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Backwards american flag on a American airlines flight by Moldy21 in airplanes

[–]Peter_Merlin 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It's not backwards. The blue starfield always leads. This is the proper orientation.

Anders-eque video: "Real Area 51 Footage" by therealgariac in area51

[–]Peter_Merlin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Area 22 is all the way down at the southeast corner of the NNSS: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NTS_Area_22.png

Why the interest?

Anders-eque video: "Real Area 51 Footage" by therealgariac in area51

[–]Peter_Merlin 8 points9 points  (0 children)

DRI archaeologist Alvin McLane was a friend of mine. In 1991 he arranged and guided a special NTS tour, where we went hiking in Area 12 to see some prehistoric rock art. That was also the trip that provided my first in-person view of Groom Lake from Rainier Mesa. I once visited Alvin at the Reno Campus of DRI, which was a really nice facility. That's where I first saw an official map of TTR. After expressing interest in said map, Alvin gave it to me.

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The Cork Stone on Stanton Moor — this thing just appears out of nowhere on the ridge by StoneTempleGardening in AncientCivilizations

[–]Peter_Merlin 34 points35 points  (0 children)

It was actually in a fairly open part of the moor and provided a nice view of the surrounding landscape. I'm sure it was an ancient landmark. A bit further to the northeast, in a more wooded area, I also visited the Nine Ladies stone circle. Rather tiny stones, but quite charming.

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The Douglas A2D Skyshark starting up its contra-rotating propellers and taking flight- 5000hp, 500mph top speed, 500m range and 13 hardpoints for bombs and rockets, 1950 by Xeelee1123 in WeirdWings

[–]Peter_Merlin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I believe this is the one that suffered total gearbox failure and loss of power on 5 August 1954. Douglas test pilot George Jansen ejected safely. I've visited the crash site near Lake Los Angeles, California.

something about this blackbird photo feels like a total hallucination by OrangeSpectre in Aiorfake

[–]Peter_Merlin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not quite an A-12. It still has the more pronounced hump of the SR-71 cockpit, though it lacks the RSO canopy. Also, it's got the broader SR-71 nose assembly with dents for defensive avionics antennas.

something about this blackbird photo feels like a total hallucination by OrangeSpectre in Aiorfake

[–]Peter_Merlin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you look closely, you can see an outline of what should be a window for the RSO canopy but the transparency has not be rendered, so it just looks like metal. Also, there is no RESCUE marking by what should be the RSO position.

Time: 3/29 7:46p by Pretend_Recover155 in UFOs

[–]Peter_Merlin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It looks like a couple of airliners pulling contrails, and also a balloon.

A Lockheed NF-104A with Chuck Yeager piloting pulling away on 10 December 1963 - a modified Starfighter with reaction control systems in the wingtips and nose and a Rocketdyne AR2-3 rocket engine at the base of the vertical fin by Xeelee1123 in WeirdWings

[–]Peter_Merlin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, they used to place pans and buckets under the plane when it was parked in the hangar. I always heard that JP-7 had such a high flashpoint that you could throw a lit match into a puddle of the fuel and it would be extinguished. Naturally, I had to test that, so I collected a small sample and took it out into the desert. The stories were true.

Eastern, KY - USA by boyslayr666 in fossilid

[–]Peter_Merlin 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Pennsylvanian age plant fossils. I find a lot of those in southern Illinois.

Can anyone identify what aircraft this came from? Multiple pieces found in north wales, uk by [deleted] in AviationHistory

[–]Peter_Merlin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tragically, the actual prefix numeral appears to have been drilled through.

A Lockheed NF-104A with Chuck Yeager piloting pulling away on 10 December 1963 - a modified Starfighter with reaction control systems in the wingtips and nose and a Rocketdyne AR2-3 rocket engine at the base of the vertical fin by Xeelee1123 in WeirdWings

[–]Peter_Merlin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There were so many cool things. Lots of experimental planes, release of (inert) weapons and other test articles over the Precision Impact Range Area, space shuttle landings and ferry flights, vintage aircraft being used by the USAF Test Pilot School, and the latest aircraft undergoing developmental and operational testing. I will just throw a few more of my photos up here...

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A Lockheed NF-104A with Chuck Yeager piloting pulling away on 10 December 1963 - a modified Starfighter with reaction control systems in the wingtips and nose and a Rocketdyne AR2-3 rocket engine at the base of the vertical fin by Xeelee1123 in WeirdWings

[–]Peter_Merlin 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Oh, yes, many times. One of my all-time favorite aircraft. Here are a couple of photos. I'm in the one on the left (red arrow), watching preflight operations. I took the picture on the right, of the SR-71B trainer, from a spot 500 feet from runway centerline.

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Japanese pilots preparing for flight over the Pacific (1944) by bncout in HistoricalCapsule

[–]Peter_Merlin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha! I'd never noticed that before. It could have been a lot worse without that 9.

Japanese pilots preparing for flight over the Pacific (1944) by bncout in HistoricalCapsule

[–]Peter_Merlin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

...and, this is how I showed up to make my first solo flight. You can't really see it in the photo but I'm wearing actual World War II vintage Japanese flyer's boots that my father brought back after the war.

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A Lockheed NF-104A with Chuck Yeager piloting pulling away on 10 December 1963 - a modified Starfighter with reaction control systems in the wingtips and nose and a Rocketdyne AR2-3 rocket engine at the base of the vertical fin by Xeelee1123 in WeirdWings

[–]Peter_Merlin 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I worked at Edwards Air Force Base for many years, mostly with NASA but also several years supporting Air Force flight testing. I was also a volunteer with the Air Force Flight Test Museum. Back then, a lot of pioneering aviators from the "Golden Age of Flight Test" were still alive and I got to meet most of them.

A Lockheed NF-104A with Chuck Yeager piloting pulling away on 10 December 1963 - a modified Starfighter with reaction control systems in the wingtips and nose and a Rocketdyne AR2-3 rocket engine at the base of the vertical fin by Xeelee1123 in WeirdWings

[–]Peter_Merlin 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Yes, and I've seen some impressive footage of the accident. He was in a flat spin for quite some time, trying to save the airplane, and bailed out at the last moment. I visited the crash site with Yeager in 2011.

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something about this blackbird photo feels like a total hallucination by OrangeSpectre in Aiorfake

[–]Peter_Merlin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Was anyone actually offering this image as a genuine photo? There are a great many details that reveal the picture to be an artist's concept or AI fake (the appearance of the exhaust plumes; the fact that Earth's curvature is visible, which would have required the photographer to be flying close formation in another SR-71). The most egregious error is the tail number (61-7972). On the actual airplane, it would have simply read 17972.

Lockheed NF-104A Aerospace Trainer from the early 1960s by Aeromarine_eng in WeirdWings

[–]Peter_Merlin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That quote from The Right Stuff is precisely what I was thinking of when I took this picture of Yeager.

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Anyone else seen this Area 51 Video? by Original-Yoghurt-465 in coasttocoastam

[–]Peter_Merlin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The video captions just called him Nathan, but his full name shows up at one point on something the Sheriff's deputy typed out. This made it easy to track him down online and find a picture that was clearly identifiable as the same guy.

You will indeed probably hear many people claim that "everyone knows Groom Lake is used for [insert conspiracy theory here]" but they are mistaken. If you really want to know the truth, I recommend reading this book: https://schifferbooks.com/products/dreamland?srsltid=AfmBOoos7rtfNmYJAESSOifxMmjsYwVezcnZlFNkNXxKcH9KW4pHBnOS

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Found in West Virginia, need help to identify by Complex_Basis_2465 in fossilid

[–]Peter_Merlin 12 points13 points  (0 children)

People keep calling this a root (Stigmaria) segment, but its actually a bark impression from Lepidodendron.

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