'Mystery aircraft' over Texas draws speculation of real spy plane

chron.com ^ | March 28, 2014 | Carol Christian |

[John Valentine]

F-117

[DoctorBulldog]

Yup, that was one of my thoughts, too. But, something just doesn’t look right... Maybe it’s the angle of the satellite image and the shadows... I don’t know. It’s just weird.

.......

By the way, did you notice that the mystery aircraft (the one that is the main story for this thread) looks a LOT like Barnes Wallis’s Swallow when the wings are swept back towards the rear? (It was a Variable-Geometry aircraft like the B-1b).

http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/BarnesWallisSwallowSST.htm

Cheers!

[Forward the Light Brigade]

Scram-Jet? Almost looks likie the exhast patterns of a V-1 Could be a drone? A re-enigineered ship from Roswell?

[Kirkwood]

F-117s are all retired.

[az_gila]

Retired in ‘84, I believe, after a non-stop, return flight from RAF Ascension to Stanley, Falkland Islands.

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There is still one flying in the UK. I saw it about 5 years ago at an airshow over the Southport Sands and it was impressive to see up close.

[RegulatorCountry]

I think you’re right. The silhouette is vague in the grainy photo, but there is a distinct “pinched” look to all three sides of the basic triangular shape that would be created by an X-47.

[az_gila]

Yes! Zoom in on those bad boys and let me know what you think.

Cheers!

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They are Lockheed D-21 Mach 3 drones as picture earlier on a SR-71 and B-52.

From wiki -

A total of 38 D-21 and D-21B drones were built with 21 expended in launches. The remaining 17 were initially stored at Norton Air Force Base, California, then moved to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base “boneyard” near Tucson, Arizona,[24] in 1976 and 1977. With the base open to the public, the D-21 drones were quickly spotted and photographed. The Air Force called them GTD-21Bs with the GT standing for Ground Training.

One is also on display at the Evergreen Museum on OR.

[Jack Hammer]

Can’t be the missing Malaysia flight; everyone knows THAT was captured by aliens and taken to Alpha Centauri 4.

It could be the aliens themselves, scouting for more airliners.

[tanknetter]

F-117s are all retired.

Actually, they're not. The USAF has kept a small number of them operational. Possibly as range test aircraft.

And the USAF isn't being all that quiet about it either. A couple of people on a road near Nellis AFB got buzzed by one a couple years back (which would be a couple years after they were retired from active service). They got video of it.

[tanknetter]

F-117

While searching around for articles on the small number of F-117s that are still operating, I found this blog that has some high-fidelity pics of an F-117 taken at distance.

Granted that angles, sun and shadows could make the aircraft in question a -117. But it still looks to me like it has the cranked-kite wing planform of the X-47B. Doesn't mean that it IS an X-47, of course: Northrop Grumman's proposed Next Generation Bomber uses it as well.

[Regulator]

Yeah. Either a phantom ray or rq170; similar UAVs.

Flying around in daylight because the aren’t exactly unknown.

[Regulator]

Ok, so it didn’t come out of the Lockheed plant in Ft. Worth.

The it’s probably in transit from somewhere else - a USAFB undoubtedly.

Big deal, ho hum. Well be seeing more and more of these for the rest of our lives as the USAF transitions to a networked drone force model.

[PilotDave]

Not an f117 nor a B2. Most likely a undisclosed stealth spy plane. A great photo!

[hattend]

It would be interesting to see the plane putting out the twin contrail.

If it’s larger than the plane shown then that would lead me to believe the pictured plane is a drone.

If same size or smaller... tippity toppity secret flying dorito .

[FReepaholic]

I was referring to yarddog’s photo in post #32.