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- From: Bob.Dunn@p0.f205.n285.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Bob Dunn)
- Subject: Testor's XR-7
- Date: 10 Dec 93 05:09:00 GMT
-
-
-
- Testor has finally come out with their TOP SECRET Aurora Program
- series, it includes the kits for the SR-75 Penetrator which they say
- was designed to replace the SR-71 Blackbird, and the XR-7 Thunder
- Dart, which they believe is carried aloft by the Penetrator and
- launched at 90,000 feet. The instruction manuals for both kits are
- very informative for both aviation buffs, black budget watchers, and
- also for UFO enthusiasts. I thought I'd include some excerpts from the
- XR-7 manual:
-
- [From side of box]
-
- XR-7 Thunder Dart Profile
-
- Powered by two afterburning turbojets and two Pulse Detonation Wave
- Engines (PDWEs), The XR-7 Thunder Dart is capable of speeds far
- exceeding Mach 7! It is assumed this hypersonic reconnaissance
- aircraft is carried aloft and launched at 90,000 feet by the SR-75
- Penetrator.
-
- The PDWEs, though small and light, are capable of producing more than
- 55,000 pounds of thrust each. XR-7 turbojets are used for loiter,
- air-to-air refueling, and normal takeoffs and landings for flights to
- operating bases. PDWEs require special fuels, ZIP fuels, and ingnition
- inside the engine takes place through the use of frequency-timed laser
- light in a system called photon ignition.
-
- Most of the fuel aboard the XR-7 is ZIP fuel, while a relatively small
- amount of JP-4, used in the turbojets, is carried. ZIP fuel also is
- circulated through the skin of the Thunder Dart to cool the structure
- before injection into the engines. Both aircraft - the SR-75 and the
- XR-7 - are equipped with standard arrays of photographic and
- reconnaisance gear in addition to the top secret remote sensing
- equpment used to "see" nuclear storage sites of the world's
- ever-increasing nuclear powers.
-
- It is not known who is responsible for deployment of these craft - the
- USAF denies their existance. Suspected operators include the CIA, the
- National Reconnaissance Ofice (NRO) or perhaps a consortium of foreign
- nations allied in their efforts.
-
- [From instruction manual]
-
- History
-
- "Loud pulsing sounds... loud enough to vibrate your body."
- Donuts-on-a-rope contrails in the sky. Hypersonic speeds exceeding
- Mach 7. A sharp triangular shape. And a large plane similar to the
- SR-71 also seen in the air; what is in our skies?!!
-
- It is still secret (as of September 1993) but something new and
- radical is in the air. Some have called it "Aurora". Others call the
- _system_ "Senior Smart" and "Senior Citizen". At Testor we call it
- the SR-75 - Kit No. 568 - and the XR-7 - Kit No. 567. These kits
- represent the best we know about these aircraft and we've modeled them
- based on the best information we have.
-
- The XR-7 Thunder Dart is capable of Mach 7+ speeds. It can take off
- under its own power or be launched from the back of the SR-75. It has
- two conventional jet engines in its belly and two very powerful, very
- loud and very different Pulse Detonation Wave Engines on its back. The
- PDWE units are probably fueled with liquid methane fuel or what is
- sometimes called "ZIP" fuels. The turbojets are fueled with JP-7. The
- XR-7's primary mission is that of a very highspeed reconnaissance and
- to gain practical experience in the hypersonic speed regime. This will
- have application in the development of the High-Speed Civil Transport,
- or HSCT, program.
-
- Rumors have persisted the planes have been flying since, roughly, late
- 1986 in test and in limited operational use since 1990. Lockheed
- Aircraft Corporation - the Skunk Works - is said to be the prime
- contractor with some subcontracting being done by Rockwell. Since the
- program is classified there is no way to prove this at this time.
-
- As best we can determine, the XR-7 spans 42'-10" with a length of
- 80'-2". The wing leading edge sweep is 75 degrees - an "arrow" indeed.
- Liquid methane is used to cool the aircraft's skin and the is run
- through the radiator-like outlets in the tailpipes before being
- injected into the engine and used for propulsion. Newly developed high
- temperature ceramic materials are used on all leading edge surfaces.
- The airplane, at speed and altitude, literally glows with heat
- generated by Mach 7 flight and has been seen over the United States at
- night.
-
- References
-
- For additional information on hypersonic aircraft see the following
- book: "Aurora - The Pentagon's Secret Hypersonic Spyplane; MII-Tech
- Series"; Bill Sweetman; Motorbooks International, Osceola, Wisconsin
- 54020 USA.
-
- [From back cover of manual with accompaning photograph]
-
- This is a Russian satellite photograph of Groom Lake, NV, taken on 17
- July 1988. It shows numerous changes from the 1968 photograph of Groom
- Lake which is printed on the instruction sheet of the SR-75, Testor
- kit No. 568.
-
- Taken by a Russian KFA-1000 camera in a satellite 171 miles above
- Groom, this photo is frame 27890 of film 211 taken on 17 July 1988.
- The image can be purchased from Central Trading Systems of Arlington,
- Texas. This screened photo reveals no secrets. In 1994 the Open Skies
- Treaty will allow 24 signatory nations to photograph the once secret
- Groom Lake area. Ground access to Groom Lake is still very limited and
- it is off-limits to those without proper authority and clearance. You
- are advised not to visit the installation. Guards [Wackenhut] are
- allowed to use deadly force to protect this test facility. [My
- comments, BD]
-
- The scale of the photo at right is very close to 1 inch equaling 3,290
- feet. The runway, Runway 14-32, is an 18,750' long paved surface with
- an extension to the north allowing emergency running onto the dry
- lakebed for an additional 4,950' (approx.). Total runway width is
- 200'. 100' of that is concrete on the centerline with 50' each side of
- the concrete as hard asphalt. The runway at the Groom Lake, Nevada,
- test site is one of the longest paved runways in the world.
-
- The photograph is commercially available and serves to illustrate how
- well remote imaging and sensing actually work. It is very difficult
- for any nation to keep sites such as this secret when wonderful
- technology is in orbit overhead.
-
- The Groom Lake, Nevada, test facility is also known as Area-51 or
- Dreamland. Located 94 miles NNW of Las Vegas, it is rich in avbiation
- history. First built and used for the flight test of Lockheed U-2
- spyplanes and the training of Central Intelligence Agency pilots to
- fly them, it began its secret days in 1955. The base has _never_ been
- out of public view from hikeable ground locations [so far. BD] while
- the military counted on the remote location of the facility to provide
- a major part of the security. You simply cannot see the base from any
- highway in 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 stealth
- fighter and numerous first flights _yet to be revealed_.
-
- _Rumors persist that even extraterrestrial UFOs have been worked on in
- the Groom area_. [My emphasis, BD] Many people labored long and hard
- in total secrecy to test and fly remarkable machines. Perhaps, with
- the Cold War now over, they can finally tell their families where they
- disappeared to for weeks at a time. We salute these dedicated people.
- Bravo!
-
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