Mystery Aircraft over Texas 10th March 2014 - Steve Douglass

TEEJ

Senior Member.


Link to Exif.

http://regex.info/exif.cgi?dummy=on&imgurl=http://sitelife.aviationweek.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/5/7/b57384e6-a5fd-4393-b7ca-9fc018a39528.Full.jpg


Camera: Nikon D70
Lens: 300 mm
(Max aperture f/5.7)
Exposure: Auto exposure, Program AE, 1/1,500 sec, f/5.6, Compensation: +1/2
Flash: none
Date: March 10, 2014 4:32:44PM (timezone not specified)
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Direct link to image claimed to be of all three unidentified aircraft. No full Exif data.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EQnWvVspB-s/UzXUt10jWmI/AAAAAAAAV44/X7LJpnMBiYE/s1600/enhanced3s.jpg

http://deepbluehorizon.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/mystery-aircraft-photographed-over.html

From

http://deepbluehorizon.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.a...79a7Post:98ddaa5a-e2b3-4a1a-9218-14d04d3ef6a1

The timezone on March 10th is not specified in the Exif. Daylight Saving Time change would have been on the 9th so possibly the camera automatically updated?

Douglass claims

Watching the playback it became very obvious that was exactly what happened. During the time in question, there was a fifty mile-wide gap of airspace, a clear corridor in the area that the mystery 3 ship formation had flown though.
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Does anyone else see this corridor?

16:32 DST = 2132 GMT

The following Flight Radar 24 playback runs from 2120 GMT. The three aircraft do not feature on the playback.

http://www.flightradar24.com/2014-03-10/21:20/12x/35.22,-101.71/8

Unfortunately Steve Douglass does have a bit of dubious history. I do hope that he hasn't faked this or is trying to pull off an April Fools? Douglass is the chap that was just about to film what he claimed was an undisclosed aircraft back in 1993 when the batteries on his video camera failed. He was also the guy that was famous for the "donuts on a rope" contrail image when he tried to pass it off as being produced by an aircraft with pulse detonation engines. If you look on his blog he is claiming that the "Pulser" aircraft is back as he photographed more "donuts on a rope" contrails during 2010. Douglass was also involved in the propaganda nonsense during the Kosovo campaign 1999 where he gave interviews on Jeff Rense conspiracy radio show claiming that NATO had hidden losses of some 22 manned aircraft. All this was based on his claimed radio intercepts during the campaign. I do hope it is genuine but with his past history I can't quite help but question it.

Any thoughts?
 
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B-2 Spirit contrail video for comparison. Both Steve Douglass and Bill Sweetman have contacted the 509th Bomb Wing in reference to B-2s in the area. The blog has a letter from the 509th confirming that B-2s were not in the region at that specific time.

 
If real, that is indeed interesting!

Not that any experimental/top secret airframe that may be photographed during testing is anything new...still as an aviation aspect, this is intriguing. I always want to learn.

ETA: The B-2 video. Maybe that is the more mundane explanation.

(I'm still waiting on "pins and needles" for that "Star Trek" technology called "Warp Drive".....I expect I will die before that becomes available....-sigh-...).
 
that grey image doesn't match your first image. it must be the same plane because the way the contrail lays out. but when I sharpen the color pic the craft is completely different then their grey pic. ???

xx1.jpg
 
Im not sure either tbh, but just given the pointed shap and swept back wings of the silhouette, it doesnt really fit any other profile I can think of.. the B2 is a bit more rounded and the wings dont quite sweep back AS far.. the B2s more of a classic wide wing bomber and the F-117 is built more like a fighter. If you look at the grey pic you can see that the wings in the color pic are wider and arent swept back at quite as steep an angle.
 
Im not sure either tbh, but just given the pointed shap and swept back wings of the silhouette, it doesnt really fit any other profile I can think of.. the B2 is a bit more rounded and the wings dont quite sweep back AS far.. the B2s more of a classic wide wing bomber and the F-117 is built more like a fighter. If you look at the grey pic you can see that the wings in the color pic are wider and arent swept back at quite as steep an angle.
I don't see any sign of the F-117's tail structure and the wing sweep seems to be wrong. Maybe it's that triangular shaped aircraft used for UFO sightings.
 
Im not sure either tbh, but just given the pointed shap and swept back wings of the silhouette, it doesnt really fit any other profile I can think of.. the B2 is a bit more rounded and the wings dont quite sweep back AS far.. the B2s more of a classic wide wing bomber and the F-117 is built more like a fighter. If you look at the grey pic you can see that the wings in the color pic are wider and arent swept back at quite as steep an angle.
I found the Boeing Phantom Ray that seems to look like it. but that only works if the lead and tail planes are like jet spotters. actually I have no idea if it works, but he shape seems like the color pic

and the wing angles keep changing just like the above pics
 
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I don't see any sign of the F-117's tail structure and the wing sweep seems to be wrong. Maybe it's that triangular shaped aircraft used for UFO sightings.

Its very possible.. and Dierdre brings up a good point too, could be the Phantom Ray as well.. its really really hard to tell at those altitudes.. only reason I pointed out the 117 was because that was the first bird that jumped out at me when I saw it, but its all guesses lol. I havent had to sillouette aircraft in almost 2 decades.
 
I found the Boeing Phantom Ray that seems to look like it. but that only works if the lead and tail planes are like jet spotters. actually I have no idea if it works, but he shape seems like the color pic

and the wing angles keep changing just like the above pics

This is my new favorite. That is a pretty aircraft even if it is a drone.
 
Do the B-2 and F-117 stealth jets actually produce contrails? I mean it kind of defeats their purpose if they can be visually seen in the sky during the day because of their contrails.

There are active contrail inhibitions that can be implemented by military airplanes.

But, good question!!
 
Do the B-2 and F-117 stealth jets actually produce contrails? I mean it kind of defeats their purpose if they can be visually seen in the sky during the day because of their contrails.

There are two major things you have to remember.. 1) Stealth Aircraft are only invisible to radar.. and even then they're not COMPLETELY invisible.. they just produce such a small paint that the radar really cant detect them unless the sensitivity is set to extremes.. and at those extremes you'd pick up everything from cars on the road (if in a mountainous area) to small birds flying through the air. and 2) The primary method for deployment of these aircraft is night ops. Contrails arent going to matter at 2am Local, because by the time you actually SEE the aircraft, its already dropped its ordinance and is RTB.
 
There are active contrail inhibitions that can be implemented by military airplanes.

But, good question!!
I too heard of the contrail inhibitors, and I doubt after the billions they spent on each of the planes that they wouldn't have included them. I know most of their missions are at night, but the do have 16 to 20 hr missions, which means at least part of their flight will be during daylight hours.
 
There are two major things you have to remember.. 1) Stealth Aircraft are only invisible to radar.. and even then they're not COMPLETELY invisible.. they just produce such a small paint that the radar really cant detect them unless the sensitivity is set to extremes.. and at those extremes you'd pick up everything from cars on the road (if in a mountainous area) to small birds flying through the air. and 2) The primary method for deployment of these aircraft is night ops. Contrails arent going to matter at 2am Local, because by the time you actually SEE the aircraft, its already dropped its ordinance and is RTB.
Yes that's true about our stealth bombers not being invisible. But they've made every attempt to make it nearly invisible, day or night. Here's what I found on the net when I asked; "Do stealth bombers have contrail inhibitors"
The exhaust is mixed with airflow obtained through the boundary layer splitter slot to reduce the infrared signature. The aircraft was also designed to eliminate its contrail, with a tank outboard of the main landing gear to store a chemical that would be mixed with the exhaust flow to suppressed the formation of a contrail. This scheme wasn't actually used in practice, with a "lidar" (laser radar) system instead eventually developed to detect the formation of a contrail and alert the pilot to descend to lower altitude.
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So I can see how this would go hand in hand with what you said below. They use some kind of chemical to mix with the exhaust to detect if there are contrails present, if they are they descend or ascend to a better altitude to eliminate the contrails.

Mick Said; They avoid contrails (when needed) by not flying in contrail altitudes. There may also be other techniques in use. See:
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Ahh okokokok Im sorry Jason I misread what you were saying.. yes we're in agreement all the way around.
So with regards to this thread, could it still be Stealth Bombers that don't care about contrails when flying over the US. If its not a mission I don't see why they would go out of their way to avoid making contrails, Right? OT, when Stealth bombers or fighters are in the air, do they have to notify ATC's in the area since they can't be seen on Radar. Or do they fly with a transponder on so ATC's can identify them to reduce the risk of mid air accidents?
 
Yes, all aircraft must abide by FAA and international flight rules/laws. Combat environments are a little different, but not all that much, flight plans are public knowledge AFAIK so the aircraft handlers on the ground (which is part of what I did as a Radio Operator) route the missions around heavily used flight paths to avoid civilian collisions as much as possible. When they're flying over native soil or friendly territory there's no need for them to be in stealth mode, so they fly like normal aircraft do.

In Combat, aircraft have what's called IFF (Indentification Friend or Foe) which is a transponder signal (of sorts) that helps prevent friendly fire. When flying over civilian airspace, they check in just like regular aircraft and follow the same flight rules for the most part, along with using normal transponder codes. Again, there are exceptions to that rule as well.. areas like White Sands and Groom Lake are no fly zones for civilian aircraft so the rules are a bit different.
 
heres allegedly all three.
sd.JPG
So what are your thoughts D? Is this a typical formation? Is there distortion when they zoom in on these planes making their shape seem more triangular? Any thoughts cause my curiosity is peaked? And honestly, they do look eerily similar to those triangular "UFO'S", but the ones CT's often discuss don't make contrails because they can travel at light speed between the stars. lol.
 
Does this apply if they are in a military air corridor? Wouldn't they just file and communicate with the military ground control? These photos are in Texas where there are a lot of military air corridors near civilian population centers.

There is no such thing as a "military air corridor" - there are restricted areas that can be closed to civilian aircraft for exercises - but those have to be notified - either permanently of when in use if they are temporary.

Otherwise military aircraft in controlled airspace have to tell ATC where they are just like everyone else.
 
So what are your thoughts D? Is this a typical formation? Is there distortion when they zoom in on these planes making their shape seem more triangular? Any thoughts cause my curiosity is peaked? And honestly, they do look eerily similar to those triangular "UFO'S", but the ones CT's often discuss don't make contrails because they can travel at light speed between the stars. lol.
It's always possible that the rumored TR-3 air-craft is real and the Air Force if finally ready to to reveal it's existence but if that the case they've picked a lousy way to do it.
 
So what are your thoughts D? Is this a typical formation? Is there distortion when they zoom in on these planes making their shape seem more triangular? Any thoughts cause my curiosity is peaked? And honestly, they do look eerily similar to those triangular "UFO'S", but the ones CT's often discuss don't make contrails because they can travel at light speed between the stars. lol.
I'm skeptical because there appear to be 3 similar shapes. very few photos have been released although more were taken. his friends photo which looks very boomerang was supposedly fuzzier than his, but his friends seems sharper in editing. and if its a new military craft they are testing there wouldn't (im assuming) be 3. he calls them black but also says they disappeared into the background.

I don't know enough about planes or camera editing to have an opinion though. and im super skeptical so im biased.

and whats the deal with that 3rd contail which seems to start before the plane ends?
 
There is no such thing as a "military air corridor" - there are restricted areas that can be closed to civilian aircraft for exercises - but those have to be notified - either permanently of when in use if they are temporary.

Otherwise military aircraft in controlled airspace have to tell ATC where they are just like everyone else.
Sorry. Just using terminology I picked up from the pilots I used to work with.
 
Never heard of the B-3 bomber before

Edit: Got it now - movie reference
 
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very few photos have been released although more were taken.
I began looking closer at the other 20-odd frames and doing some enhancing - bringing out the planform, applying filters and discarding the color. At the same time I knew I had another source I needed to check
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Would be good if all photos were available. They could be F-14's if they've been edited.
 
I began looking closer at the other 20-odd frames and doing some enhancing - bringing out the planform, applying filters and discarding the color. At the same time I knew I had another source I needed to check
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Would be good if all photos were available. They could be F-14's if they've been edited.
youre right. shape is similar. 2 close exhausts.

f18.png plus with the Phantom ray video the triangle morphed into all sorts of shapes as it made turns. interesting.
 
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