SR-7 5 P enetrator I nstru cti ons

F
I nstructions
5 Penetrator
SR-7
HISTORY
i
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While most aircraft watchers are looking for the
Aurora to be a singular fantastic advanced
aircraft, there is good reason to believe it is
actually a 2 plane system. Secondly, Aurorais
not the proper codeword even though that word is
commonly and widely used to designate the
hypersonic system. The correct codeurordfor the
system remainsclassified.
As best as can be determined at this point in time
there is a "mother' aircraft that we have termed
SR-75 and a craft - that is capable of hypersonic
speed - which is launched from the back of the
SR-75. This craft we ha\p designated XR-7.
You have the SR-75 model. You can also build
he fantasticXR-7, Testor kit No. 567, in matching
1172sale to mount atop the SR-75. This makes
a most imoressivecombination.
The SR-75 spans 97 feet 6 inches and is 160 fe€t
10 inches long. Power is four huge turbojetswith
afterburners. lt has a 3 man crew: pilot; reconnaissance systems op€rator and a reanivard
sitting faunch control officer to monitor the uariety
of loads which can be launched from the back of
fre SR-75. The SR-75 is capable of lvlach3.5
and can fly reconnaissance missions as well as
gi;r:r'+lt.lt is likely he airplanehas
being a 1u*n*91
se*se niJclearmaterials,
tha abilify 13 r:,i:-,1.,;'ri'"'
and their lii::::g. '";:::*ghighiy sensitiw gamma
deifet,}rs.:|".il r:ihq. si.3vicss.This, in today's
iinportantmission not only
wcrli, is ii !.ei':",
be*efitir:g the United Stat€s but also other.nations
ccncsrnsd with protiferationof nudear wea2ons.
The airplane has been seen in ffight throughout
the LJnitodStatss - both night and day - and
appears to be operational. lt is said to have been
built by the Lockheed Cg5grration's Skunk Works
division. First flights we6-lrom the remote test
facility at Groom Lake, Nerada.
The Testor nnodelsof bo$ the SR-75 and lhp
XR-7 are based upon the best information opBnly
available at tris time. A number of technological
guessos aro incorporated in the model designs
since the actual airplanes are still very secret.
REFERENCES
No.568
PAINTING
can obtainan excellentfinishon yourmodel
You
Foradditionalinformationon hypersonicaircraft
usingTesbr productsand paints. Deailed
seehe followingbook: Aurora - The Pentadescriptions
of painttypesand colorare induded
gon's S*ret Hypaconic Spyplanc; llll-Tech
Sariee;BillSweebnan
; llotorbookslnbmational, on the pagesthat follow.
Osceola,Wisconsin54020USA.
Goodbrushesare essenlialfor properdetailing.
includedin this
Testorbrushesare recommended,
kit,and are availableat goodhobbystores. Be
BEFORESTARTING
sureyou haw he entireselectionfor all your
modelingneeds.Alwaysdean themin Testor
1. Studytre illussationsand sequenceof asthinner,washin soapandwater,and stor€with
semblybeforebeginning.
brisdesupwardwhennot in use.
2. Decidehow muchdetailyou wishto add to
' yourmodeland whetheror not yotl intendto
Washplasticpartsbeforedeachingthemfrom
tre parts bee. Warmwater ard liquid clshwashmodifyor'convert'thebasicmodelin any
ing detergentwill remow he oils leftfromthe
way. Studycarefullyall availablerelerence
process.Let he partsdry and
manufacturing
materialbeforebeginningto ensurean auaroid excessivehanding. lmmediablybefore
thenticmodel.
painting,wipethe partswifr a'trac rag' (avaibble
3. Dueto he amountof partsin this kit, do not
at autopartsstores)to removedust ard lint.
detachhe partsfromthe runnerof the parts
tree untilyou needtrem. This helpsavoid
Mostsmallpartsare bestpaintedwhilestillattachedto the partstee. You can also detach
confusionand lost parts.
hem and holdwith tweezersor'magic'tape
4. Wien csmentingthe partstogether,checkthe
only. lf your
whilepainting.Paintin one c$rection
way one partfitstogefterwith another.This
paintis the conecthicknesshush stokes will
assuresa neatlob wih no surprises.
disappearas fre colordries. lf the paintseems
whenworkingwith plastic
5. Always-remember
too thick,thinwitr T€sbr PaintThinner. Wheels
modelcementand paintto keepyourwork
may be detachedfrom the parb tee and fit onto
plastic
areawell ventilated,The tumeskom
for painting.Just hoH
toothpbksor matchsticks
modelingproductscan be harmfulif inhaled.
he paintbrushagainstthe edgeof the wheeland
rotratethe stickandwheelto obtaina neatfinish.
OF PARTS
PREPARATION
L€t the paintdy completelybeforehandling.
Whdnhe partsare dry, q$€emblethe model,
1. Newr tear partsoff the runner(partsfoe).
Usea TestorHobbyKnife;fingomail.clippers, followingthe directionscliaely. Remember
cementwill noJhold srongly to paint€dsurfacss.
or a smallwire cuttersto rernoveth€ parts
UseyourTcstorHobbyKnifeto caretullyremove
from the tree.
from.allsurfacasto be cem€ntsd.Afteryou
2. lt is possiblesomepartsmay requirea little
"paintgsse"mbled
have
he modelyou can touchup
attentionwith a file or sandpaperto ensdlea
areaCu&E*oeaient
mighthave manedthe finish.
propeqfit and neatapp€arance.Hobbyftles
.;
and TestorHobbySandpaperappropriatefor
.modelbuildingare availablein mostgood
hobbyshops.
2
Tweezers
willbe usefulin assembling
the
manysmallpartsin thiskit. Thetypeused
by postagestampcollectorsis recommended.
The Testor Model Master paint system is
speciallydesignedto be usedon military
models.The PreliminaryPaintinginstructions on this sheet indicatewhich Model
Mastercrlors to use as indicatedby name
and FederalStandard(FS) number. These
colors are called out by bold italic type .
Wherever liodel lhster colors are not
applicablelhe requiredTestorcolor will be
calledout by numberand name in regular
bold type.
Liquidcement,Testor#3502,is recommendedfor constructionsinceit can produce
quickest,andstrongest
the neatest,
glue
joints.Applysmallamountsof cement,
usingthe tip ol a Testorfubdel
brush,to the surfacesto be loined
while
',/€,sterNo.2
holdingths pans in place. D,onot use large
amountsof cement.
Note: Clearpartsare bestgluedin place
withwhiteglue. Whitegluewillnotmarthe
plasticandthus resultsin a betterap,pearancethanconventional
modelc€ment.
Use these drawingsas a guideto locatethe
parts in the kh. In the insiructionsheet
assemblystepsthe windscreen,for example,
will be calledas 40E while the upperforward
fuselagewill be named as 11C. Do not
removepartsf rom PartsTree D untilyou are
readyto use them in an assemblystep.
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COLORKEY
A FS 17038GlossBhck
B FS 37038FIet Black
C FS 36375Llght Ghost Gray
D FS 17875lnslgnlaWhite
E FS3$STOllveIhab
F F530279Da*Tan
G FS 17178Chrome Sllver
H F533531Sp,nd
I No.1lGl Red
J No. 1124Green
K l,lo.1114Yellow
II
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HAIN INTERIORDETAILS
PrellmlnaryPalntlng
Paintdelailsas shownbeforeassembly.
Followlettercalloutsand CokcrKay.
Assambly
1. CementMainLandingGearBox,2D,
intoplacs. Followwithlhe Outboard
Left
GearBoxes,23D.Nowcementthe
IntakeRamp,4D,andthe RightRamP,
3D, intoplaceas shown.
into
2. Cementthe NozzleSplitters,6C,
the NozzleBoxes,7C, andthencement
the Boxesintothe LowerAft Fuselage,
1A. Nowcementthe EngineAft Pipe
Bulkheads,22D,lo the Aft Fuselageas
shown.
3. Givethis assemblyplentyof timeto dry
to Step2. The Main
beforeproceeding
LandingGearBoxneedsthe mosttime
to dry sinceit will be supportingthe
weightof the entiremodelonceyour
modelis completed-
*
AFT FUSELAGEUNIT
Note:Decideif youwillbuildingyourSR-75
to havethe XR-7mountsdon its backas
shownon page10. lf so you mustboroout
the two holesin the top of the UpperRear
Fuselage,
SB.
PrellmlnaryPalntlng
Thereis no Preliminary
paintingrequired.
Assembly
1. Carefullyc€msnlthe UpperandLower
RearFuselagehalves,SB and1A,
logsthsr.Afterthe partshavedriedfor
d shortlimecleartapecanbe usedto
hsldthemtogether.Be neat.
COLOHKEY
A FS 17038Glogs Bbck
B FS3m38 F/p,tBlack
C FS 36375Llght Ghost Gray
D FS 17875lnslgnlaWhite
E FSgiUnTOfive hab
F FSSO279
Da*Tan
G FS 17178Chronp Sllver
H F533531Spind
I ilo.1lfil Red
.t b.1124 Green
K 1{o.1114Yelbw
TechnlcalNote
ThebulgeduFperareaof the SR-75is cargo
areaas wellas fuelstorage.hs usevaries
withthe missionrequirements.
As wellas
carryingand launchingthe Mach7 reconnaissanceaircraftthe TestorCorporation
has
namedas XR-7 ThunderDart,TestorKit
No.567,the baycan also holdand launch
satelliteboostingrocketsto plae nervsmall
sizedreconnaissance
satellilesinioorbit.
TheSR-75is versatileandthismakesit
valuableandcosteffectivein a timeof
downsieedmilitarybudgets.
COCKF{TTUB
PrellmlnaryPalntlng
Paintthe partsas shownbeforeassembly.
Usea littleimagination
in paintingthe 3
panels.Theknobsshouldhavea
instrument
varietyof olors: red,yellow,green. Use
yourgoodjudgement.Paintthe 3 Seatsand
the GockpitTray,27D,as shown.
Assembly
1. Assemblethe Seatpartsas shownin
thefirstblockof the paintingpanels.
Cementthe Pilot'sControlStick,31D,
intoplace. Nerl cementthe 3 Seais
followedby the Panels,28D,29Dand
30D.
/1>.<\-->e
,-Y<-,.-<9
No.568
2N
UPPERNOSE
FORWARD
PrellmlnaryPalntlng
Painttheedgeof the ViewGlass,32E,as
shown.lf youwantto showyourmodelwith
in place
Socket,33D,
the AerialRefueling
thenpainlit as shown.
Assembly
1. lf buildingwiththe ARS,33D,in place
youmustcutthe ARSpaneloutof the
UpperNose,11C,
top of the Foruvard
whereshown.Leavethe panelin
placeif youarenotgoingto installthe
ARSin the reluelingposition.
cementtheViewGlass,
2. Nowcarefully
32E,intoplace.Nextcementthe
CockpitTraylrom Step3 intoplaceas
shownon 11C.
FORWARDFUSELAGE
PrellmlnaryPalntlng
Nonerequiredin thisstep.
Assembly
1. Cementthe
NoseGearBox,12D,tothe
LowerFonrvard
Fuselage,9C,
where
shown. NextcEmentthe CrushSpacer,
C10b,to the LowerFonvardFuselage,
9C.
2. Nowcarefully
csmentthe upper,11C,to
the bwer fuselage,9C, as shown. Be
sureto guidelhe upperendof C10binto
the properpl*e in the upperfuselage.
Allowthe partsto dry beforegoingto
Step6.
CENTERUNIT
PrellmlnaryPalntlng
Nonerequiredin this Step.
Asscmbly
1. Carelullyand neatlycsmentthe lonrard
fuselageunitto the Aftunh. Set asideafter
checkingalignment
andallowplentyoftime
to dry. Overnightis best.
>\
-.1
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BASICAIRPLANE
PreliminaryPalntlng
Nonerequiredin thisStep.
Assembly
CementLeftLowerOuterWing,18C,to
LeftWinglet,17C. Dothe samefor
RightLowerWing,16C,andRight
Winglet,15C. Nowcementthetip units
to the wingsas shown.
FairingPlug,
2. CementPylonConnector
21C,to thefuselagetakingcareto see
that it fitswellandsmoothlywhhtop.
whelheryouwantto show
3. Determine
yourmodelin a conliguration
withthe
forwardcanardliftingsurfacesin an
op€n or retractedposition. Normallythe
Y-t/-a>canards are extended when the SR-75
"V,r-df- "is on the ground. lf extended,cement alrenurrvifr
z
13c
the Left Canard, 13C, and the Right
/-,!
-/
-fCanard,14C, into place as shown.
A ---'/
lf buildingwithoutthe canardsextended,
ALTERNATTVE
cemsnt t-heCanard Fairings,19D and
a,*
Canardsurfacesfold back for high
speed flightand are used only for
takeotfsandlandings.Theyprovide
morepitchcontrolauthorityin critical
lowspeedflightflightregimes.
20D,intoplacewherethe Ganard
surfaceswouldhavegone.
COLORKEY
A FS 170fi GlossBlack
B FS 37038FIat Black
C FS 36375Light Ghost Cray
D FS 17875lnslgnlaWhite
E FSgtUTOlive Drab
F F530279DarkTan
C FS 17178Chrome Silver
H F933531 Sand
I No.llc):l Red
J No.1124Green
K No.1114Yellow
TechnicalNote
TheSR-75hasa crewof three- on" tnotd
SR-71.Thethird
thanthe Lockheed
crewmanis the LaunchControlOfficer(LOO).
the LCOcommunicates
Facingrearward,
withthe pilotin the XR-7andcandetermine
is okaypriorto the launchof the
if everything
XR-7fromthe backof the SR-75.TheLCO
and
is very importanito the coordination
safetyof launches.
COCKPITAREA
PrellmlnaryPalntlng
il
Paintthe partsas shownafterdetermining
you aregoirg to buildthe graylblacktest
aircraftor the all-blackoperationalSR-75.
Assembly
36D,34D
1 . Cementthe PanelFairings,
and35D,intoplaceas shown.ll You
arebuildingyourmodelwiththe Canopy
38Eand37E,closed
Hatches,39E,
thencarefullycementthemintoplaceas
shownin FigureA. Nowcementthe
rOE,intoplace.
Windscreen,
2. lf buildingwiththe CanopyHatchesin
the openpositioncementthe Windscrsenintoplacefirst. Thencarelully
cemsntthe canopiesandActuator
41Dand 42D(2),intoplaceas
Cylinders,
shownin FigureB. Workverycarefully
andneatlyandcheckpartsfor alignmentwhilsthecementis drYing.
ALTERNATIVE
'[
FigureA
h'i*,
FlgureB
No.568
I
I
NosEGEAR
Prellmlnary Palntlng
Paintthe various landinggear parts and
doors as indicated. Be neat.
Assembly
1. Cementthe lnnerNoseWheel Halves,
45D, to the Outer Nose Wheel Halves,
44D. Now cementthese wheel and tire
unitsto the axles of the Nose Gear
Strut,43D. Next,cementthe strut into
place in the Nose Gear Box as shown.
2. Cut the Nose Gear Door Unit, 10C, as
shown. (lf you are buildingyour model
with the landinggear up and the model
is to be hung lrom a ceilingthen do not
buildthe landinggear and simply
cementthe Door Unit,10C, intothe
fuselage.)
3. Cementthe Door Hinge Links,tl6D (6 of
them) to the doors as shown. Now
ce;nentboth doors into place. Carefully
checklor alignmentand neatness.
5.
1 0
MA'NLANDTNG
GEAR
BuildlngReferenceNote:Thisis a very
criticalStep.Takeyourtimeandallowtime
forthe cementto set. Allthe weightol your
modelwill be restingon lhese partsso work
carefully
andslowly.Whenwe suggestthat
youallowthecementto drywe meanit. Be
patient!lf youplanon buildingthe modd in
flightconfiguration
thenyoucan nowcemenl
the MainGearDoors,54D,andthe OutboardGearDoors,5C, intoplaceandin the
closedpositions.
PreliminaryPainting
Forthe LandingGearDownconfiguration
paintthe detailpartsas shownin the lettered
calloutswhilereferencing
the Color Key.
Assembly
1. Gementthe RetractLink,53D,to the
MainGearStrut,52D,as shown.Allow
10 minutesfor the cementto set a little.
Nowcementthe MainGearBogey,51D,
to thestrut. Carefully
checkalignment
andsetasideto dry.
CementtheOutboardStrutWheels,
56D,to the OutboardStruts,57D and
58D. Nowcemenlthe OutboardStrut
unitsinloplaceas shown. Nextcement
the OutboardStrutCoverDoors,5C,
intoplace.
4 InboardMainWheelUnits
3. Assemble
usingparts 47Dandtl8D. Next
assemble
4 OutboardMainWheelUnits
usingparts49Dand50D. Allowallthe
unitsto dry.
Cement4 MainGearDoorHingeLinks,
55D,to eachof the2 MainGearDoors,
54D. Checkalignment
andallowto dry.
Nowcenw6lhe lnboardMainWheel
Unitsto the Sogeyaxles. Aligncarefully. Set askleto dry.
Nowcernentthe MainGearDoorsto the
dooropenfulg
in thef uselage.Lineup
carefully.
7. Cementthe MainGearDoorStrutand
RetractLinkunitintothe maingearbox
as shown.TheMainGearBoxglue
jointto the fuselagemust be absolutefy
dryandsecure!!Nowcementthe
OutboardMainWheelUnitsto the
BogeylnboardWheelUnitaxle$tubs.
Allowto dryovernight
beforeplacingthe
weightof the modelon the maingear.
SR-75type craft reported seen over
SouthernCallf,ornhln 1991.
Therearetwo waysto paintyourSR-75.
Shownhereis theflighttest
schemeas
the planemayhaveappearedin early
daysat GroomLake. Youcan also
paintthe modelin allflatblackpaint
to depictan operational
SR-75.The
Decalg
modelis moremenadngin all-black
andthe decalsin the kit workwith
Decal11
eithercolorscheme.lt is alsoan
easierpaintschemeto do.
l-
o
*
!2
c
o
Decal22
6 places
6'
{
Decal13
Decal 25
Decal24- red stripes
Cutlo l€rpth as needed
andcarefullyapply.
o
rI
(or
g{
d'
=s
'E
Io
ID
o
f
g
o
CL
(ct
o
ID
Decal 6
4 places
Decal 20
Decal8-"NOSTEP'
Located54 placeson
uppersurtacsas shown.
:(l
Decal 12
Decal 14
Decal 16
Ganardsurlacesfoldbacklor high
speedflightand are usedonlylor
takeoffsand landings.Theyprovide
morepitchcontrolauthority
in critical
low-speed-f
l(7ht f lightregimes.
{D o
O
Decal10
Decal 19
Decal15
Decal25
Top Vlew
The easiestwayto paintyourmodelis
to applythe propercolorsas shown.
ThenspraywithTestorNo.1961,
GlossClear. Whenthat is dry and
glossyapplythe decals. Whenthe
decalsaredry spraywithTestorNo.
1960or 1260flatfinalfinishes.
Decal 18
2 places
Decal23
RefuelingguiJes
D ecal2- G PSant enna
Paint all edges of SR-75,
top and bottom,
FSgm38 Fret Bt*k
Paintpanel
FS 33613Radone Ten
Basiccoloris
FS 364/r(,Gull Gny
Paintupperpanels
FS 3fi13 SadomeTan
o
l
6-
;E93 !tF
Decal2T
Decal 25
F{tr
d
PaintGunmetal
No.568
Bottom Vbw
APPLYINGDECALS
1. After carefully masking clear areas, spray
entire model with the Testor ,rodet Master
gloss paint color called out for the overall
color as indicated on the instructionsheet.
Decals adhere best to a smooth and shiny
surface. The shinier the ftnish he smootrer it
is. Allow the paint to dry before going furfrer.
2. Select fp decals you plan to use and cut hem
from he decal sheet wih scissors or a Testor
Hobby Knife.
3. Working wifi only one decal at a time, cliphe
decal in clear water for no more than fiw
seconds. Remove it from the water and place
on a dry paper towel for about one minub.
4. When the decal slides easily on the backing
paper, slide it to he edge of, ard onto, the
surface of the model wifr a soft Testq lldel
Itraster paint brush or lweezers. Remember
the decals are very hin and can be easily
ripped. Wo* slowly and carefully.
5. Once he decal is in the desired position apply
a small amount of Testor Decal Set #gBO4:
This willhelp the decal conform O any inegularities in ttre surface of tre model. Allow tre
decal to dry undisturbed. Should you desire to
purposely move it before it has dried, apdy a
little Decal Set to a soft brush ana pusfi ih6
decal slowly into the desircd position.
6. When the decals are compbtely dry
(usually or/ernight),apply a coat of Tesbr
ilodel necrer No. 19@ Lus*se
Flat
or Testor No. 1260 Dulloot€b th€ cntire
model. This will girre it an authentic,dull finish
and protect the surface of the model. When
dry carefully remove the masking from the
clear oarts.
Paint panel
FS 33613 Radorte Tan
Paint all edgesof SR-75,
top and bottom,
FS 37038 Fts't Btack
DecalT
Decal 6
4 places
D ecal5-S pl aees
Decal 6
Decal4 - 8 places
D ecal l T-2pl aces
Paint panels
F533613 tudqrcTan
Paint inletsand doors
FS34nl SAC BomberTan
Deca l1 7 -4 p l a c e s
Dec allT - 4p l a c e s
on each inlet.
Basic color is
FS 36tttt(, Guil Gny
Decal 25
Paintall controlsurfaces
FS%076 tunz* Gny
PaintGunmrtal
Paint panel
FS 33613 Radome Tan
i lo
SR-75/XR-7Comblnation
TheXR-7 ThunderDartis conceivedas a
hypersonicair-breathing
vehiclecapableof
Mach7+ speed. lt is notorbital. TheSR-75/
XR-71n2 scalemodelcombination
makes
intoan out-standing
modelpresentation.
lt
illustratesa very advancedaeronautical
concept- the "mothership"
and 'papoose"lhat actuallydatesbackto WorldWar ll. The
mostreceNand historically
veriliableuseof
the systemwasths Lockheed
M-12
mothershiplaunchingLockheedD-21Mach
3.5drones.Therewere3 successful
D-21
launches
fromthe M-12.TheSR-75/XR-7
is
the latestuseol lhe systembasics.
XR-7- Testor klt No. 567
Askto seethis kit at
yourhobbydealer.
r\
7'-,...--<..__!..- l
XR-7launchpylonpartsareincluded
in the XR-7modelkit. Theyare not in
the SR-75kit.
/---
94c
SR-75Testor klt No.568
Furtherbackground
ft is notunusualfor the UnitedStates
government
to notadmitto the existence
of
advancednewaircraftflyingin the skies.
Thiswasdonebackin the 1950'swhenthe
CentralIntelligence
Agencyneededthe
ability1ooverflythe SovietUnion.The
Lockheed
U-2wasdeveloped
for that
missionandpedormedfor manyyearsin a
spy function.Andto thisveryday laterand
largerversionsof the U-2,nowdesignated
U-2R,stillfly highlysecretreconnaissance
flightsintoor aroundthe bordersof nations
potential
considered
war enemiesof the
UnitedStates.
Inthe earlydaysit wassufficient
to merely
takephotographs
duringtheday. Much
workwasalsodonelo developbettermaps
of loreignlandsso thatin the caseof warour
Air Force,Navy,andgroundforceswould
havegoodinformation.
ln additionthe
development
of longrangemissilesrequired
precisetargetinginformation
so the missiles
wouldknowwhereto go andcoulddo it very
precisely.Laterrequirements
madeELINT
gathering- radio
or electronic
intelligence
andradarsignalsandtransmitter
locations
a very importantneed.
Satellites
camson lineto do someof the
missions
formerlyhandledby the aircraft.
Satellitesprovidestrategicintelligence
but
havea numberof drawbacks.Theyorbiton
a predic{able
flightpathso the enemyknows
whentheyarecomingandstopshissecret
activities
or bringsthe equipment
inside.We
do thisat GroomLakeandat othertest
installations
ourselves.Mannedairplanes
or
reconnaissance
dronesdo not havethat
limitation.Bytheirnature,if the launchspot
is notknown,the enemydoesn'tevenknow
whereto beginlooking.Thelaunchof an
XR-7typevehiclefromthebackof an SR-75
typemothership
wouldbe a meansto keep
the preciselaunchpointa secret.Oneof the
otherproblems
withsatellites
is theiroptics
canbe blindedwithhigh-power
LASER
devicesaimedandfiredfromtheground.
To intercept
a hypersonic
vehiclerequiresan
interception
systemthatcandetectanddo
extremely
rapidmathematical
calculations
in
orderto placean intercepting
set of devices
wherethe reconplane is going to be. And
thiswhib that machineis movingat Mach7+
airspeeds!Fewnationscan affordsuch
systemsandevenfewercanbuildthem.
Today's world also requiresthe ability to
remotely detect the location of nuclear
materialsand weapons. This is very difficult
to do. Yet it was at one time difficuhto
detect infraredemissionsas well. That
probfemwas solved. Gammaenergy.from
radioactivematerialsare the most energetic
and easiestto detect. One must also
rememberthat radioactivematerialsproduce
other effectson gases and materialsaround
them which might be easierto detect- those
effects become clues so to speak. These
sensors may be more effective at detection
than even would-begamma detectors.
h would be a very foolish nationthat did not
attemptto maintainnuclearsurveillancein
today's politicallyf racturedworld.
Launchinga hypersonicvehiclefrom the
back of another craft makes practical and
operationalsense. Much fuel is used in
gettingan aircraftfrom ground levelto an
operational altitude. That fuel can be saved
with an air launch. Lockheeddemonstrated
lhis with the D-21 ramjet powered drones 25
years ago. Why not again but this time
higherand faster? Watch the skieslll
No.568
The Groom Lake, Nevada,test facilityis also
knownas Area51 or Dreamland.Located
94 milesNNW of Las Vegas,it is rich in
aviationhistory.Firstbuiltand usedfor the
flighttestof LockheedU-2 spyplanesand
the trainingol CentralIntelligence
Agenry
pilotsto fly them, it began its secretdays in
1955. The base has neyerbeen out of
publicview from hikeableground locations
whilethe militarycountedon the remote
locationof the facilityto providea major part
of the security. You simplycannot see the
base from any highwayin the area. The CIA
precursors
to the SR-71, the A-11 and A-12,
first flew from Groom. They were followed
by the F-117 stealthfighterand numerous
first flights yet to be revealed. Rumors
persistthat even extraterrestrialUFOs have
been workedon in the Groom area. Many
peoplelaboredlong and hard in total secrecy
to test and lly remarkablemachines.
Perhaps,wilh the Cold War now over, they
can finallytelltheirlamilieswherethe;r
disappearedto for weeks at a time. We
salutethese dedicatedpeople. Bravol
11
"";
;\
Clearlyshownis runway14-32(magnetic).
Thisfacilityis wherethe CIA U-2, CIA A-11,
USAFF-117 StealthFighterand what is now
known as Aurorafirst flew. Note the &52 on
the ground at top center. The scale of the
photo at right is very closelo 'l inch equaling
3, 29 0 1 e e t .
To see how the base looked20 years later in
1988,see the instruction
sheetof the Testor
kit No. 567 ThunderDart. The 1968ohoto
hereand the Russian1988photoare the
same scaleand when placedside by side
clearlyshowthe changesin this once very
secretbase. You will see how the runway
was lengthenedand changesin the base
housingstructures. No true secretsare
revealedin eitherol these screened
photographic reproductions.
The photographat rightwas purchasedin
1984from the NationalCadographicInlormationCenterof 345 MiddlefieldRoad,
Menlo Park,CA 94025. This is a U.S.
governmentagencyand office.
The photo shows the test facilityat Groom
Lake,NV, as it appearedon 28 August'1968.
The photo is frame 2-147trom roll GS-XVBSL. You can order this photographfrom
the aboveoffice.
W
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