Page 29 - January 15 Volume 19 Number 1

of course, because they mean have I seen the flying-saucer kind. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t admit to it even if I had.... until I’m retired anyway. Venus was the only UFO we had the kahonas to ask Center to identify. Yes, Venus the planet. It was really bright and the colors were fluctuating, so give me a break. I know better now. And to
prevent you from having the same embarrassment, Venus is very bright and when near the horizon, its color changes from white to blue to green
and then red. It looks very much like the navigation lights and strobes of an airplane. I know from experience that ATC can’t see it on radar, so don’t ask. It probably won’t even show up with the newfangled ADS-B.
From The Cockpit
I carry a camera everywhere. Not that I’m on the lookout for E.T. but you never know. It’s because we see so many great things while flying. Extra-terrestrial sights included Hale-Bopp and Halley’s comets, many meteorites, full moons and the Northern Lights. I’ve seen both a funnel cloud and a tornado, the side of a thunderstorm while in a vertical climb in a T-38, explosions from missiles, rockets, bullets and bombs delivered by me or my wingman, witnessed a spinning out-of-control missile from Vandenberg, a weather balloon the size of a football field and tethered border patrol balloons. I’ve seen the returning space shuttle, a launch from Cape Canaveral, and
B/E Aerospace, Inc
Full Page
4/C Ad
JANUARY 2015 TWIN & TURBINE • 27