Not just the Blackbird.
Posted on 01/15/2007 5:46:27 PM PST by FLOutdoorsman
A photograph taken in Beavercreek has some hoping it's proof of top-secret 'pulse jet' tests.
BEAVERCREEK — A Beavercreek man's photograph of an unusual aircraft condensation trail has sparked a high-flying debate among scientists and aviation fans over whether the Air Force or NASA is flying an aerospace vehicle with an exotic new propulsion system.
The photo of the vapor trail, taken Nov. 10 by amateur meteorologist Bill Telzerow from his backyard, shows a distinctive "doughnuts-on-a-rope" shape.
The photo has raised questions about whether an experimental propulsion system that uses pulse detonation engine technology is being tested here. The propulsion system could potentially hurtle manned craft at six times the speed of sound (Mach 6).
The photo has been downloaded several thousand times each day since it was posted on the Web a week ago by the Federation of American Scientists (www.fas.org/irp/mystery/donuts.html), a Washington, D.C.-based group of scientists and engineers who monitor national policies on technology and research.
"I don't think (the photo) is proof positive, but I think it's interesting and suggestive," said Steven Aftergood, a senior research analyst at the federation.
Similar vapor trail sightings nationwide from 1988 to 1992 fueled speculation that the Air Force was working on a top-secret successor to the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane.
Pulse detonation engines, or pulse jets, contain no moving parts and are lighter and more efficient than regular jet engines.
Fuel is injected into the air inside the tube and ignited in a rapidly-occurring series of pulses. General Electric and Pratt & Whitney are both exploring the technology.
The Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has conducted runway tests on a small version of a pulse detonation engine, but officials there say they have not yet flown a PDE craft.
Telzerow, a spotter for the National Weather Service, said he was photographing the wind gauge in his backyard when he noticed the unusual formation.
He snapped four photos over several minutes because "I'd never seen anything like it before."
He said he had no idea what it was until he talked to two ex-pilot friends, both of whom speculated it was from a pulse jet.
Tim Fry, an aerospace research engineer at the University of Dayton Research Institute, said he isn't convinced. Vapor trails "do wacky things. There could be any number of atmospheric disturbances going on that could cause it to lump together like that," he said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2437 or jdebrosse@DaytonDailyNews.com.
I think they call it phased pulse array.
Supposed to have learned it from crashed spaceships.
Exactly!
LoL
V-1 "Buzz Bomb", British recording from WWII, right?
Not just the Blackbird.
Some problems termed "Un-start" aside, why would the SR-71 which used conventional, if very exotic in detail, axial flow turbojet engines, J58s, create such a "pulse" type trail. I never heard of the Blackbird creating such trails, and I've been following the SR since it was first revealed, and was still treated as a highly classified, but no longer completely "black", asset.
Vapor trails are mostly water vapor, they are dispersed by upper level winds and turbulence. However that "blurring" is much less regular than the "donuts on a rope" trails.
Usually some guy named bubba after a few beers but this was a little more reliable.
Like to see some radar tapes.
Sounds like a B-36 to me.
ROTFLMAO!
Jets just don't work that way. Jet A and JP-8 are pretty high octane to begin with, since they are essentially kerosene or light diesel fuel. Early jet fuels had more of a gasoline component, but not the current ones, ... except some "special fuels" for "special aircraft" such as that for the SR-71, which was actually lower volatility than standard jet fuel (it was used for cooling before being burnt).
Jets can have fuel and air flow problems but those are essentially unrelated to the "octane" of the fuel.
Hillary flying her broomstick after eating at Benos.
Best and most likely explanation yet!
Called something like "Black Box Secrets" of the UFOs
Correct, also pulsejet powered.
LOL!
Could this mean that policemen will be patrolling in space soon?
Or Michael Moore.
Pulse or nebulizer-type pump?
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