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

No, it depends entirely what the mission is. There are some brand new ones that fly every two or three days on operational missions. There are others that have been flying for a few years that have never been used operationally because it would be like using a stick of dynamite to kill that mosquito flying around your room.

I'm guessing then that the older triangle craft are mainly for EW and recon -- seeing as we haven't been up against a super defended opponent.

I'm also thinking to myself...

How can such huge leaps in technology stay so classified and under wraps? I understand the NDA's, but keeping huge secrets for so long with as many people in compartmentalized groups must be tough.

I would imagine eventually someone would put the puzzle pieces together.

Also, wouldn't ATC operators be good people to ask about these craft over Kansas?

a reply to: Zaphod58

What, you've never gone fishing with a stick of dynamite?

Boomer135,
Was "The F-117 companion" flying in "the box" when you refueled it? And if that aircraft based at the same base(I don't know where) for all these years?

Any chance to get a brief explanation of this statement?

"The boom operator controls the refuelling mission by using a digital fly-by wire system."

a reply to: sputniksteve
Instead of the usual mechanical [analog] controls for the boom (of past generation refueling AC), where you have the natural feeling of the aerodynamic and contact feedback from the controls... They've now gone to an electronically-controlled boom and hand controls, meaning that there is no longer the aforementioned physical direct feedback you'd get in your hands, while controlling the boom. I'm sure for these newer refueling AC, they have integrated a simulated haptic-feedback to the controls, to bring back some of the 'natural' feel of the boom in your hand, but it's still not the same.

Think of it like comparing the original remote mechanical manipulators that were required for the handling, assembly, and disassembly of radioactive elements, to today's modern robotic manipulating arms used in complex surgical applications:


Note the mechanical levers, linkages and cable assemblies they used for controlling the arms from a separate environment... They are all physically interconnected between the user controls and manipulator arms, and providing true physical feedback to the user



Note that the controls in this photo are all digitally controlled with electromechanics, without any physical interconnection or counteraction between the user controls and manipulator arms


NOW, back to the subject at hand... Flying doritos!

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: MystikMushroom

No, it depends entirely what the mission is. There are some brand new ones that fly every two or three days on operational missions. There are others that have been flying for a few years that have never been used operationally because it would be like using a stick of dynamite to kill that mosquito flying around your room.

You know, sometimes dropping a whole load of deterrence on mosquitos is just the right thing to encourage the bare-chested hornet the next block over to buzz off.

a reply to: mbkennel

And sometimes seeing the repellent truck driving around is enough to convince that neighbor that was about to throw the hornet nest into your yard to not do it.

As analogies go I like this one... You think the dorito was badass? Just wait till we roll out the PIZZA slice!!!

I realise this comment may seem rather facile and so I want to say that the work you chaps put in to informing others about aviation is tremendous. Hence my edit.