![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:13 • Filed to: planelopinik | ![]() | ![]() |
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 !!!
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:15 |
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My first thought it a Beechcraft Starship.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:16 |
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As was mine.
![]() 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
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:17 |
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Hmm. Well then. He says full triangle, no props...
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:19 |
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![]() 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.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:20 |
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Nailed it.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:20 |
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Nailed it. Back from mothballs.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:20 |
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Obviously a VF-11B Thunderbolt
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:21 |
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Now...what looks like an XB-70, but still flies?
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:21 |
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Obviously.
![]() 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.
![]() 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.
![]() 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.
![]() 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
![]() 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:
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:36 |
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Doesn't seem like it, and I don't know if they still fly.
![]() 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?
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:37 |
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Any chance it was a B1?
![]() 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.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:38 |
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Pssst
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:40 |
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A Vulcan over Houston would be quite a spectacle.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:41 |
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ZOMG!
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:42 |
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Based on how large he drew the canards, I would guess not.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:43 |
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Still 7 months til Wings Over Houston.
![]() 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...
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:44 |
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Saab Viggen maybe?
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:44 |
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?
![]() 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.
![]() 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.
![]() 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.
![]() 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?
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:58 |
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Did they pull ACTIVE out of retirement?
![]() 03/27/2015 at 13:58 |
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He only looked white due to the "blue and black dress" effect.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:00 |
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It's the reds! Duck and cover!
![]() 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…
![]() 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.
![]() 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.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:04 |
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XB-70 Valkyrie.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:05 |
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I had the same thought. I might try checking.
![]() 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.
![]() 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.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:22 |
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Velocity Aircraft makes a pusher that matches pretty well.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:30 |
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Doesn't look big enough. I still think it's a Starship.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:32 |
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And N45FL is a white plane. My money is on that. Nice work.
![]() 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
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:42 |
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lol
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:42 |
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For the airshow circuit please.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:44 |
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lolz!!!!!!
![]() 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?
![]() 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.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:55 |
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:P
![]() 03/27/2015 at 14:59 |
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THIS IS THE FBI SHUTUP!
![]() 03/27/2015 at 15:01 |
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![]() 03/27/2015 at 15:02 |
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case closed lol :]
![]() 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.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 15:17 |
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Will do. Clear skies all weekend and i'm be outside :]
![]() 03/27/2015 at 15:19 |
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SHARKNADO!!! RUN!!!!
![]() 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.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 15:30 |
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![]() 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.
![]() 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:
![]() 03/27/2015 at 16:05 |
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It was just a weather balloon.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 16:05 |
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You must work for the Air Force.
![]() 03/27/2015 at 16:07 |
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I can neither confirm nor deny that.
![]() 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."
![]() 03/27/2015 at 16:36 |
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He sounds like he has.