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Continental Express Pilot Reports Missile

Old 06-02-2009, 01:03 PM
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Default Continental Express Pilot Reports Missile

Continental Pilot Reports Missile Flying Near His Plane Over Texas - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com
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Old 06-02-2009, 01:15 PM
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Interesting.

.
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Old 06-02-2009, 01:20 PM
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Yeah, very interesting, but not surprising. I'm surprised we haven't had any issues here in the US by now.

I will say this, as having experience flying at night, far away from the action (battlefield), anything fired up into the sky looks like it is much closer than it really is.

Not second guessing this pilot, but I wonder if his military experience was also as a flyer?
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Old 06-02-2009, 01:32 PM
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I'll second guess then to ask what kind of missile he would be seeing at 13,000' only 150' below his airplane. Now.....when he says missile the first thing that comes to my mind is some sort of manpad (especially since the report makes mention of terrorism) and I'm doubting whether he would really see much of anything. second option would be some type of air-to-air missile shot. Having been involved in the planning and execution of such an event - I would find it extremely unlikely that he might have gotten in the way of such an exercise without a million people screaming bloody murder!
I hope they find something out about this and then publish a factual report. I'd be very interested to hear what really happened.

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Old 06-02-2009, 03:09 PM
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Could have been a flare, but who knows.

I am actually really surprised he reported it.

i am looking forward to the results as well.
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Old 06-02-2009, 03:30 PM
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Originally Posted by acl65pilot View Post
I am actually really surprised he reported it.
Bingo!! but if he felt his aircraft was threaten then I guess he had no choice.
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Old 06-02-2009, 03:46 PM
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"Their back"

Maybe what he saw was a return visit of this??

Seriously....this news article mentions "Model Rocket".

In northern NV, out towards Black Rock City, they have huge model rockets that go several 1000's of feet....could be the same thing only in suburbia

UFO reported by Continental pilot near Bush Airport - 5/27/08 - Houston News - abc13.com
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Old 06-02-2009, 03:50 PM
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My guess would be fireworks.

No way it was a manpad. If someone went to the trouble to acquire one they would presumably learn a little bit about it's capabilities...they would not waste it on an RJ in the mid-teens, at the extreme upper limit of manpad capability with very-low to zero chance of a hit.
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Old 06-02-2009, 04:10 PM
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Originally Posted by rickair7777 View Post
My guess would be fireworks.

No way it was a manpad. If someone went to the trouble to acquire one they would presumably learn a little bit about it's capabilities...they would not waste it on an RJ in the mid-teens, at the extreme upper limit of manpad capability with very-low to zero chance of a hit.
Fireworks are at 1000 feet. Either this pilot has a severe depth percetion problem or it wasn't firworks near his altitude. Even if his judgement was off and it was several thousand feet below his aircraft as opposed to 150 feet, whatever went up there wasn't an Estes (hobby) rocket either.

We'd still be talking a mile and a half to two miles vertically.
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Old 06-02-2009, 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by eaglefly View Post
Fireworks are at 1000 feet. Either this pilot has a severe depth percetion problem or it wasn't firworks near his altitude. Even if his judgement was off and it was several thousand feet below his aircraft as opposed to 150 feet, whatever went up there wasn't an Estes (hobby) rocket either.

We'd still be talking a mile and a half to two miles vertically.
You may want to read this before you "discount" the idea that is was not a "hobby rocket". The "J Class" models get close to 20,000ft....the RJ was reportedly about 13,000ft....yes it is possible. Not being there, and not seeing it in person, hard for you to sit there and say is wasn't one.

Jury's out on this one still.....

AeroTech Rocketry

3/2/09
Curt von Delius Sets New 'J' and 'M'-Class Altitude Records With AeroTech Reloads at XPRS 2008 Launch
Curt von Delius, using a modified version of his record-setting Level 3 airframe, crushed his previous 'M'-class altitude record of 37,762 feet by flying it to a GPS verified altitude of 45,328 feet AGL on September 19th 2008 and also set a new 'J'-class altitude record of 19,758 feet on September 21st 2008, during the XPRS launch in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. The altitudes were recently certified by the Tripoli Contest and Records Committee.

Scorched from aerodynamic heating after reaching almost 2,000 miles per hour, von Delius' "MMAX" flight used an 8,060 newton-second, Kosdon by AeroTech Animal-Compatible (KBA A-C) M1450W reload kit (AeroTech P/N K13145P, $300.00 MSRP) that generates a peak thrust of 480 pounds during a burn time of 5.46 seconds. The rocket pulled 24 Gs and the time to apogee was 46 seconds, with the vehicle coasting for nearly 40 seconds after motor burnout.

The airframe was separated at apogee using black powder charges and was recovered with custom hybrid and Kevlar parachutes, of von Delius' own design and construction. A Beeline GPS was used to verify the maximum altitude and provide tracking during the over 5 minute descent (launch photo by Steve Wigfield).

Less than 20 days earlier at the AeroPac Aeronaut launch, also in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, von Delius clinched the previous Tripoli 'M'-class altitude record by achieving a GPS-verified altitude of 37,762 feet. Curt is also the holder of the 'L'-class altitude record of 31,316 feet.

Von Delius' high-altitude design was constructed with lightweight carbon fiber composites and weighs 56 oz. without the motor. The modified design now measures 59.77" in length and 3.13" in diameter with a flying weight of less than 20 pounds. After ignition, the vehicle reached 71 miles per hour before exiting the custom-built 8-foot aluminum launch tower.

"We had excellent conditions for this launch with mild surface and aloft winds. It all seemed to come together on this flight with an arrow-straight boost and all systems and recovery working flawlessly" said von Delius. AeroTech/RCS President Gary Rosenfield added, "We are thrilled that Curt chose to use AeroTech products for his record attempts. The M1450W reload especially represents a convergence of performance parameters that are ideally suited for this kind of effort."

Von Delius Sets New 'J'-Class Record of 19,758 Feet

Two days after setting the new 'M'-class altitude record of 45,328 feet, also at the XPRS launch, Curt von Delius improved on his existing 'J'-class record of 19,240 feet by flying his state-of-the-art carbon "JMAX", setting the new Tripoli single motor record of 19,758 feet.

Flying on an RMS-38/1080 motor loaded with an AeroTech J570W reload kit (AeroTech P/N 10570M, $80.00 MSRP), von Delius' latest JMAX design is his fourth attempt to crack 20,000 feet AGL, and the third time to set a new 'J'-class record using a J570W. A total of three airframes have been built and flown, each improving on the original record design (launch photo by Patrick Wagner).

"This flight boosted incredibly straight out of the tower, and the flight and recovery went very smoothly, too bad it didn't clear 20,000 feet" said von Delius.

At 26.625" long and 44 oz., the all-carbon screamer hit 1,954 miles per hour and pulled 93 Gs for two seconds, coasting for another 28 seconds to apogee. The JMAX was launched from an 8-foot custom aluminum tower and was recovered with a hybrid chute system deployed at apogee, all designed and constructed by von Delius.
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