Blackstar - secret military aircraft

[tofu]

I found on some guy's website what appears to an image of aircraft. I do not recognize the aircraft, even though I am quite the aviation enthusiast. Googling the file name of the image leads to information about a secret airforce space plane named BlackStar.

The image appears to show an aircraft with no wings, suggesting a lifting body design - further supporting the hypothesis that this is a legitimate picture of BlackStar.

http://www.gregburch.net/orbiter/Blackstar03.jpg
http://www.gregburch.net/orbiter/Blackstar06.jpg

So, I'm here to argue that this image is one of the following:

1. a fake, done in photoshop or other program
2. a photo of a secret aircraft.

This thread is in against the mainstream because the Occam's Razor explanation is that this is an ordinary, well-known aircraft. I am prepared to shoot down (pun intended) any arguments as to which well-known aircraft it might be.

And also, this is just bugging me. I'd like to know what this thing is!

[Amber Robot]

If you follow the lines of the contrails, they don't seem to line up with the bright spots, that presumably would be the exhaust of the engines. the lines seem above and below each other and the exhaust spots seem side-by-side.

[tofu]

Yep, I agree. That's good evidence that it's a fake.

[Doodler]

That looks like a commecial jetliner. Those two glowing spots are hiding what would be the portside wing as seen from the starboard aft on the ground.

[tofu]

That looks like a commecial jetliner. Those two glowing spots are hiding what would be the portside wing as seen from the starboard aft on the ground.

I'm having trouble seeing what you're seeing. Can you possibly use MS Paint to trace the original outline of the aircraft?

[Tensor]

To be honest, the second photo look like a Mig 29 from the rear. With the added contrails (which don't match the aircraft, as Amber Root pointed out).

[tofu]

The size of the rudders certainly makes it look like one of, MiG 25, MiG 31, or F-15. To me, that explaination is *far* more likely than Doodlers.

So the next question is, where are the wings? If this is a MiG or an F-15, the wings should be visible from this angle. Also, given the size of the rudder than engines, it is clearly too short to be any of those aircraft.

So, if the source pic was a MiG or an F-15, it has been altered (thus it is a fake).

This isn't actual proof that it's a fake though.

[tofu]

I drew a line from through the contrails to show that they don't line up with the engines.

I guess this closes the book on it. It's a fake.

[SMEaton]

He has several images of 3D renderings of aircraft and spacecraft, several of which look like an orbiter/lifting body type craft. He likes to use Poser, Bryce, and Photoshop. Hmmm...:think:

[Nereid]

Moved from ATM to OTBB.

[Suths]

I can't find anywhere on his site where he claims that this is a secret aircraft? He's well known in the Orbiter community for his addons (www.orbitersim.com), i'm inclined to think that this may be something he was playing around with for an Orbiter project.
Unless of course I missed the page where he does claim a CT re these shots.

[Nicolas]

IMO, this is not a fake. Though there's only one guy who recognized the pic for what it was:

That looks like a commecial jetliner. Those two glowing spots are hiding what would be the portside wing as seen from the starboard aft on the ground.

The left vertical tail IS the vertical tail of the airliner, the right vertical tail actually is the right wing. Imagine it was turning to the left, hence with the right wing up in the air. You can't see the left wing due to the reflections.

When I opened the first pic, I thought "wrong link, this is an airliner?" :) It's just a matter of seeing the image one way or the other. My eyes picked the airliner interpretation as first choice.

Had tofu extended the short line up to the right wing and made the long line shorter, they would point at both engines of the jetliner.

[Doodler]

That's my take on it. Its REAL low resolution, so some details are missing in the extreme blow up.

[Delvo]

So what's with the lights that look as if they were in a fore-aft arrangement under the rear half of the plane's belly? I know it could be a mirage or some other such atomspheric optical weirdness faking us out (and jets don't normally have glowy bits down there), but then, what would the original source be? Car headlights on the ground nearby to the photographer?

[Bogie]

The lights or flashes could be a test of the new air defense system against ground fired missiles (or photo shop).

[Neverfly]

i couldnt see squat- maybe its my computer? too dark... So i hit invert color on MSPaint....


Looking at this- im not seeing what Nicholas described anymore...

[Doodler]

So what's with the lights that look as if they were in a fore-aft arrangement under the rear half of the plane's belly? I know it could be a mirage or some other such atomspheric optical weirdness faking us out (and jets don't normally have glowy bits down there), but then, what would the original source be? Car headlights on the ground nearby to the photographer?

Photo doctoring.

[sarongsong]

...Googling the file name of the image leads to information about a secret airforce space plane named BlackStar...Teeny-tiny pic:Mar 5, 2006
...Lockheed was the lead contractor for Blackstar orbiters being fabricated at McDonnell Douglas in the early 1990s... AviationWeek (http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/030606p1.xml)

[Nicolas]

The flashes could simply be sun reflecction, right? It wouldn't be the first time I saw an aircraft shining in the sun. I don't think there's done any relevant altering to the pic.

Doodler: your pic is how I interpreted it as well, roughly. I think you can see one of the engine pods, so your wings might be slightly out of place, but that's the general idea.

[Nicolas]

Teeny-tiny pic:

Note that this pic shows both craft of the supposed system, ie both the ""valkyrie like carrier and the black star vehicle itself. Also note that there isn't really evidence for this system.

[Nicolas]

i couldnt see squat- maybe its my computer? too dark... So i hit invert color on MSPaint....


I can strongly recommend going to a monitor calibration website and do some tweaking, it will make your life on the PC more pleasant. After all, you paid for your monitor so you want it to perform optimally. Suddenly many pics will reveal lots more detail.

[Tog_]

That's my take on it. Its REAL low resolution, so some details are missing in the extreme blow up.

This is how I saw it too, just way too late. Right wing and tail above, though I thought the flashes might be the reflection of a low sun hitting the shiney bottom of the plane.

[Nicolas]

I thought the flashes might be the reflection of a low sun hitting the
shiney bottom of the plane.

That's what I was getting at as well.

[Argos]

The contrails suggest it is a 2-engine, and with that fin, I´d say an A330 on a 20 deg bank, with the sun shining on the aft fuselage and on the bulk that supports the wings roots.

[korjik]

Without knowing the angle the camera was at, it doesnt even have to be banking. I see a 737 with sunlight reflecting off something and saturating a couple of pixels. That is pretty much a WAG, but I defineitly see a commercial jetliner with some wierd reflection (assuming no doctoring).

Those worried about the contrails should remember that there could be a pretty strong wind aloft, so the contrails may not line up perfectly, or the plane may be turning, like some have suggested

[Doodler]

Those worried about the contrails should remember that there could be a pretty strong wind aloft, so the contrails may not line up perfectly, or the plane may be turning, like some have suggested

Contrails don't form until the exhaust drops below the dewpoint temperature and condenses into a visible mist, by which time, its been subjected to aerodynamic forces off the wings, both main and tail, so its going to be a little off kilter from the engines.

[Amber Robot]

Contrails don't form until the exhaust drops below the dewpoint temperature and condenses into a visible mist, by which time, its been subjected to aerodynamic forces off the wings, both main and tail, so its going to be a little off kilter from the engines.

Perhaps, but in almost every case in which I've ever seen contrails behind an airplane, they line up with the engines. It is possible that the plane turned immediately before the picture was taken. Or it is possible that the two bright spots are not engines and that this is a photograph of an ordinary airplane as has already been suggested in this thread.

[A.DIM]

And I thought the only "Blackstar" was a basketball team from the town in Luxembourg from whence I get my namesake!

:lol: