[barf]

I believe that your major problem is that you were a user and not a manufacturer. Manufacturers would use sleds to test products not yet on the market or accepted by the military services. As a user, you would not need these test articles since the testing should be complete by the time that you would see anything. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best explanation. Razor anyone? Little wonder why you personally did not see test equipment.

[Non-Sequitur]

Manufacturers would use sleds to test products not yet on the market or accepted by the military services.

But they would use a military aircraft and up to three military submarines, including a foreign one? You still haven't provided any evidence to back up your theory. Perhaps acehai can come up with some.

[Asmodeus]

barf LSOFT Flight 800 Forum Thu, 22 Jan 1998 22:58:51
"What if migrating fuel had ignited within an engine exhaust stream and a still burning portion merged with an expanding slipstream vapor trail. The flame could follow the craft at some distance behind continuously accelerating until converging. Get the picture?"

Yep.