It's interesting that I stumbled upon this post this morning! The following is a cut and paste from my January report to www.nuforc.org. It's
interesting that upon doing research of the old Norton Base (now called San Bernardino Airport), I found out that there is a contractor company called
www.kellyspace.com - they make rocket powered planes like www.xcor.com for reusable space vehicles - right in the Inland Empire! After I saw what I
describe below, I also saw a rocket plane coming in for landing, it had no tail, no props, and no air jet that I could see. It was kind of weird. I
also decided to drive out to "San Bernardino Airport at about 8 in the evening just to drive around and find this Kelly Space Building - I found it
with a bunch of private cars outside (30?), this was in the evening. OK, and here is my report to the National UFO reporting center:
This event happened on Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I was driving on the 30 Freeway in Highland, California at about 9:10 AM heading west past Victoria Avenue. I noticed something that looked like
silver sphere hovering in the air to my left, which would be southwest from my location, and I tracked it from my 11 o’clock position to about my 7
o’clock position as I drove in the number one (fast lane) at about 75 mph.
There were no visible rotors, blades or cockpit. It looked solid to me and it was a good distance (1 mile?) away with a good amount of height (300
-500 feet?). I originally estimated its size at about half that of a VW Beetle, but I later changed my mind after comparing the size of the old Norton
water tower, which is plainly recognizable as a very large water tower in the distance. I now think the sphere was larger – maybe 10 feet in
diameter.
The object caught my attention because it hovered in the sky much higher than a streetlight or radio antenna and did not look like a helicopter,
airplane or balloon. In my opinion, the object had no visible means of propulsion (blades/ intake) and no visible cockpit. It was not an obstruction
caused by moving traffic or other nearby obstructions. It was in the distance and initially not moving. To me, this is an odd phenomenon, especially
on a clear day. As I observed, I watched it maneuver upwards in a reverse “J” – it must have gained in elevation about one or two hundred feet
in less than a second.
It then stopped or slowed dramatically at the peak of its ascent and moved to the right a bit.
I looked at the object for about three seconds before I lost visual contact due to moving traffic. I could no longer “spot” it because it was now
behind me to my left. I looked at a map of San Bernardino and it looked as if it was in the direction of the old Norton Air Force Base (San Bernardino
International Airport). I had to take my eyes off the object because I almost drove off the freeway.
At the moment of this observance, I was in the number one (far left) lane with no obstructions from westward traffic or streetlights. My car was clean
with no spots on the windshield, there was no glare from the sun and I was sober and alert. The entire event (while short) caused me enough stress to
almost crash my car and I immediately called my family and friends to tell them what I saw. I don’t think it was a weather balloon because of the
extremely fast movements (stop-maneuver-stop). I don’t know what it was; it was an unidentified flying object. I noticed a change in color from
silver or grey to dark grey or black - this was in my opinion caused by the object's shadow, but I'm not 100% sure.
I am a 32-year-old married white male that has experience in practical special effects for film and television, I have 20/15-eyesight with no physical
impairments and I am an avid outdoorsman. I am also a local to San Bernardino County and I have driven the 30 freeway hundreds of times in all
conditions.