From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #150 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Wednesday, 31 August 1994 Volume 05 : Number 150 In this issue: Re: Thermoplane Aurora Contrail F-22 signs of life F-22 supercruise RENO! GIF of Aurora (Fwd) F-22 Follow-up Re: GIF of Aurora Brief reviews: Kelly Johnson's autobiography, "Blackbird" the movie, and "Kelly's Way" ABC News Report 08/29/94 Lockheed/Martin Marietta DCX Adolf Tolkachev Skunk Works Digest Special - V5-148a See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "J. Pharabod" Date: Wed, 24 Aug 94 14:55:39 SET Subject: Re: Thermoplane >I think I have a good answer, now, for the sightings of the "saucer-shaped" >objects hovering near the non-existent Groom Lake facility. >The Moscow Aviation Institute developed the "Thermoplane." It looks >identical to the spacecraft that was used in the Walt Disney film "Flight of >the Navigator," with the addition of two vertical stabilizers on the aft >portion of the "aircraft." However, they are small in size and would >be completely unrecognizable at night. >At night the "aircraft" is surrounded by a myriad of Halogen spotlights and >colored, strobe navigational lights. My impression of the craft, is that if >you saw it at night, you would swear that you had a close encounter of the >third kind. > [...] >What better place, than Groom Lake, to refine examine this technology? > John F. Regus ._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. There is something more or less related to that in a book by Jacques Vallee, "Revelations: Alien contact and human deception", Ballantine books, 1991: (p. 157) To me the most plausible theory is that the U.S. military has developed a device or a collection of devices that look like flying saucers, that they are primarily intended for psychological warfare, and that they are being actively tested on military personel. Thus, the persons who control the experiment can always contain the repercussions if the story leaks out. In such cases OSI may be used both to calibrate the observers [...] and to cover the exercice itself. (pp. 161-162) [...] First, how could a small military intelligence unit simulate such complex UFO events? And second (and most importantly), why would they want to do it? The first question is surprisingly easy to answer. There would not be a single trick, but a combination of technical devices used in such a sequence and in such a psychological context as to lead the observers- and if necessary, the public- to the unavoidable conclusion that a UFO had indeed been present. Although such remotely-piloted vehicles would have been difficult to produce in the early Fifties, and therefore cannot explain the totality of the UFO phenomenon, they were already well-developed by the time of the Vietnam War and easily available during the period covered in the last three chapters. The devices in question can be equipped with mechanical, optical, and electronic devices that can be used in sequence or in combination to produce very spectacular UFO sightings. The simplest such device is a model of a disk, two to four feet in diameter. We are not talking here about crude garbage-can covers equipped with hobby rockets, but exquisitely controlled systems carrying microprocessors and guided by radio. Miniature television cameras enable these gadgets to survey their surroundings and to transmit pictures. They can maneuver in and out of trees. The inventor of such a device, who developed it for a U.S. agency in the sixties, has told me he could make it fly around a meeting room and out of a window. It produced no more sound than a whir. Next in the list of mechanical devices are actual flying saucers of the type developed by Dr. Moller near Sacramento, California. These vehicles are highly maneuverable and develop sufficient thrust to carry one pilot with his equipment. They are being manufactured to serve as reconnaissance platforms in hostile terrain. The diameter is on the order of eight feet. Equipped with lights, they could be undistinguishable from actual saucers. [...] (end of excerpts) ._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. Now here is an excerpt from an interesting private e-mail I got recently: " I also came across an interesting book called "A Report From Iron Mountain On The Possibility and Desirability of Peace". The 'author' is Leonard C. Lewin, (Dial Press, 1967). This book is a study of the synergism between war/the military/economics/nationalism/etc. The conclusion of the study is that a national society cannot survive without a military and a war or war capability. The book also contends that if a society chooses to banish such a cpability the function of the military must be replaced by some other threat. The possibility of using UFOs (or an extraterrestrial threat) is raised, and the members of the group which produced this study speculated that several of the more difficult UFO cases were in fact an experiment to study this possibility of using a manufactured extraterrestial threat to dissolve the traditional nation-state (which would not exist if war were *outlawed*), and the traditional national security services were replaced with a super- military agency under control of a world organization such as the UN. The study was commissioned by the Kennedy administration in the early 1960s, and was to remain 'secret' but one member of the study group decided that the study was too important to remain secret. If you can get a copy of the book, I would encourage you to read it." (end of excerpt) Has any skunker read this book ? J. Pharabod ------------------------------ From: dougt@u011.oh.vp.com (Doug Tiffany) Date: Thu, 25 Aug 94 12:01:56 EDT Subject: Aurora Contrail F.Y.I. There is an Aurora Contrail GIF from a European Satellite (supposedly) located in alt.paranet.ufo. - -- Douglas J. Tiffany (dougt@u011.oh.vp.com) Varco-Pruden Buildings Northern Division Van Wert OH. (419) 238-9533 ------------------------------ From: megazone@world.std.com (MegaZone) Date: Fri, 26 Aug 1994 06:38:48 -0400 (EDT) Subject: F-22 signs of life I found this while reading news today: Newsgroups: misc.jobs.offered Subject: LOCKHEED LEADS - FLT Organization: Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Co. Keywords: Flight Test Engineer Wanted --- LOCKHEED LEADS --- Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company - Marietta, GA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company currently has a Flight Test Engineer opportunity available in the F-22 branch at the Marietta, GA facility. The position requires a minimum of 5 years of Flight Test experience, the ability to obtain a DOD SECRET clearance and program access, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent experience. Candidates should be able to design instrumentation installations for Flight Test aircraft; prepare mechanical drawings for parts fabrication and installation of transducers, signal conditioners, cockpit control/display panels, recorders, transmitters, and antennas; and must be knowledgeable of aircraft structural design and modification requirements including the use of composite materials. Lockheed offers excellent salaries and a comprehensive benefits program including company paid relocation. Please forward resume including salary requirements to: Search FLT 5775 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Suite C-175 Atlanta, GA 30342 or via e-mail to: employment@lasc.lockheed.com +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | Lockheed is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ - ---end--- I thought it might interest the list. - -- megazone@wpi.wpi.edu megazone@world.std.com megazone@hotblack.gweep.net "I have one prejudice, and that is against stupidity. Use your mind, think!" Moderator: anime fanfic archive, 130.215.24.1 /anime; rec.arts.anime.stories Geek Code v2.1: GTW/H d-- H+>H++ s++:++ !g p? au+ a23 w+@ v+@>v++ C++(++++) UU+>UL++++ P+ L>L++ 3 E N+++ K+++ W-- M-- V-- -po+ Y+>Y++ t+@ 5@ j@ R@ G>G+ tv@ b++(+++) D+>D++ B--- e++ u** h- f+ r++ n+(----) y+(*) ------------------------------ From: phil@sonosam.wisdom.bubble.org (Phil Verdieck ) Date: Thu, 25 Aug 1994 09:00:24 -0400 (EDT) Subject: F-22 supercruise > The guide said one thing which seemed odd to me. He claimed (and > asserted) that the F-22 was capable of Mach 3.5 *without* engaging > afterburner. This was news to me. He mentioned this while relating > the story of the YF22/YF23 flyoff and later crash of the 22 during > tests. The guide is full of it. Tests during the flyoff should the F-22 soing around Mach 1.7 on supercruise (non-ab), with the GE engines. I also have a maximum speed figure of Mach 2.2 at full power. While I will admit there is probably some margin of error in these figures, I don't believe it is almost 2 Machs for non-afterburner flight. Phil V. ------------------------------ From: "Philip R. Moyer" Date: Fri, 26 Aug 94 11:36:31 -0700 Subject: RENO! Anyone interested in getting a group together to go to Reno, send me some email.... Reno National Championship Air Races with airshow Thursday, September 15 through Friday, September 18 Tickets are: Thursday - $8 Friday - $12 Saturday - $14 Sunday - $18 Four day general admission pass - $40 Four day reserved bleachers pass - $75 About 8 races per day, with airshow in between. Gates open at 0700. Races end at 1630. For more info, call 702-972-6663. Cheers, Phil ------------------------------ From: dougt@u011.oh.vp.com (Doug Tiffany) Date: Fri, 26 Aug 94 15:31:38 EDT Subject: GIF of Aurora The .gif of the satelite image of Aurora Contrail is back in alt.paranet.ufo. It can be found in Mosaic at: http://www.cs.ubc.ca/grn/alt.paranet.ufo/index - -- Douglas J. Tiffany (dougt@u011.oh.vp.com) Varco-Pruden Buildings Northern Division Van Wert OH. (419) 238-9533 ------------------------------ From: Frank Markus Date: Fri, 26 Aug 1994 17:09:53 -0400 Subject: (Fwd) F-22 Follow-up Forwarding message by airyx@access3.digex.net - -------------------- From: airyx@access3.digex.net (Eric Weinkam) Subject: Re: F-22 Follow-up Date: 18 Aug 1994 09:09:48 -0400 Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA In article <32tgnu$m4f@mozo.cc.purdue.edu>, Duane P Mantick wrote: >prowler633@aol.com (Prowler633) writes: > >>This is regarding a previous post on the F-22 in which a netter claimed >>reading the F-22 would receive a coating capable of changing colors. >>Needless to say this idea was scoffed at, and the original poster promised >>to provide evidence in the form an Aviation Week & Space Technology >>citation. Time's gone by and nothing has happened, but I've run across the >>story that might be the original source of the claim. In the May 16, 1994 >>issue, page 27, 2nd to last paragraph in the article, you'll find: > >>"Experiments have been conducted successfully that even use the coatings >>[electrochromic and thermalchromic] to alter the hue--to shades of brown, >>green, blue and white--and light intensity of an aircraft's skin, allowing >>it to blend into a given background (AW&ST June 7, p. 136)." > >>The article year the June 7th issues appears, but it would be safe to >>assume that it isn't 1994. > > Correct. The article was June 7, 1993 and the article is >titled "Signature Reduction Key to A-10 Survival" as well as a companion >article more to the point, "Coatings Fool Radar, Human Eye". > > To quote the second article: > > "Rsearchers are studying lightweight, polymer coatings for US >Air Force and Sir National Guard A10's that can absorb radar signals >or change colors and light intensity as an inexpensive method to foil >antiaircraft defenses." > > "During daylight operations, visual illusions are expected to create >confusion among antiaircraft gunners as an aircraft nears its ordance >release point." > > And an illustration caption says: > > "Small voltages applied to thin layers of specially treated >polymers can cause changes in light intensity and color allowing instant >shifts in camoflage for US warplanes. With power removed, the coatings >revert to a radar-absorbing material." > > Further: > > "When stimulated, the material can alternate light and dark or >produce shades of greens, reds, browns and "Robin's egg blue" to match >the background against which the aircraft is flying." > > "The next goal is to paint an aircraft and test it on the >Nellis AFB, Nev., Red Flag ranges against a complex of threat radars..." > >>That line between fact and fiction becomes thiner every day. > > Yeah, and I'd like to hear how this has evolved in the last year.... Several years ago I saw a demo of this type of material. It was mounted on a trailer which was being towed by a truck. As it moved in front of different backgrounds, it would change to match the background a couple of seconds later. Not quite the "Predator" camo but still quite impressive. Kind of like watching a chameleon change color, but faster. It also roughly patterned the background. The people involved with the project said that they were working on thinning it out into a canvas like material, and hoped to get it light enough to be worn as clothing. Interesting story: I was told that during Desert Storm, there was not enough desert pattern camo to go around. Somebody discovered a small textile company in South Carolina(I think) who had developed a system which could quickly generate fabric in any pattern you drew on the computer. A defense contractor supposedly purchased rights to this system, used it to make fabric for DS, and later developed it into the above masking system. - -- "Random Specificity"/ / airyx@access.digex.net /////// Eric Weinkam ------------------------------ From: larry@ichips.intel.com Date: Fri, 26 Aug 1994 16:23:43 -0700 Subject: Re: GIF of Aurora >The .gif of the satelite image of Aurora Contrail is back in >alt.paranet.ufo. It can be found in Mosaic at: After viewing this AURORA.GIF file, in my humble opinion, this is a joke! The 'Aurora' pilot, in this case, is obviously drunk .. or showing off prowess at decreasing diameter barrel rolls!! I don't mean to to be cruel, so please don't take this as a flame. This picture has nothing in common with any of the existant 'Aurora', or may I assume, 'pulser' contrails. There are probably real, and common (not 'Aurora'), contrails pictured in the distant background, which gave the person who faked the photo the idea in the first place! Larry ------------------------------ From: oski@physics.ucla.edu (L. Ravi Narasimhan) Date: Sat, 27 Aug 94 23:31:00 PDT Subject: Brief reviews: Kelly Johnson's autobiography, "Blackbird" the movie, and "Kelly's Way" I aks your indulgence if these items have already been discussed. Reviews of some Skunk-Works materiel follow: 1) "More Than My Share of It All" by Kelly Johnson with Maggie Smith. I enjoyed this autobiography/memoir very much. Johnson gives a concise history of his professional and personal life in an engaging and eminently readable style. I am especially impressed with his ability to acknowledge the good works of others. I have read a few scientific autobiographies recently, mostly by physicists, and have been appalled by the self-centered ramblings of the authors. Johnson, by contrast, assigns credit liberally and puts himself in appropriate perspective. He does, however, take shots at Robert McNamara and Stuart Symington for destroying the Blackbird program. There is a chapter on the Skunk-Works philosophy which sets down the fourteen rules by which he ran that operation. He describes the failures as well as the successes. Tom Peters and J. Deming have gotten tremendous press in the last few years for their writings on efficient management. It appears that Johnson was way ahead of them. Johnson can also explain in ten pages that which Peters requires ten volumes. There are also sections on Johnson's philosophies on successful living and future defense strategies. A good read. Paperback: $16.95 2) "Kelly's Way" is a 50 minute video which covers Johnson's professional career with Lockheed. It begins with his work on the Electra and ends with the resurrected U-2/TR-1 program. Much of the footage was new to me. The sketches of the CL-400 liquid hydrogen aircraft, the design variants leading up to the SR-17, and most interestingly, M-12/D-21 combinations in taxi and in flight. The narration is understated and doesn't cross into sentimentality or hagiography. $6.95, yes, six dollars and ninety-five cents! 3) "Blackbird, the movie" is another 50 minute video which depicts a scenario in which real time Mach 3 reconaissance is used to defuse a political bomb. Trouble has flared up in an unspecified area of interest to the U.S. and photos over several days are required to determine intents and to devise responses. This serves as the backdrop for showing how Blackbird missions are planned, briefed, and executed. The footage is letterboxed and has been excerpted by several other video makers including Aviation Week Video and the folks at Wings. $6.95 All of these items (and more) are available from Lockheed's Palmdale store. --- Ravi Narasimhan ------------------------------ From: John Regus Date: Mon, 29 Aug 1994 07:28:46 -0500 (CST) Subject: ABC News Report 08/29/94 The ABC early morning news reported this a.m. that tonight's 5:30 news will contain a report on the Air Force fight with Congress to "not accept" additional funding for the SR-71. John F. Regus | (713) 960-0045 | SYS/370/390 SYSTEM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING WUI:REGUSHOU | ------------------------------ From: "Philip R. Moyer" Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 08:50:21 -0700 Subject: Lockheed/Martin Marietta AP 08/30 02:13 EDT V0265 Copyright 1994. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- Lockheed Corp. and Martin Marietta Corp. announced Tuesday they have agreed to merge in a deal worth more than $10 billion, one of the biggest defense mergers in history. The stock-swap merger reflects continuing industry consolidation, which has been driven by sharp reductions in defense spending. Merging will allow the companies to cut production costs while providing defense, space and other high-tech products to their government and civilian customers, Lockheed and Martin Marietta said in a statement. Lockheed Martin, as the new company will be called, will have about $23 billion in annual sales and about 170,000 employees. "This merger is the next logical step in the continued growth and prosperity of Lockheed and Martin Marietta and is consistent with our strong histories of delivering quality products," said Daniel M. Tellep, Lockheed's chairman and chief executive. Lockheed shareholders will receive 1.63 shares of stock in the new company for each share now they hold. Martin Marietta shareholders will get one new share for each share they own. The merger has been approved by the two companies' boards. Tellep will hold the same titles in the new company. Martin Marietta chairman and chief executive Norman R. Augustine will be president, becoming chairman and chief executive when Tellep retires. Active discussions between the two companies began about five months ago, and the two boards met over the past few days, said a source close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity. In April, Martin Marietta lost a bid to merge with Grumman Corp., when Northrop Corp. swept in with a $2.17 billion bid to top Martin Marietta's $1.93 billion offer. Martin Marietta, based in Bethesda, Md., had already completed much of its consolidation in the rocket business by purchasing General Electric Co.'s aerospace business and General Dynamics Corp.'s space systems division. Lockheed has also participated in the consolidation trend with the purchase of General Dynamics' F-16 business in 1993. "We will follow the same principles that guided us in those successful ongoing consolidations: a seamless transition that ensures mission success, the aggressive elimination of duplicate costs and the use of our considerable synergies to diversity market opportunities outside the defense industry," Augustine said. Recent consolidations by the two companies are already expected to generate more than $2 billion in cost savings to the government over the next 10 years, he said. The new company will be based in Bethesda and be organized around four major business sectors: space and missiles, aeronautics, electronics and information and technology services. The merger is subject to regulatory approval as well acceptance by shareholders. The companies said the deal is expected to close in early 1995. Lockheed, based in Calabasas, Calif., had 1993 sales of $13.2 billion and employs 77,500. Lockheed's products include the Hercules C-130 military cargo plane and the Air Force's F-22 Stealth fighter. Martin Marietta had sales last year of $9.4 billion and has about 93,000 employees. Martin Marietta makes the $1 billion Mars Observer spacecraft and the Titan IV rocket. ------------------------------ From: Jamie Aycock Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 00:52:53 -0400 (EDT) Subject: DCX I was wondering if anyone had any recent news on the DCX program lately. It's been a while since I've caught any news. Jamie ------------------------------ From: John Regus Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 07:43:45 -0500 (CST) Subject: Adolf Tolkachev I am interested in obtaining as much publicly available information as possible on Adolph Tolkachev, a leader in Soviet stealth technology, who was executed in 1986(?) following his betrayl by Aldrich Ames. Anyone who can point me toward the right library(s), I would appreciate hearing from. John F. Regus | (713) 960-0045 | SYS/370/390 SYSTEM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING WUI:REGUSHOU | ------------------------------ From: Andreas & Kathryn Gehrs-Pahl Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 22:22:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Skunk Works Digest Special - V5-148a I usually keep the skunk-works mail in a seperate folder until I received the Skunk Works Digest covering them. Then I delete them and archive the digest. Because the digest was down for two weeks, resulting in the loss of some mail (for digest readers only), I put all the missing posts together to archive them -- as Skunk Works Digest Special V5 148a -- for myself. Maybe there are some digest-only-reader, who would like that archive. All other, please disregard this mail. - -- Andreas Skunk Works Digest Special Tuesday, August 16, 1994 Volume 05 : Number 148a In this issue: Re: US Air & Trade Show report Balloons and Mystics ABC Report Re: KNBC Los Angeles Report on Area 51 Re: KNBC Los Angeles Report on Area 51 Re: Area 51 (no Subject line) ABC News item Re: ABC News Report secrecy activist receives bill for $2750! Interesting kit Need photo advice RE: Need photo advice SR-71 Pilot's Manual UFOs and Groom Lake That are the missing skunk-works emails, I received between August 1 and August 14, which were neither in Skunk Works Digest V5-148 nor V5-149. I edited some of the mails for esthetic reasons, but made no changes concerning the text itself. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Jul 94 07:26:34 EDT From: Paul Mangan Subject: Re: US Air & Trade Show report I heard there was an accident involving 20-30 members of the sky diving team there on Sunday. Can anyone elaborate? Paul - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Aug 94 19:36:14 MET DST From: Urban Fredriksson Subject: Balloons and Mystics Contrary to what I used to think, the Myasishchev M-17/55 weren't originally designed as high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. They were actually conceived as anti-balloon fighters. During 1956-1977 a total of 4112 balloons were observed over the Warsaw Pact, some of which of course were civilan weather balloons. But many were military, as shown by that 3000 were launched during Jan and Feb 1956 and several hundreds in Dec 1980 and Jan 1981. 793 were shot down by fighters, using an average of 1.4 missiles, 26 rockets and 112 cannon rounds. Among the fighters wer MiG-19, MiG-21, Tu-128, Su-15TM and Yak-28P. Older SAMs were adapted for anti-balloon work in the 1970's and all new radars were required to be able to detect them. In 1971 a competion was put forth for a night capable very high altitude fighter with a movable gun turret. One candidate was the Yak-25PA (perekhvatchik aerostatov=balloon interceptor), but the winner was the M-17. They did research the U-2 wing design, but as the requirements were different it wasn't copied for this application. The first prototype flew in 1978. The weapon system, including optronic direction finders capable of finding a 30 m (many were 100 m in diameter) balloon at 30-40 km distance was tested aboard a Tu-16. Armament was a two barrel GSh-23 with 500 rounds with extra sensitive fuses, capable of reaching balloons 4000 m above the aircraft. Data for M-17: Span: 40.32 m Max take off weight: 18400 kg Practical ceiling: 21500 m Max speed at 20000 m: 401 kts; 5000 m: 179 kts Landing speed: 102 kts Range: 1315 km, endurance 2 h 14 min During development in the later 1980's the need disappeared. But there were other uses for high-altitude aircraft and the prime one was real time tactical reconnaissance to aid in the attack of small targets behind the front line. This required an aircraft capable of carrying a larger (1500 kg) load adn having a longer endurance. Myasishchev designed the derivative M-55, but the air force M-17RM (razvedchik moifitsirovanny=modified reconnaissance), which first flew in 1988. Data for M-55: Span: 37.46 m Max take off weight: 23800 kg Ceiling: 20000 m Cruise speed at 20000 m: 378-405 kts Range: 4965 km Endurance at 20000 m: 4 h 12 min; at 17000: 5 h. [Air International Aug 1994] - -- Urban Fredriksson urf@icl.se - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Aug 1994 16:45:28 -0700 From: Rick Pavek Subject: ABC Report Tonight on ABC was a report on the Groom Lake employees suing the gov over the toxic waste burning at Area 51. Good report, don't miss it. you PDT guys have a chance to see it. :} Rick kuryakin@halycon.com - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Aug 1994 21:43:55 -0800 From: Steve Birmingham Subject: Re: KNBC Los Angeles Report on Area 51 It was a fairly short segment. The report was done by Chuck Henry, and I believe it was discussed here some time ago. It was about the incident where the local law arrested a gentleman for "obstructing justice" when he tried to prevent Chuck Henry's camera from being confiscated. I've forgotten the gentleman's name. There were some shots of Freedom Ridge, along with some still shots of the view from, and around, the ridge. As was described here and in the segment, much of the film shot by Mr. Henry was destroyed. There was quite a bit of speculation (as expected) on the U-2, SR-71, F117A, and the "Aurora", and how Area 51 has been host to the testing of these (and possibly other) aircraft. At the close of the segment, Chuck Henry stated that part 2 would air Tuesday, August 2 at 5:00pm PDT, again on KNBC (Channel 4). Part 2 is supposed to be about the connection between secret military aircraft, aircraft testing, Area 51, UFOs, and aliens. I wonder how credible part 2 will be??!! I videotaped the segment, and plan to videotape part 2. If there's sufficient interest, and if someone who has the time, inclination, and equipment volunteers to, I'd be glad to loan them the tape to have it digitized and uploaded. I think it might be short enough to turn into a Quicktime moov! :-) There is, after all, some nice file footage of the U-2 and SR-71 in flight. I'll post a follow up report tomorrow evening (PDT, of course ;-) ), after I've viewed part 2. Cheers! +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Steve Birmingham Tel: 714-826-4433 | | Internet mail: smb@odo.cypress.ca.us | | | | "A wise man knows everything; a shrewd one, everybody." | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Aug 1994 00:49:21 -0600 From: Legalize Adulthood! Subject: Re: KNBC Los Angeles Report on Area 51 In article <199408020446.VAA26076@netcom.netcom.com>, smb@odo.cypress.ca.us (Steve Birmingham) writes: >It was about the incident where the local law arrested a gentleman for >"obstructing justice" when he tried to prevent Chuck Henry's camera from >being confiscated. I've forgotten the gentleman's name. The gentleman's name is Glenn Campbell and his arrest was recently discussed on the "desert rat" mailing list: [snip snip] ----- CAMPBELL ARRESTED DURING SECOND T.V. SEIZURE ----- Government oversight activist Glenn Campbell was arrested near Freedom Ridge yesterday evening (July 19) when he attempted to prevent the seizure by county authorities of a news crew's video tape. [...] Campbell was taken in handcuffs to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Substation in Alamo for booking. He was charged with Obstructing a Public Officer (NRS 197.190). This is the first time Campbell has been charged with any crime in Lincoln County. He posted $600 bail and was released. [snip snip] Contact PsychSpy if you are interested in the desert rat list. - -- http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/home.html Legalize Adulthood in Utah! legalize@xmission.com - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Aug 94 09:34:01 -0400 From: "Robert H. Tullman" Subject: Re: Area 51 >The gentleman's name is Glenn Campbell and >his arrest was recently discussed on the "desert rat" mailing list: >[snip snip] > ----- CAMPBELL ARRESTED DURING SECOND T.V. SEIZURE ----- >Government oversight activist Glenn Campbell was arrested near >Freedom Ridge yesterday evening (July 19) when he attempted to >prevent the seizure by county authorities of a news crew's video >tape. [...] Campbell was taken in handcuffs to the Lincoln County >Sheriff's Substation in Alamo for booking. He was charged with >Obstructing a Public Officer (NRS 197.190). This is the first >time Campbell has been charged with any crime in Lincoln County. >He posted $600 bail and was released. Isnt it a shame we live under such a repressive government? I'm sure that if one were to spy on a secret military installation in Russia, Iraq, Iran or some other enlightened country, he/she would be politely escorted in for a guided tour, fed some vodka and caviar (or goats eyeballs and tea whatever the local delicacies are), given some souvenirs and wished well. Handcuffs and $600 bail, MY WORD! SUCH CRUELTY! My $0.02. Bob - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 21:35:40 -0800 From: Steve Birmingham Here's my "report" on part 2 of the KNBC news piece on Area 51. It was also a very short segment, primarily discussing the possibility that Area 51 is used to study some of the "captured" UFOs. There were interviews conducted with people that claim to have seen or ridden in these UFOs. One individual claimed that his DNA was extracted by aliens. Many others claimed to have seen the aliens. An enterprising group of people, believing that the aliens must return by the spring of 1995, set up a watering hole with a big sign welcoming the aliens...signed 'Earthlings.' There are a multitude of drawings of the little gray aliens with large eyes. The toxic waste dumping suit that was recently filed was also discussed. Someone posted a short note to skunk-works that ABC was doing a piece on this, but I missed it. The gist of the blurb was that, by dragging the Air Force into court, some answers may be forthcoming. Personally, I doubt much will come out, but that's another discussion. No further information about the suit. Someone else with more information may care to comment. That was about it. Hope my briefs are of some use. Cheers! Steve +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Steve Birmingham Tel: 714-826-4433 | | Internet mail: smb@odo.cypress.ca.us | | | | "A wise man knows everything; a shrewd one, everybody." | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Aug 1994 07:03:59 -0500 (CST) From: John Regus Subject: ABC News item At 0530 CDT today, I was watching the early morning edition of ABC news. They had a news item about a book written by a former LAPD detective, who claims that Marilyn Monroe was murdered by the Mafia, on orders from the CIA, because she knew about the crash of an alien spacecraft and the recovery of bodies from that craft and where they were kept. Obviously, Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick. Responsible journalists do not tell people this kind of thing until they finish their morning coffee. John F. Regus | (713) 960-0045 | SYS/370/390 SYSTEM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING WUI:REGUSHOU | - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Aug 1994 00:26:51 -0400 (EDT) From: Mary Shafer Subject: Re: ABC News Report My error--I thought that RHYOLITE was the KH-11. Regards, Mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Aug 94 11:56:48 PDT From: TRADER@cup.portal.com Subject: secrecy activist receives bill for $2750! (a dispatch from the front lines of the battle against excessive military secrecy after the end of the Cold War follows...) Recently, in the course of trying to obtain information from the National Security Agency on classified program spending, your author was subjected to a new government trick. I tried to obtain information about the cost and purpose of the classified NSA programs listed below, and the NSA sent me a bill for $2750! I filed a Freedom of Information Act request, and was informed that they weren't going to do anything about the matter, until I sent a check for $2750, because I was a "commercial requester". (They stated that it would take an amazing 110 hours of their time to review what I know is approximately 50 to 100 pages of documents, based on my experience with the same kind of documents produced by other military agencies. They want $25 per hour for the review). This appears to be a new government tactic for preventing people from asking embarassing questions, such as where the taxpayers' money is going. I've filed an administrative appeal to their decision of July 19, 1994 pointing out the following: * I am not a commercial requester, and they have not stated any points to show that the material will be used for a commercial purpose. Federal law (32 C.F.R. 286.33(e)(3)(i)) states that, "The term 'commercial use' request refers to a request from, or on behalf of one who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers the commercial, trade, or profit interest of the requester or the person on whose behalf the request is made." I pointed out that any material released would be provided at my own expense to members of Congress, the media, or to public interest organizations. * They are not following a Presidential memorandum issued by President Clinton on October 4, 1993, that requires greater cooperation and openness from federal agencies in how they handle FOIA requests. (A copy of this memo can be FTP'ed from host ftp.shell.portal.com in the /pub/trader/FOIA directory.) * The requested descriptive summaries for the programs must be provided to members of Congress under authority of 10 U.S.C 2301(b)(7) and 10 U.S.C. 119, so they don't require a lot of work to locate and analyze. * One of the programs, "information systems security", Program Element (PE) 0303140G is a joint NSA/U.S. Navy program. The Navy released a summary of the program (PE 0303140N) to me at no charge. I provided the NSA with copies of the documents. (This program is for a distributed key cryptographic system for computers, to prevent re-occurrences of the Walker spy scandal). I've notified several key members of Congress, and provided documents to other parties about this matter. The bottom line is that no part of the government should be immune from the requirements of Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution, which requires a public accounting for the spending of all public money. The programs that NSA doesn't want people asking questions about: Program Element Description _______________ ___________ 0301011G "cryptologic activities" 0303123G "global grid communications" 0303140G "information systems security" 0303401G "communications security (COMSEC)" 0305159G "Defense reconnaissance support activities" 0305167G "computer security" 0305885G "tactical cryptologic activities" 0305889G "intelligence support to OSD counternarcotics" Paul McGinnis / TRADER@cup.portal.com ********************************************************************** Anonymous FTP access to files dealing with excessive military secrecy is available from Internet host ftp.shell.portal.com (IP address 156.151.3.4) in the /pub/trader directory. Read the 00readme files for descriptions of the files. Writings from Glenn Campbell, author of the "Area 51 Viewer's Guide" are available in /pub/trader/secrecy/psychospy. - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 12:23:49 -0700 From: Rick Pavek Subject: Interesting kit Here is something that falls in line with the general subject... though it is models. Knowing that there are at least a few modelers out there... 120mm SR-71/U-2/Space Shuttle pilot $30.25 plus $5 shipping Aero Scale 619 Eden St St Louis MI 48880 517 681-5803 Catalog is $4 I'm getting one. :} Rick Pavek kuryakin@halcyon.com - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Aug 94 14:28:40 MDT From: Ron Schweikert Subject: Need photo advice Hello skunkers. I have a lot of pictures of the SR from my final days at Beale. These include a variety of close ups from various angles, pilots etc. My problem is that I can't find the negatives. These are prints in good shape. I know that photo shops can "take pictures" of my pictures and make new negatives, but is that the best route? Anyone out there who has done this have any good suggestions? (It really came up recently when I wanted to enter one of my pictures in the Flying magazine picture contest (I have a nice picture of the ball of flame coming out the exhaust on engine start) but couldn't send the original. Thanks in advance -- Cheers! Ron (Sorry this is sorta off-topic...) - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Aug 1994 12:26:51 +1000 (EST) From: Andrew Ferguson Roach Subject: RE: Need photo advice >My problem is that I can't find the negatives. Bummer. #1 Rule - always keep your negatives stored in a clean, cool, safe place, separated from each other (so they don't stick together). >These are prints in good shape. What do you mean "good shape" ? How recently were the photos taken, have the colours faded ? Are they glossy's or Matt's ? What size are the prints ? >I know that photo shops can "take pictures" >of my pictures and make new negatives, but is that the best >route? This is a process commonly known as "inter-neg" (meaning intermediate negative). It is about the only option left open to you. It will depend entirely upon the quality of the original. Whenever you do an inter-neg you get a trade off in quality somewhere along the way. This is usually seen as a small colour shift and a rather large contrast drop, so if your photo's are contrasty (and black SR's probably would be) then don't expect good results. You would probably find that all shape and form in the SR's would just become a black smudge - most detail would be lost due to the contrast drop. It also comes back down a lot to what size your original is. Anything smaller than 5x7 and you will REALLY notice a resolution drop as well. Don't forget that resolution will ALWAYS drop when you do a copy like this, so if you start with a 6x4, copy it and try and blow it up to say 8x10 it will look a little fuzzy. AS a general rule, the biggest original - the better. One other quick point while on inter-neg's. The afore mentioned contrast drop could be minimised if the right type of film was used, ie one specifically for copy work. I do not think that your average mini-lab would have such film ($$$$), but if you took the pictures to a pro-lab you may find that they would. If you had lost the negatives, and you were looking for reproducing the pictures JUST for personal use I would probably recommended colour photocopying in this case. It's cheap, fast, and quality is not too bad. (Not publication quality though). >(It really came up recently when I wanted to >enter one of my pictures in the Flying magazine picture contest >(I have a nice picture of the ball of flame coming out the >exhaust on engine start) but couldn't send the original. I don't know specifically about "Flying", but most magazines I know of prefer (some insist) that all colour pictures submitted for publication be colours slides - NOT photographic prints. It has a lot to do with the way they make their layout pages. If they did use photo's they would have to re-photograph them (yet again) onto slide, thus envoking yet another drop in quality. In short, for publication, I think there would be probably too many generations of reproduction, and your "good" photos at then end of the day would probably end up just average, if not poor. Hope this Helps Andrew - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Aug 1994 06:54:43 +0500 From: Rob Aronson Subject: SR-71 Pilot's Manual This may be the type of thing that everyone knows about, and if that's the case my apologies, but... I just received a catalog in the mail from a place called Zenith Books and they're selling what they call a "SR-71 Pilot's Manual". This is the description from the catalog: Here it is - recently declassified. The official training and operating manual for the SR-71 Blackbird spyplane. This manual reveals every secret of its amazing peformance and includes everything you need to know to fly it. Over 1,000 pages! Sections include a description of the aircraft, normal and emergency procedures, navigation and sensor equipment, operating limitations, flight characteristics, and all-weather operation. Appendices on hard-to-find performance data. Softbound, 8 1/1" x 11", 1024 pages, 350 diagrams. The price is $99.95. - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Aug 94 19:26 CDT From: Stratacom Worldnet Subject: UFOs and Groom Lake I have read some of the net traffic out here and one of the more intriguing pieces involved sighting strange saucer shaped objects at Groom Lake. In my years of training, I have never doubted what people have seen, only the explanations of what it is they really had seen. I think I have a good answer, now, for the sightings of the "saucer-shaped" objects hovering near the non-existent Groom Lake facility. The Moscow Aviation Institute developed the "Thermoplane." It looks identical to the spacecraft that was used in the Walt Disney film "Flight of the Navigator," with the addition of two vertical stabilizers on the aft portion of the "aircraft." However, they are small in size and would be completely unrecognizable at night. At night the "aircraft" is surrounded by a myriad of Halogen spotlights and colored, strobe navigational lights. My impression of the craft, is that if you saw it at night, you would swear that you had a close encounter of the third kind. The "Thermoplane" is "22 times more efficient than a helicopter." The Russian Mil Mi-26TS heavy lift helicopter can lift 22 tons. The "thermoplane its designers say, could lift 650." "The Thermoplane's carbon-fiber envelope, made of Kevlar lookalike, the Russians call 'Terlon,' holds spherical chambers of hydrogen or helium; the remaining volume is filled with natural gas, heated by the exhaust from turboprop engines that propel the craft." What better place, than Groom Lake, to refine examine this technology? ******************************************************************** * John F. Regus | Stratacom Worldnet * * WUI:REGUSHOU | SYS/370/390 SYSTEM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING * ******************************************************************** - ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #148a ********************************** - --- --- Andreas & Kathryn Gehrs-Pahl Absolute Software 313 West Court St. #305 schnars@umcc.ais.org Flint, MI 48502-1239 Tel: (810) 238-8469 - --- --- ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #150 ********************************* To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@mail.orst.edu". 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