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Off-topic TalkWhere overpaid, underworked S2000 owners waste the worst part of their days before the drive home. This forum is for general chit chat and discussions not covered by the other off-topic forums.
I need your help!! I was on my way home from Arizona in the S, and as I was passing through the Mojave Desert near Edwards AFB Melissa and I heard a sonic boom. We don't know what caused it or where it came from, but I know they test all kinds of strange stuff out there.
Anyway, not more than 5 minutes later, Melissa is pointing to the sky and excitedly saying "Whoa, what's that? Check it out!!"
I looked up, and directly above the highway we saw a plane like nothing I've ever seen. At first glance it had the silouhuette of the Space Shuttle, but I knew better. All I could see was the bottom. It was strange...the nose had the same profile as the SR-71, and the delta wings were curved much like the Shuttle's. I could see no air inlets or jets...the bottom was completely smooth. The whole plane had a dull-gray color.
I drew this little profile and showed it to a co-worker who is more current on military aircraft than I am. He took one look and said "You saw the Aurora."
"No way," was all I could think. Why would they be testing it in broad daylight? They still won't admit it exists. Here's the pic I drew, maybe you can tell if what I saw is something else. Maybe it was the Aurora. In either case, it was pretty cool. If it really was the Aurora, I feel pretty lucky to have seen such a cool thing.
No contrails. By the time we saw it, it was moving pretty slowly. It was quite low...maybe 2500 ft. I believe the sonic boom we heard may have been that plane slowing back down below the sound barrier, and we saw it close to its landing approach. It is certainly not a plane I recognize (and as a student pilot, I see many types), but I can't imagine something so secret flying directly over a highway in broad daylight.