'unveiling' of Aurora would come was unclear to observers. Some thought it would occur in the spring of 1992, recalling Lyndon Johnson's A-ll and SR-71 announcements during the 1964 presidential campaign. (1992 was also an election year.) Others thought it would be within a year. (The F-117A was unveiled shortly after the 1988 election.) Others thought it still might be several years away.[759]
Another reason for the belief in an imminent disclosure was reports of an Aurora sighting in Scotland. It was claimed that in November 1991, a Royal Air Force air traffic controller had picked up a radar target leaving a NATO-RAF base at Machrihanish, Scotland. He tracked it at a speed of Mach 3.
When he telephoned the base to ask what the plane was, he was told to for-get what he had seen. Another witness reported hearing an extremely loud roar at the same time as the radar sighting.[760]
A number of English newspapers and magazines carried the story. It was claimed that Aurora took off from Groom Lake and headed west to a landing at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific. It then continued west and overflew Iraq, using 'high-powered cameras and infrared radar' before continuing on to Machrihanish. After taking off, Aurora was refueled with liquid methane by tankers based in England. It then flew back to the United States. To hide the landings, an F-lll flew in close formation to confuse civilian radar. As the reports spread, Defence Minister Archie Hamilton told Parliament that the existence and operation of Aurora was a 'matter for the American authorities.' When the air force was asked, they did not confirm or deny its existence.[761]
The story crossed the Atlantic and the
Nor were sightings limited to the wilds of Scotland. On February 25, 26, and 27, 1992, there were nighttime sightings of an unknown aircraft with a 'diamond-pattern' of lights at Beale Air Force Base (the former SR-71 base). On the first two nights, a KC-135Q took off at about 6:15 P.M., followed by the aircraft. It had a red light near the nose, two 'whitish' lights at the wingtips, and an amber light at the tail. The aircraft had a distinctive engine noise, described as 'a very, very low rumble, like air rushing through a big tube.' The plane then joined the tankers in a close formation and extinguished its lights.
On one of these nights, at 9:30 P.M., two T-38 trainers took off with an unknown aircraft between them. The third aircraft did not turn on its lights until it was about three miles from the runway. It also showed a diamond pattern.
Finally, on February 27, a formation of a KC-135Q, two F-117As, and the unknown aircraft took off. The wing lights were described as about twice as far apart as those on the F-117s, and the length was about 50 percent longer than the F-117s.[765]
What was thought by some to be a ground test of the Aurora's engine was also reported. Late on the night of February 26 (the second night of the sightings) a series of 'booms' was heard coming from the base. These occurred every two to three seconds and continued for around thirty minutes.
They were described as 'like artillery fire,' and 'deep bass notes, not like sonic booms.' It was thought these might be 'light-off' tests of the engine.
It was speculated the plane used a pulse detonation wave engine (PDWE).
The noise and low frequency would, it was said, be consistent with a PDWE. The 'light-off' was thought to be the most difficult phase to control, and the sound may have been from technicians 'trimming' an engine.[766]
Three months later, photos were published of a 'doughnut-on-a-rope' contrail seen over Amarillo, Texas. It had long been reported that Aurora left such contrails, but this was the first time it had been photographed. The sighting took place at 8:30 A.M. on March 23, 1992. The person who took the photographs stated that he had heard a 'strange, loud, pulsating roar… unique… a deep pulsating rumble that vibrated the house and made the windows vibrate.' He added that the sound was 'similar to rocket engine noise, but deeper, with evenly timed pulses.'[767] It has been reported that the pulse rate was three hertz.[768] The photographer later said he talked with an engineer at Convair Fort Worth, who said the contrails were formed only when the PWDE was operating outside its design parameters. Another theory was that they became visible only when the aircraft descended out of the thin air of high altitudes and into the thicker air of low altitudes.[769] This powerplant was also referred to as an 'impulse motor.'[770]
There was also unusual radio traffic monitored on April 5 and 22, 1992, at about 6:00 A.M., between the Edwards Air Force Base radar-control facility (call sign 'Joshua Control') and an unknown high-altitude aircraft with the call sign 'Gaspipe.' Two advisories were recorded—'You're at 67,000, eighty-one miles out,' and 'Seventy miles out, 36,000. Above glide slope.'
Fighter aircraft, such as F-15s and F-16s, do not fly above 50,000 feet, as they lack pressure suits. When
A year later, another unusual contrail was observed. On April 15, 1993, weather satellite photos received at the University of Leicester in England showed a spiral-shaped contrail. When they were published, one letter writer was struck by the similarity with the 'doughnuts-on-a-rope.'[772]
The original 1990
The first sightings were made in the late summer of 1990. On September 13 and October 3, 1990, sightings were made at Mojave (near Edwards) in the late evening. Another sighting was made north of Edwards in April 1991 at about 11:00 A.M. On May 10, 1992, a writer with CNN saw the plane flying near Atlanta, Georgia, at about 5:00 P.M. The final sighting occurred on July 12 at 11:45 P.M. at the Helendale Airfield, near Barstow, California.
This field is located next to a Lockheed radar cross section test range.
Lockheed aircraft land at the field to bring in workers to the test range. The witness said the aircraft turned on its landing lights while quite high, then descended quickly in an S-pattern. There was bright moonlight, which allowed the witness a good look at the plane as it landed. Although the weather was clear at Helendale, there were severe thunderstorms in Las Vegas and the Groom Lake area. The implication was that the sighting was an emergency divert. On January 6, 1992, there had also been a sighting of a shape being loaded on a C-5 cargo plane at the Skunk Works facility in Burbank. It was described as looking like the forward part of an SR-71 fuselage, except the chines were rounded. It was about 65 to 75 feet long and 10 feet high. The C-5 was cleared to Boeing Field in Seattle.
The aircraft was described as having a large delta wing and a long forward fuselage. The wingtips were upturned to form fins. The edges of the wing and fins had a black tile covering, while the rest of the fuselage was white. The rear fuselage had a raised area with a black line extending down it. Some witnesses reported seeing a long-span canard near the nose. Because some did not recall seeing the canard, it was thought to be retractable.
(A large delta wing, long-forward fuselage, and canards were prominent features on the XB-70.) It was described as being about 200 feet long; witnesses said it 'dwarfed' an F-16 chase plane. There were two rectangular engine exhausts, and it produced a 'very loud, low-pitched roar' with a rhythmic beat to it.[773]
It was speculated that the XB-70-like aircraft was the first stage of a two-stage satellite launcher developed
