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From: Asgeir W. Skavhaug <asge-s@online.no>
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 18:46:42 +0200
Fwd Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 20:33:44 -0400
Subject: Kenneth Arnold Sighting


>From: Asgeir W. Skavhaug <asge-s@online.no>
>Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 18:42:04 +0200
>Fwd Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 16:17:30 -0400
>Subject: Re: Kenneth Arnold Sighting

<snip>

>- One of the planes were different from the others. Not much
>attention has been paid to this


<snip>


Hi List,

To pay some more attention to the above mentioned "problem", and
to get a clearer picture of this, I have tried to systemize a
little bit, and using some of the available info. on the Web.

Given that the transcriptions are correct (and not manipulated
with either), this is some of Arnold's _own words_ regarding his
sighting on 24 June 1947, taken from the following main, 3
various transcription sources on the Web:

1:

http://davisref.samford.edu/ufos/chap1.htm

With the following excerpts:

"I proceeded to gather my scattered wits together, got back in
my airplane, and took off for Pendleton, Oregon. I remembered
that I had forgotten to mention the fact that one of these craft
looked different from the rest, was darker and of a _slightly
different shape_, and that.....".


"I watched as these objects rapidly neared the snow border of
Mount Rainier, all the time thinking to myself that I was
observing a whole formation of jets. In group count, such as I
have used in counting cattle and game from the air, they
numbered nine. They were flying diagonally in an echelon
formation with a larger gap in their echelon between the first
four and the last five."


2:

http://www.geocities.com/~pjctsign/LagIV.htm

With the excerpt:

"_They_ look something like a _pie plate_ that was cut in half
with a sort of a _convex triangle_ in the rear. Now, I thought,
'well, that maybe they're jet planes with just the tail…the tail
painted green or brown or some'thin…and didn't think too much of
it, but kept on watching 'em."


3:

http://communities.msn.com/UFO/arnold.asp

With the excerpts:

"Of course, when the sun reflected from one or two or three of
those units, _they_ appeared to be _completely round_; but I am
making a drawing to the best of my ability, which I am including
(see below; AWS), as to the shape I observed these objects to be
as they passed the snow-covered ridges as well as Mt. Rainier".

"Capt. [E. J. Smith] (left), copilot (Ralph) Stevens (right) of
United Airlines and myself (in the middle) have compared our
observations in as much detail as possible", i.e.,

http://www.nwmyst.com/images/nwmyst-ufo-0022-4.jpg

(with enlargement:)

http://www.arpnet.it/~ufo/arnolsmi.jpg


"... and agreed we had observed the same type of aircraft as to
size, shape and form."


But, we don't really know what shape and form Arnold, Smith and
Stevens were discussing in the above mentioned picture. (It is
not possible to see that on the piece of paper they are sharing
in their hands, since the drawing is on the opposite side. The
photografer is also unknown.....)

However, the drawing sent to the Commanding General at Wright
Field, Dayton, Ohio (US  Air Force), along with his first
report, is likely to be this one:

http://services.csi.it/~ufo/arn_draw.jpg


I will call this shape and form a "scallop shape", or just a
"shell shape".

An alleged photo of a similar kind of aircraft, taken on 9 July
1947 in Phoenix, AZ,  is shown here:

http://www.arpnet.it/~ufo/rhodes1.jpg


The drawing shown here:

http://www.nwmyst.com/images/nwmyst-ufo-0022-3.jpg

is likely to be made some years later, and it is probably a
depiction of the different "z craft", or the leader of the
formation. I will call the shape of this craft a "bat shape".

Further, Arnold describes their formation as follows:

"I was fascinated by this formation of aircraft. They didn't fly
like any aircraft I had ever seen before. In the first place,
their echelon formation was backward from that practiced by our
Air Force. The elevation of the first craft was greater than
that of the last. They flew in a definite formation, but
erratically."

It is assumed here that Arnold's echelon formation, that I'm
trying to depict below, "to the best of my ability", was simply
a stepped-up line, with no tilting, neither to the left nor to
the right, with the leader (z) at the lowest (B), or highest
(A), point, and each following (x) craft slightly higher (or
lower).

This could be depicted something like this, i.e., the 5 miles
long chain of craft (x and z), as seen from above:


(A: The _first_ plane, z, different?)                   x (or z)
                                                                             x
The first four                                                        x
                                                                             x

Larger gap
                                                                             x
                                                                             x
The last five                                                         x
                                                                             x
(B: The _last_ plane, z, different?)                   z (or x)



The side-view of the echelon formation of craft (x and z), and
with the angle (echelon) of the whole formation in relation to
the horisontal plane somewhat exagerated, is depicted something
like this:

                                         5 miles
<--------------------------------------------------------------------------->

             Last five              Larger gap               First four
<--------------------------> <-----------------> <----------------------->


                                          (A: The first plane, z, different?)

                                                                                           z (or x)
                                                                                   x
                                                                           x
                                                                  x


                                   x
                         x
                x
        x
x  (or z)       (B: The last plane, z, different?)

The important point in my mail is that it is to be noticed that
Arnold -- in 1947 -- didn't really mention (with purpose?)
_which one_ of the 9 craft  was different from the others (e.g.,
the very _first_ one in the chain?), and what the "slight"
difference in _shape and form_ really was. Though, he's
mentioning the colour in his book in 1952, i.e.,

http://services.csi.it/~ufo/arnolbok.jpg.


The saucers depicted on this book's front page look very
different fom his other aircraft depictions/descriptions as
well, even though this book seems to be co-authored by Arnold,
and the depictions _should_ also have been "authorized" by him.
The craft shown on the book front has a "doughnut hole" in the
middle of the craft, not shown on his Air Force drawing. The
convex triangle in the rear is not shown either. (See also
below; The Fate magazine.)

Arnold seems to be mixing the shape and form of the 8 ones with
the 9th one (i.e., the different one); the shape(s) he's
mentioning could be that of the (different) "z plane", or those
of the "x planes". He just told the press in 1947 (and maybe
later as well) that all 9 of them had the same shape and form.

It seems that Arnold -- for reasons unknown (to me) -- actually
was withholding (or "forgetting"), and mixing, some (important)
information.

Thus it is not so difficult to understand that the media came up
with rather different headlines regarding the shape and form of
the objects.

Further, no vapour trails (contrails) from the craft have ever
been mentioned anywhere by Arnold (indicating no jets?). Any
sonic booms (or any engine noise at all) were never reported
either, neither by e.g. Fred Johnson nor any other observers on
the ground, i.e.,

http://www.nwmyst.com/nwmyst-ufo-0008-1.html


or,

http://services.csi.it/~ufo/arn_fbi1.jpg

though they were -- according to Arnold -- flying
more than the speed of sound along the mountain ridges,
i.e.,

http://services.csi.it/~ufo/m_rainer.jpg


or,

http://services.csi.it/~ufo/arn_mirg.jpg

However, 500 mph, were reported by some people on the ground.
(Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, 740 mph (on average), on
October 14, 1947. Yeager again set a speed record in 1952,
attaining 1650 mph.)


In addition, shown as a depiction in the URL above (nearly)
_all_ of the the objects are -- mistakingly -- depicted with a
double curve at the rear and a dark-coloured spot on top (or
below?). According to Arnold only one of the craft had this
shape. Arnold's description of a dark coloured spot is probably
mistaken by some artists as a "doughnut hole" in the middle of
the craft, as shown on the front page of his book fom 1952, and
also shown on the front page of the Fate magazine in 1948:

http://services.csi.it/~ufo/arnofate.jpg

My personal, subjective opinion -- from an armchair theorist's
viewpoint, based upon "pure speculations", and keeping more to a
"terrestrial explanation" --  is that the leading craft in the
front dragged the other 8 craft behind in a wire, and that these
were light-weight, mirror bright "target drones", or just kites,
with some metal foil, used as a target to e.g. reflect electro
magnetic (visible/invisible) rays of some kind, and being
monitored by control stations on the ground, and for some
unknown purpose. The leading craft up in the front of the chain
could be a Northrop, tail-less, flying wing construction (an
early YB-49 prototype, or scaled model?). (I don't believe very
much in the "pelican theory".) The craft could be manned or
remotely controlled, using e.g. a pulse radar.

Given that the transcriptions were correct, and that Arnold
wasn't a hoaxster or disinformant himself, and also didn't take
part in any conspiracy, and that he gave correct info. to the US
Air Force regarding the scallop shape, a conclusion which can be
drawn is:

* Apparently, Arnold didn't give any complete or correct info.
neither to the media nor to the US Air Force.

* All but one of the discs Arnold saw were shaped like a sea
shell/scallop. They were traveling -- in a rather
aerodynamically strange/"wrong" way -- with their rounded ("pie
pan") part at the front, in the direction of flying -- and
opposite to e.g. a "flying flapjack", V173 or F5U. Their convex
triangular part was the aft end of the craft.

* The 9th aircraft was shaped like a bat, having a double curve
at the rear, and might be the leader of the formation, located
either at the bottom or top of the echelon formation, but most
likely at the top.


Best regards,

Asgeir
www.asgeirskavhaug.com