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GreenLight

Mystery Plane

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Air & Space magazine had an article about these in the April/May 2004 issue. I tried to see if it was archived but that was not one of that issues archived articles on the website. The title from the issue is below as are a couple of links showing NASA using that plane for some tests. The article was very interesting....


Night Stalkers by Roger Warner
U.S. soldiers in Vietnam heard rumors of ghosts; the Viet Cong chalked it up to bad luck.


http://www.airandspacemagazine.com/ASM/Mag/Supp/AM04/ispy.html

http://halfdome.arc.nasa.gov/research/YO-3A_page.html

Hope that helps,
Scott
"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

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That is a super-quiet surveillance airplane based on a Schweizer 232 glider.
A handful were modified during the Viet Nam War to patrol the Ho Che Min Trial.

After the Viet Nam War, the United States Coast Guard adopted the similar Schweizer RU-8 for quiet surveillance of American borders.

Now here is where the parachute connection comes in: while working for Bulter Parachute Systems, I repacked a stack of round parachutes specifically built to fit the seats of RU-8s patrolling the Florida coastline. Those RU-8 parachutes were among the most complicated Pilot Emergency Parachutes (PEP) I have ever repacked, with static-lines, rubber life rafts in the bottom, etc.
The USCG is super-secretive about their quiet surveillance airplanes.
We do know that they operated a couple of twin-engined RU-38A surveillance airplanes and Schweizer recently built a few RU-38B twin-turbine surveillance airplanes powered by a pair of Allison/Rolls Royce C-250 turbo-prop engines.

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Lockheed YO 3? ULTRA QUIET plane used in Viet Nam. See: http://www.yo-3a.com/pages/2/index.htm



Yeah, but has anyone ever jumped it? For those stealth demos?



I do the air show at Cable Airport every year and have talked to the group that is restoring on about that very thing. If they ever do agree I would have to ride up on the wing.:P

Sparky
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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Yeah, but has anyone ever jumped it? For those stealth demos?



Rumor has it, one of the CG pilots flying it with NVG on saw a glow (through the goggles) near the engine which he thought meant it was on fire. He declared an emergency and he and the sensor operator bailed out. It was doubtful there was anything wrong with the plane. I heard the pilot retired shortly thereafter.

And no, I never flew fixwing, but thanks for asking.:P
Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

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It was an Army recon plane used in Vietnam. Basically, it was a motorized glider.
Highly classified at the time, it has been a fixture at the annual Cable Airport air fairs in Upland, Ca.

Below is one of the show's organizers.
If you send her the picture, I'm pretty sure she can put you in touch with the guys who bring the thing to the airshow. It may even be permanently based at Cable, though I don't think it's in flyable condition.

E-mail me if Mary can't help you. Her e-mail:[

Mary Barnett:
email: mary_pcc@yahoo.com

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