An excerpt from Unconventional Flying Objects

Nearly 30 years ago I met Paul Hill in his office at NASA--Langley. For different reasons, we had both begun examining the evidence of unidentified flying objects, trying to understand how they would operate if the current sightings were indeed factual reports. This research was in addition to our normal aerospace jobs. After Paul retired from NASA in 1970, I continued to work at McDonnell Douglas, retiring in 1993, and am now focusing my attention on the very important UFO phenomenon. During this 30-year period, I have closely followed the developments in this field, talking with some of its most prominent researchers. I would say that Paul Hill's analysis of the key issue of how UFOs op- erate was far ahead of its time in both its science and his scientific attitude.

In Unconventional Flying Objects, Paul Hill peripherally mentions his role at NASA, noting an attitude of tolerance for his interest in the UFO phenomenon, but he is careful not to mislead his reader into believing, even by inference, that NASA had an interest in UFOs. He was able to establish himself as an informal "clearing house" for UFO information passing through this government agency. As a result, he was exposed to a wide variety of direct reports, which provided him with ample data to begin his analysis.

Paul Hill worked on this book for many years, completing it in 1975. Although the book relies on sighting reports from the 1950s through the mid-1970s, the material is far from outdated; rather, many of these cases have become classics in the field of UFO reporting, only amplified by sightings in the years to follow. These early reports reveal excellent clues about the underlying science and technology of UFOs. Reports since this period would add very few new dimensions to Hill's documentation. His material even includes early reports of humanoid occupants and communication with them--pre-dating more recent abduction claims--and comments on other current inquiries such as the value and limitations of hypnotic regression.

Hill's approach was 20 years ahead of its time. He never became trapped in the endless speculation about the reality of UFOs; he accepted the reports at face value and let his analysis of the observed phenomenon speak for itself. And his methodology was impeccable. He took the reported observations and then directly evaluated alternative hypotheses, exploring all relevant avenues of inquiry. His comprehensive breakdowns include size, color, halos, clouds, wakes, jitter, heat, maneuvers, performance, sound, solidity, landing, weight, nests and rings, propulsion, propulsive forces, force fields, radiation, merging systems, occupants, collecting, interference, weaponry, and artifacts.

Hill's attitude about the sacrosanct laws of physics is strictly deductive: the laws should be changed to reflect the data instead of vice versa. This unbiased approach gives a new understanding of classic UFO cases, leading to more comprehensive understanding of them, such as the now-famous 1952 RB-47 case over the Gulf of Mexico. More generally, Hill's scientific interpretations of the sightings are especially coherent. For example, his own 1962 sighting reveals two objects rotating around each other 200-feet apart with a period of one second yields 123g, a classic calculation. Hill uses his detailed knowledge of dynamics to perform many calculations relating observed motion and the forces that might cause them. The book also includes cases with "before its time" calculations of how the objects could travel both subsonically and supersonically and make no noise. And the arguments supporting a gravity field are excellent, and are extremely cogent, consistent with a 1994 paper by Haisch and Puthoff showing that the control of gravity and inertia are now technically feasible.

Although written in technically precise language, the book can easily be understood by laymen with non-technical backgrounds, because Hill sticks to the central principles of flight, dynamics, and electricity, using them to embrace the remarkable set of anomalous reports he has compiled from many sources. The information unfolds like a mystery story unraveling its plot. The case histories are clearly written and easy to follow, and have the advantage of getting to the main point without wasting time on irrelevant details. Calculations are simple, understandable, and checkable throughout--one of the necessary conditions for good technical work, often missing in UFO literature. Sketches are simple and focus on the point in question, as if Hill were drawing them on the blackboard in his office for the visiting reader.

The author's Introduction is extremely helpful in guiding the reader through this interesting volume. Paul Hill's "Unconventional Flying Objects: A Scientific Analysis" is an excellent reference guide for the researcher, a wake-up call for the skeptic, a model for the case investigator, a review of fundamental principles for the engineer or scientist, and a great mystery story for all trying to understand how the UFOs can really work. Hill's conclusion is that UFOs "obey, not defy, the laws of physics," lending credibility to sighting reports.

Robert M. Wood,

Ph.D. in Physics, Cornell University 1953 Aeronautical Engineer, 1953-1961, and Research and Development Manager, 1961-1993: McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Huntington Beach, CA