Something the size of that plane would have been caught. And I find it hard to believe that it would still be in use 20 years after Nasa stopped flying it's lone model. Then again some aircrafts have longer lifes than others, but I still believe that with it's dated technology it would have been a money pit.
I would love it to be real, just as I would love that they hadn't dropped the Avro Arrow, but all that I believe is just wishful thinking. And as I said, it's mammoth size would have made it a very good photographic targed, and a recognizable one with it's unique geometry.
Those planes however we're mean machines in their days.
