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Ghost Aircraft

Started by Daggit, January 19, 2015, 11:43:05 PM

Daggit

Anyone ever seen any ghost aircraft?

I once had an experience where I saw a really old and loud aircraft flying low over a cornfield on our farm in the early 60s. It flew into a low cloud and then the noise stopped and the aircraft never came out the other side. This has baffled me for a long time and as I was a kid at the time I could never blame it on the alcohol.

The only other witness to this event is now dead.

Uncle Duke

Quote from: Daggit on January 19, 2015, 11:43:05 PM
Anyone ever seen any ghost aircraft?

I once had an experience where I saw a really old and loud aircraft flying low over a cornfield on our farm in the early 60s. It flew into a low cloud and then the noise stopped and the aircraft never came out the other side. This has baffled me for a long time and as I was a kid at the time I could never blame it on the alcohol.

The only other witness to this event is now dead.

Cool.  More details, please.  Where?  Do you know what a/c type you saw, or can you at least describe the a/c (number of engines, biplane or monoplane, markings etc.).

Heard a great ghost a/c story while in the UK several years ago, a 1980s RAF fighter pilot who, after radio failure, followed a WWII "Mosquito" in to a long closed airfield during a storm.  Turns out the airfield had been a Mosquito "Pathfinder" base in WWII.

Daggit

I was a kid, no more than 10, at the time so any recollections should be taken as the hazy recollections of a adult recalling events as seen through a kids eyes.

With that caveat out of the way it was a rusty old single engine (propeller at the front) plane with no discernible making except for some numbers perhaps that have been lost to time and a lot of rough living in the intervening years. In my head I always called it a biplane but having looked at photos of biplanes and monoplanes it definitely only had one set of wings so I guess monoplane is the correct description. It was very loud and I recall that it was flying erratically at the time.

This all occurred on my grandparents farm in Minnesota during the summer. I rarely went to that farm and we never returned there because my gran and pop passed a few years after that.

When I related what I saw to my pop he said that the only aircraft that matched that description of a rickety old plane in the area was one of his neighbors who had passed away years before. As far as my pop knew the aircraft was probably still in the shed of his neighbors farm. He promised to take me there one day to see if it looked like the same plane but he never did.

cweb

Cool story! And even cooler topic.

Maybe I'm out of touch (per Hall + Oates I am very much so) but it seems like you hear more "regular" ghost and even ghost ship stories than you do ghost planes.

This would be an excellent topic for a future podcast/show by one of our beloved hosts that doesn't suck.



Daggit

Quote from: smitty9999 on January 20, 2015, 09:27:52 PM
Art Bell did a show about this in 1995.  Here is the guests book

http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Air-Stories-Aerial-Hauntings/dp/1880090104

Was that the Ghosts in the Air labeled show on the mega torrent?

I haven't listened to it yet although I believe I may have heard it live way back when.

albrecht

Quote from: Daggit on January 20, 2015, 10:09:24 PM
Was that the Ghosts in the Air labeled show on the mega torrent?

I haven't listened to it yet although I believe I may have heard it live way back when.
1995-10-22-Dreamland-Ghosts in the Air with Martin Caiden
And, yes, it is in the mega torrent archive.

Uncle Duke

Quote from: albrecht on January 21, 2015, 04:51:52 PM
1995-10-22-Dreamland-Ghosts in the Air with Martin Caiden
And, yes, it is in the mega torrent archive.

Caiden was a pretty remarkable guy.  Award winning writer of science fiction, military history, nonfiction, as well as screen writing.  The TV series "Six Million Dollar Man" was based on one of his books.  He also was a high hour pilot who restored and flew his own Ju-52 transport aircraft.  I met him at an airshow, I think it was at Chino, back many years ago when he brought his Ju-52 in for the show.  My impression of him was he was something of a jerk, but that's not all that uncommon with the warbird/airshow types talking to non-pilots.  Notable exception was Bob Hoover, a true gentleman in every sense of the word.

albrecht

Quote from: Uncle Duke on January 21, 2015, 07:11:58 PM

Caiden was a pretty remarkable guy.  Award winning writer of science fiction, military history, nonfiction, as well as screen writing.  The TV series "Six Million Dollar Man" was based on one of his books.  He also was a high hour pilot who restored and flew his own Ju-52 transport aircraft.  I met him at an airshow, I think it was at Chino, back many years ago when he brought his Ju-52 in for the show.  My impression of him was he was something of a jerk, but that's not all that uncommon with the warbird/airshow types talking to non-pilots.  Notable exception was Bob Hoover, a true gentleman in every sense of the word.
You are spot on. It was an interesting show but he is a bit of a cocky guy. But funny and interesting also. And some creepy stories and then some really funny flying stories by him.

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