Planelopnik Mystery

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 03/27/2015 at 13:13 • Filed to: planelopinik

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EL_ULY spotted a plane in Houston and he doesn't know what it was. Based on his detailed drawing, maybe we can help him figure it out. Here's the thread where we were talking about it.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:15

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My first thought it a Beechcraft Starship.

ttyymmnn > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 03/27/2015 at 13:16

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As was mine.

bob and john > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:16

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first thought is the typhyoon or a rafale, but those are small...no props means its not a beachcraft

fuck it, XB-70 experimental

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:17

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Hmm. Well then. He says full triangle, no props...

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:19

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Bingo.

ttyymmnn > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 03/27/2015 at 13:19

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ULY said it was flying low, though, and your link doesn't seem to show a canard. Those pictures are intriguing as hell, though. I'd love to know what NASA/DARPA/Whoever is up to.

ttyymmnn > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 03/27/2015 at 13:20

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Nailed it.

ttyymmnn > bob and john 03/27/2015 at 13:20

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Nailed it. Back from mothballs.

jariten1781 > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:20

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Obviously a VF-11B Thunderbolt

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:21

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Now...what looks like an XB-70, but still flies?

ttyymmnn > jariten1781 03/27/2015 at 13:21

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Obviously.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:26

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We have to solve this. It's going to kill me until we do. I was thinking something Rutan.

ttyymmnn > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 03/27/2015 at 13:27

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Well, ULY is in Houston, which is, of course, the home of Ellington Field and a fairly sizable bit of NASA activity. He also lives very near IAH, but I'm not sure where he works, and he said it was over his dealership.

X-31? Is it still flying? Size doesn't fit his description, though.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 03/27/2015 at 13:29

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That's an excellent thought. We also have to consider the accuracy of an untrained observation. I'm not saying he's lying or drunk (could be, though, it is Friday), but size and other features can be confusing.

Clay Smith's Revenge > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 03/27/2015 at 13:33

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I knew the government was hiding one at Area 51 all these years!!! The aliens are obviously on the maintenance crew

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:34

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Occam's Razor is still saying Starship to me. Evidence:

Look at the way the flaps look at this angle:

Also, it has a bit of a unique sound, being turboprop:

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:36

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Doesn't seem like it, and I don't know if they still fly.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:37

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My first thought was a Vulcan, but no canard.

There aren't but a few Starships lift flying.

Could it be a Piaggio P180?

BaconSandwich is tasty. > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:37

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Any chance it was a B1?

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 03/27/2015 at 13:38

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TBH, I'm certain it's a Starship. The delta could have appeared more triangular depending on the angle, it's the only thing that could have a protuberance on either side of the fuselage.

McMike > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:38

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Pssst

Jcarr > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/27/2015 at 13:40

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A Vulcan over Houston would be quite a spectacle.

ttyymmnn > McMike 03/27/2015 at 13:41

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ZOMG!

ttyymmnn > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/27/2015 at 13:42

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Based on how large he drew the canards, I would guess not.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 03/27/2015 at 13:43

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Still 7 months til Wings Over Houston.

Clay Smith's Revenge > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:43

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Those square thruster nozzles aren't on anything commercial I'm aware of. I read his post and he said it was a little smaller than an Embraer 190 but working off his Project Blue Book-like drawing who knows? Maybe he mistook a decommissioned SAAB fighter flying from a local airport or maybe the NSA id flying covert Typhoons over major cities at low altitude.

Of course, when in doubt...

Baskingshark > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:44

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Saab Viggen maybe?

OPPOsaurus WRX > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:44

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?

ttyymmnn > Baskingshark 03/27/2015 at 13:45

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He said it was white, and the size of a commuter plane. Also doesn't explain the protuberance on either side of the fuselage.

ttyymmnn > OPPOsaurus WRX 03/27/2015 at 13:45

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I don't think it's big enough. Note how distinctly he drew the canards. My money is still on Starship.

Pitchblende > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:46

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It's a member of the KKK with big feet.

I don't win very often at Pictionary.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 03/27/2015 at 13:46

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Here's a thought: This would take more time than I have, but would it be possible to do a FlightAware search or something like that to see if there was Starship operating around IAH today?

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:58

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Did they pull ACTIVE out of retirement?

Flat Six > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 13:58

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He only looked white due to the "blue and black dress" effect.

As Du Volant > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:00

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It's the reds! Duck and cover!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:00

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All of this Starship talk, please refer to Air & Space Magazine's story on that airframe:

http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviat…

ttyymmnn > As Du Volant 03/27/2015 at 14:01

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That's actually the closest anybody has come to matching EL_ULY's drawing. Well done.

As Du Volant > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:03

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And after I wrote that I remembered... that plane was supposed to be a passenger transport, not a bomber. Whoops.

Richtofen, Baron von Pickup > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:04

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XB-70 Valkyrie.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:05

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I had the same thought. I might try checking.

alwaysmiata > bob and john 03/27/2015 at 14:18

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Mmmmm XB-70 easily my favorite childhood plane.... and adulthood plane and pretty much guaranteed till I die favorite plane. Luckily I grew up in Ohio so I used to go visit the one at Wright Patt pretty often. It still blows my mind to this day.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:22

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I checked all Starships that were listed as currently operating according to Wikipedia and this is the best I could find:

N45FL flew round trips from KHOU to KRVS (Tulsa) on the 24th and 25th, but nothing listed for today.

N8285Q is registered to a company in Dallas, but they've requested to have flight tracking blocked so I can't tell where it's been.

FlightAware also lets you look at a list of aircraft currently in flight by type (900+ 737s at the time I checked!), but nothing listed for Beechcraft Starship or Raytheon Starship.

Chuckybas > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:22

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Velocity Aircraft makes a pusher that matches pretty well.

ttyymmnn > Chuckybas 03/27/2015 at 14:30

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Doesn't look big enough. I still think it's a Starship.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 03/27/2015 at 14:32

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And N45FL is a white plane. My money is on that. Nice work.

EL_ULY > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:41

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The front side wing things were larger and it didn't have the 2 bottom inlets for the jets. It had a flat under side but this is pretty close. No center tail though, just those two square things

EL_ULY > McMike 03/27/2015 at 14:42

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lol

Jcarr > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole 03/27/2015 at 14:42

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For the airshow circuit please.

EL_ULY > Pitchblende 03/27/2015 at 14:44

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lolz!!!!!!

ttyymmnn > EL_ULY 03/27/2015 at 14:50

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And just to be clear, you haven't been drinking? Could you tell if it was operating from Bush, Hobby or Ellington?

EL_ULY > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:54

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Passed over my dealer headed towards Hobby or Ellington. It could be that Starship but i'm almost positive it didn't have propellers. Not center tail over hang, just those 2 square things out back. Didn't sound like propellers.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:55

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:P

Frank Grimes > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 14:59

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THIS IS THE FBI SHUTUP!

ttyymmnn > EL_ULY 03/27/2015 at 15:01

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EL_ULY > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 15:02

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case closed lol :]

ttyymmnn > EL_ULY 03/27/2015 at 15:16

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Well, I think you pretty much stumped the chumps on this one. Keep an eye out, maybe you'll see it again.

EL_ULY > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 15:17

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Will do. Clear skies all weekend and i'm be outside :]

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 15:19

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SHARKNADO!!! RUN!!!!

Chuckybas > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 15:26

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You might be right, but I think they make up to a 6 passenger version.

Chuckybas > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 15:30

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ttyymmnn > Chuckybas 03/27/2015 at 15:35

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He said it wasn't a prop job. I think he's stumped the chumps.

Tyler Rogoway > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 15:35

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Interesting! Looks like you saw one of the few "survivor" Beechcraft Starships buzzing (literally) around still.

Just for the hell of it I will also throw in a:

Volta Volare

And for history's sake the defunct Avtek 400:

Hey, y'all, watch this! > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 16:05

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It was just a weather balloon.

ttyymmnn > Hey, y'all, watch this! 03/27/2015 at 16:05

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You must work for the Air Force.

Hey, y'all, watch this! > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 16:07

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I can neither confirm nor deny that.

ttyymmnn > Hey, y'all, watch this! 03/27/2015 at 16:11

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My brother-in-law used to work on missile systems for the AF at Barksdale AFB. I asked him one time if he had nuke cruise missiles at this base, since he worked on the systems, and the Buff can carry the cruise. He smiled, and said, "I can neither confirm nor deny that."

Chuckybas > ttyymmnn 03/27/2015 at 16:36

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He sounds like he has.