Aurora: is it real?

[Ivan]

Project Aurora is scaring the crap out of New Mexico... some math tells you that all the sightings are in the Mach 10 turn path from Area 51.

Main reason for me that it does exist: why else did they stop flying the SR71...

Motivation: Ground guys need imagery at the moment the sattelites are below the horizon too... and everyone that is in the sattelite path knows exactly when to put their trucks back in the sheds to avoid being seen.

[elite marksman]

Ivan, they still have the U-2.

I believe they stopped flying the SR-71 for the same reason as the F-14. It was just to expensive and difficult to maintain.

[Ivan]

Ivan, they still have the U-2.

I believe they stopped flying the SR-71 for the same reason as the F-14. It was just to expensive and difficult to maintain.

U2s are too fragile... OK for someone that doesnt have reasonable a reasonable anti-aircraft defense but not what you want to fly with a bunch of SA-300s on the ground. Another Gary Powers isn't an option in the current area of operations.

F-14s were phased out because of Iran. You dont want to have to press the IFF button on your F-22 when you want to sneak up on someone as you are lit up like a christmas tree when pushing that button. So they decided to get rid of the distraction and put another set of Superbugs on the carriers just in case...

SR-71 was phased out because
1: Its too slow... MiG-31s can take shots at it (dont believe the public Fairford specs... it has a fuselage designed for Mach 3 and over and the engine power to reach that speed)
2: A good photo-recon plane is never too expensive. Every photo that thing has taken is worth at least double the amount of money needed to service the thing after it returns from a mission.

[BloodPhoenix123]

Could anybody build an aurora for FSX? If so, that would be great

[C]

Ivan, they still have the U-2.

I believe they stopped flying the SR-71 for the same reason as the F-14. It was just to expensive and difficult to maintain.

U2s are too fragile... OK for someone that doesnt have reasonable a reasonable anti-aircraft defense but not what you want to fly with a bunch of SA-300s on the ground. Another Gary Powers isn't an option in the current area of operations.

F-14s were phased out because of Iran. You dont want to have to press the IFF button on your F-22 when you want to sneak up on someone as you are lit up like a christmas tree when pushing that button. So they decided to get rid of the distraction and put another set of Superbugs on the carriers just in case...

SR-71 was phased out because
1: Its too slow... MiG-31s can take shots at it (dont believe the public Fairford specs... it has a fuselage designed for Mach 3 and over and the engine power to reach that speed)
2: A good photo-recon plane is never too expensive. Every photo that thing has taken is worth at least double the amount of money needed to service the thing after it returns from a mission.

Nothing to do with the fact that given the time it would take to plan and prepare for manned SR-71 or U-2 missions etc, a satellite or UAV can do virtually the same job in less time, use less manpower, put fewer pink bodies on the line and cost half as much to operate...

F-14s were phased out because of Iran.

Nothing to do with the fact they were obsolete (despite a mid life upgrade) and there replacement was already in service (despite being mega slow as someone decided to put some toe-out on the wing pylons!)?

[ATI_7500]

Nothing to do with the fact that given the time it would take to plan and prepare for manned SR-71 or U-2 missions etc, a satellite or UAV can do virtually the same job in less time, use less manpower, put fewer pink bodies on the line and cost half as much to operate...

Ivan already had a very good response to this.
|
v

Motivation: Ground guys need imagery at the moment the sattelites are below the horizon too... and everyone that is in the sattelite path knows exactly when to put their trucks back in the sheds to avoid being seen.

UAVs are not up for the strategical long-range job and take the thrill out of the whole "let's sneak up, risk our lives and gather intel" thing.
A SR-71 (or similar) pilot will make sure that he doesn't get spotted at all and accomplish his mission while the computer guy in the UAV control center gets slapped by his superior for just having wasted a few million bucks to a SAM and then launches another drone....and so on and so on.

Nothing to do with the fact they were obsolete (despite a mid life upgrade) and there replacement was already in service (despite being mega slow as someone decided to put some toe-out on the wing pylons!)?

Repeating history.

All purpose aircraft seem to be trendy these decades.

[colsie123]

I thjoguht american got rid of there black birds because A) They continusley crashed because they where ram jets

B) START Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Im not big on military jets but is that not why?

Another question if we have planes going at mach 10 wouldnt someone hear a noise and it would have to be what basically is space operating as a ram jet.

Also can someone tell me this supposedly Area 51 and Area 19 have runways which disappear unless sprinkled wiht water and runwyas whihc are 25 and 4 miles long. What kind of plane has to have that kind of runway (well my landings do in a cessena but im not professional).

[MOUSY]

There's only been one blackbird crash to date, and that was during a test flight, and not because it was a ramjet. A contractor placed a cigarette-shaped piece of duct tape in a pitot tube to prevent it from clogging up before use and forgot it there. That resulted in incorrect readings in the cockpit.

And this is just a guess but since the Bird isn't armed I doubt it would be covered under the START.

[Hagar]

There's only been one blackbird crash to date, and that was during a test flight, and not because it was a ramjet. A contractor placed a cigarette-shaped piece of duct tape in a pitot tube to prevent it from clogging up before use and forgot it there. That resulted in incorrect readings in the cockpit.

Not what it says here. http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/losses.php

[colsie123]

IM sure it under start because of what it can do. I believed aircrfta like that where in breahc of the geneva convention and also because im proudly british it a dishonest thing to do a war that way. Another point the SR71 has lost more than half its fleet and its terrible the plane correct me if im wrong is so fats its dangerous because teh engines once at a certain speed  cna experience something when the air starts comeing through the bakc of it and not the front thats what screws the blackbird nad generally all american large supersonic planes I think they go fatser and fatser but dont consider the engines. All they ask can you make it go faster wiht more range.

[Ivan]

[quote]IM sure it under start because of what it can do. I believed aircrfta like that where in breahc of the geneva convention and also because im proudly british it a dishonest thing to do a war that way. Another point the SR71 has lost more than half its fleet and its terrible the plane correct me if im wrong is so fats its dangerous because teh engines once at a certain speed

[MOUSY]

Not what it says here. http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/losses.php

I never heard of those crashes. I stand corrected.

[colsie123]

I believe this tells tells you of the aircraft experienceing the engines not functioning failing the way I said here.

"This aircraft disintegrated on 25 January 1966 during a high-speed, high-altitude test flight when it developed a severe case of engine unstart. Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver survived although his ejection seat never left the plane! Reconnaissance System Officer (RSO) Jim Zwayer died in a high-G bailout. The incident occurred near Tucumcari, New Mexico."

Facts about the blackbird 20% of the thrust comes form the planes engines 80% comes form nowhere at all?
Answer: Weel, in essence Those big pointy things that stick out of the intakes steer most of the air into escape channels that never go anywhere near the blades. The air is simply compressed and then, as it gets to the exhaust ignited, And simple physics the more air you push in the faster you go. Basically the jet gets you to the mach and from then on theres no moveing parts at all. You simply burn the air and wathc the speedo climb. Quite literally, the fatser you go the fatser it goes.

OK heres the info on an unstart for those who dont know what it is.

One engine works backwards basically ejecting air form the front the other ejects form the back basically it burps. This is bad full thrust one side full drag the other. This results in an unrecoverable spin most of the time you hardly have time to eject infact many dont. The result is quiet and undisnified end for both pilots because how cna a plane crash if it doesnt excist hmm... And its undignified because you dotn so much bury the remains as hose them down a drain sadly. Before an unstart there is tiny hardly audible noises which makes it an uncomforting aircrftaa s your ocnstantly diligant to any noise that the aircrfta might decide to break wind. And many blackbird crashes are still classed as unoffical or as F-105 crashes.

Out of the 40 blackbirs 20 survived and 20 crahsed offically the figure is actually reconed to be more. Luckily thoguh not onje USAF pilot has died in it yet or offically.

A crash not listed on that site was a blackbird that was being used ot launch a pilotless drone that then feel bakc on the blackbird in other words a giant hole at what is 90000ft. What caused this is basically the sound barrier of air was a wall and it hit that and fell bakc onto the blackbird. Noone took into account why launch a drone for spying form the perfect spyign tool developed alreayd and how was this mini blackbird suposed ot penetrate the shockwave comeing fomr it mothers nose.

Another factoid the plane grows by 1ft inflight and the engines are wider and broader than the fuesladge (sorry useless with that word). And another after two hours of flight the gorund crew had to iron out the nose creases usieng blow torches .

And sadly now its a plane wiht no purpose where does it go.

Thanks for listening.

[Vapour01]

IM sure it under start because of what it can do. I believed aircrfta like that where in breahc of the geneva convention and also because im proudly british it a dishonest thing to do a war that way.

Yes that's right of course, it's dishonest to ensure all our forces have correct intelligence that could save lives. Also, a spell-check would be advisable.

[Tweek]

Another question if we have planes going at mach 10 wouldnt someone hear a noise

And what grounds do you base that on? :-?

If anything, if it was travelling at Mach 10 and at those sorts of extreme altitudes, you wouldn't hear a thing until long after it passed by.