Free Republic

A retired Marine with nearly two decades of aviation experience has stepped forward with a compelling theory about a mysterious plane that was spotted flying over Texas last month. On March 10, photographers Steve Douglass and Dean Muskett took pictures of three puzzling aircraft flying over Amarillo, and posted them online in hopes of identifying the planes. Retired-Marine James Vineyard has submitted one of the more interesting explanations, telling the Houston Chronicle he believes they are SR-72 Blackbirds - a spy plane that can cross the U.S. in less than an hour, unmanned.

first time. Aviation Week & Space Technology journalist Bill Sweetman has posted photos taken March 10 by two veteran sky watchers, Steve Douglass and Dean Muskett. In his blog post of March 28, Sweetman writes that he and two Aviation Week editors agree that the photos depict "something real." In other words, these pictures aren't easily explained away by reports of known military flights or the work of someone who got carried away with Photoshop. So what can aviation experts say about the object in the photos? "The photos tell us more about what the mysterious stranger isn't than what...

First prize for Gripen in Aviation Week photo competition Jamie Hunter won the 2010 Aviation Week Photo Contest Military Category with one of his Saab Gripen photographs taken in August during a visit to Linkoping. With this photo Jamie Hunter won the 2010 Aviation Week Photo Contest Military Category. 2010-12-27 | Jamie said: 'We had a very small window of opportunity to shoot the Gripen NG Demo in formation with a JAS 39D and so it had to planned very carefully. The weather in the area around Linkoping was quite bad with heavy rain and low clouds - but luckily...

Aviation Week suspends Bill Sweetman from F-35 story [Update: Bill Sweetman's Facebook post, which I quoted below, is the reason he's temporarily barred from the F-35 beat, Aviation Week tells Danger Room. The plot thickens. It makes you wonder if one of his 91 Facebook friends tattled on him.] Bill Sweetman notified me this morning that he has been temporarily ordered off the F-35 story by Aviation Week management. Aviation Week editor Tony Velocci initially told me "no comment", but added: "It was supposed to be an internal personnel matter but I'm really sorry to hear that he's spreading it...

MALIBU, Calif. -- Authorities confirmed Tuesday morning that a body found in a wrecked car in the Malibu area was that of an aviation magazine editor last seen leaving a Calabasas restaurant on June 3rd. County firefighters discovered the car and the body of Michael Arthur Dornheim, 51, on Monday...

(Russia's)Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref on Wednesday threw his weight behind the Russian Regional Jet, promising government support for the landmark project, which is expected to put Russia back on the map of global aviation. "We have full confidence that this jet will be made," Gref told reporters after the project's presentation at the Moscow design bureau of fighter jet manufacturer Sukhoi, the leader of the project. Gref, who in the past has criticized the Russian aviation industry, during the presentation repeatedly needled Sukhoi executives on whether their jet was in the same class as those made by...

The discovery of an Iraqi artillery shell armed with nerve gas has the liberal community and mass media in a panic. The 155mm nerve gas shell was rigged to kill U.S. troops but it failed. U.S. Brig. General Mark Kimmitt confirmed the discovery during a news conference in Baghdad. Yet, the discovery of nerve gas was followed by a second revelation. A second shell, equipped with mustard gas was found two weeks ago. The mustard gas shell identified by the special WMD inspection team in Iraq appears to be one of 550 declared by Saddam to U.N. inspectors during the...

NASA Needs New Vision, No Agreement on Specifics By Jason Bates NASA needs a vision that includes a specific destination. That much a panel of space advocates who gathered in Washington today to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight could agree on. There is less consensus about what that destination should be. NASA needs to determine where it wants to send humans next and commit to that goal, the advocates agreed, though there was a difference of opinion on what the next target should be. According to the participants in the "Symposium on the Future Human Space Flight"...

High-resolution images taken from a ground-based Air Force tracking camera in the southwestern U.S. show serious structural damage to the inboard leading edge of Columbia's left wing, as the crippled orbiter flew overhead about 60 sec. before the vehicle broke up over Texas killing the seven astronauts on board Feb. 1. According to sources close to the investigation, the images, under analysis at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, show a jagged edge on the left inboard wing structure near where the wing begins to intersect the fuselage. They also show the orbiter's right aft yaw thrusters firing, trying to...