[ISCNI*Flash thanks Rob McConnell of The 'X' Chronicles and eyewitness Steve Wingate for contributing to this story.]
[April 15, 1996] -- In recent years, eyewitnesses in many parts of the United States and several other countries have reported close-up sightings of a huge, triangular (sometimes termed "boomerang") shaped aircraft that moves slowly and almost silently overhead, sometimes but not always displaying arrays of lights on the lower surface. Understandably, but perhaps wrongly, many witnesses insist that what they have seen must be of alien origin.
The huge size of this object is emphasized by many witnesses. Typical claims put the object at well over 100 feet on each side. Most witnesses also say they observe the object hovering and moving slowly, but not moving swiftly or suddenly disappearing. On some occasions, the object is heard to make a sound like a small or distant jet engine, and sometimes jet exhaust is also observed.
A recent report from Canada, posted to the internet by Rob McConnell of The 'X' Chronicles in Ontario, is a classic example of this type of sighting. McConnell wrote:
"A call was received on April 1 at the office of The 'X' Chronicles, in St. Catharines, Ontario from an amateur videographer in Newberry, Ontario. The caller claims for the past 6 months he has been videotaping an object that has the lighting configuration of a 'flying triangle.'
"The lights are red, green and yellow. At the point of the triangle, there are seen, at certain times, lights resembling 'head lights' and at times at the rear of the craft resembling, 'back-up lights.'
"The photographer claims that... the craft hovers as well as flies. The caller said that when the craft is stationary and hovering, there is an orange glow around it. Just before leaving the hover attitude, the orange glow fades and the sound of 'low jet humming' can be heard...
"According to the caller, the craft's width is greater than its length.
"The objects have been observed also hovering over the town of Florence, Ontario, by independent witnesses who were contacted today [April 1]... Witnesses claim that the craft resembles the Stealth bomber in appearance, but the orange glow as well as the hovering capabilities of the craft do not coincide with the established capabilities of the Stealth," McConnell's report concluded.
A similar report appeared in the Redding Record-Searchlight newspaper on January 24. A huge, quiet, slow-moving craft was sighted near Redding, California on January 22 by Dave Thomsen, his wife and several neighbors. Thomsen estimated the object's size at 150 feet wide and 300 feet long. It flew directly overhead, not more than 1,000 feet high, at a speed of about 20 miles per hour. Its underside sparkled with a number of multi-colored lights, and Thomsen said he heard the sound of jet engines and saw the glow of engine exhaust.
Based on such reports, some investigators surmise that the U.S. government has developed and is using very large, triangle-shaped lighter-than-air vehicles for purposes that may include stealth reconnaissance and heavy lifting in areas too remote for runways. Such a vehicle would seem highly unusual to an unsuspecting witness, but does not require exotic technology.
In the Redding news story, researcher Mark McCandlish stated that inventor William Miller of Princeton, New Jersey, filed for a 1990 patent on a stealth blimp. Such vehicles may have been used extensively in the Persian Gulf War, the paper said.
Now ISCNI has learned of an eyewitness account of such a craft seen landing in a remote area and apparently off-loading heavy equipment. If this report is accurate, it might confirm the existence of this unusual but essentially conventional vehicle.
The witness, Steve Wingate, told of a "triangular UFO I saw in northern California in 1993. It looked like a slow moving boomerang because it was lined with extremely bright amber lights, until it moved overhead, at which point it passed almost directly overhead and I saw that it was actually an equilateral triangle-shaped craft with a circular jet-ion drive engine beneath each apex which radiated a blue glow within."
Wingate's reference to a "jet-ion drive" is apparently speculation. He emphasized that the craft's engines were very quiet and very large. In the absence of more information, however, ISCNI*Flash assumes these engines would be conventional jets, probably serving the dual function of maneuvering thrusters and forward propulsion.
Wingate's reference to bright amber lights could account for the "orange glow" referred to by the Canadian witness, who evidently saw the craft at somewhat greater distance. From a distance, in the dark, rows of amber lights might give the whole craft an orange glow.
Wingate's account continues: "The craft was almost completely silent. When it began to descend, the amber lights turned off and strobes which lined the upper and lower surfaces of the triangle began blinking very brightly with upper and lower surfaces alternating about three or four times a second. It landed behind a hill, off-loaded some heavy trucks, tanks or other diesel powered equipment (from the sounds) and took off again, repeating in reverse the sequence of lights, etc. It landed about 45 minutes later, reloaded the trucks, apparently, and then took off again and headed in the general direction of Travis AFB near Fairfield, CA."
This extraordinary account suggests that such aircraft may be stationed at Travis Air Force Base, among other places. Perhaps coincidentally, Travis is the Air Force facility nearest to Clear Lake, California, an area known for many spectacular UFO sightings in recent years.
In an email exchange with ISCNI*Flash editor Michael Lindemann, Steve Wingate said that, as a pilot and engineer, he did not believe the vehicle was lighter-than-air.
"The volume between the upper and lower [surfaces] of the craft was only 15-20 feet or so," he said, "compared to a very large surface area... I would be surprised if there was enough internal volume to hold sufficient helium to make the craft lighter-than-air, even if it was not carrying heavy equipment... It was definitely sharp edged, versus rounded as most blimps appear... But perhaps with very lightweight materials, it could have been sufficiently light."
Researcher Mark McCandlish claims to have seen detailed evidence of prototype lighter-than-air vehicles closely matching the shape of the vehicle seen by Wingate. Though entirely unlike traditional blimps, these unusual new shapes are apparently able to lift heavy loads and are inherently well-suited to silent, stealthy running.
Sightings of huge, silent triangular craft seem to be increasing in numbers. It must be emphasized that some accounts, notably those from Belgium in 1989 and 1990, do not fit the pattern of slow movement described above. In some of the Belgian sightings, including some captured on military radar, the objects were seen to move at extremely high speed and to perform astounding maneuvers. Such reports are clearly inconsistent with the notion of conventional, lighter-than-air vehicles. Thus, the possibility of something more exotic cannot be discounted. ISCNI*Flash will continue to report further developments.
Original file name: CNI - Boomerang.ours??
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