Part 42 (1/2)

To be very frank, we heard the words ”experienced observer” so an to make us ill

Everyone, except housewives with myopia, were experienced observers

Pilots, ”scientists” (a terineers, radar operators, everyone who reported a UFO was soht aircraft recognition during World War II He was an experienced observer That man spent four years in the Air Force He was an experienced observer We soon learned that everyone is an experienced observer as long as what he sees is fa unfamiliar it's a UFO

Pilots probably coory as anyone since they do spend a lot of ti around the sky But even those who can rattle off the names and locations of stars, planets and constellations don't know about a few relatively rare astronoood example Few pilots have ever, or will ever, see a deluxe et it It's like so a flare in front of your face There are a number of reports of bolides in the Blue Book files and each pilot who made each report called each bolide a UFO The descriptions are almost identical to the classic descriptions of bolides found in astronomy books

While on the subject of meteors, if most people realized that o froroups), and they can be seen in daylight (as ”large silver discs”), the work of UFO investigators would be lighter

Enough of meteors and back to our experienced observers

The example of pilots and bolides holds true injets for exah altitude air traffic, a thin, blood red streak in the sky at sunset, or shortly after, is a UFO To anyone in an area where there are a lot of high flying jets even our myopic housewife, it's just another vapor trail They're as cohts, now used on practically all aircraft, were still in the experiave us fits Every tihtsother pilots, called in UFO reports Now these strobe lights are common and no one even bothers to look up

The sahts used on tanker planes during aerial refueling operations

Some phenomena are so rare and so little is known about them that they are always UFO's Thethe airplane

I've never heard an explanation for this phenomenon but it exists and I've seen it on three occasions Maybe a dense blob of air tears off the airplane, floats along behind, and reflects the sunlight

Whatever it is, it gives the illusion of a saucer ”chasing” an airplane Sometimes it's steady and sometimes it darts back and forth It only stays in view a few seconds and when it disappears it fades and looks for all the world as if it's suddenly streaking away into the distance

Birds, bees, bugs, airplanes, planets, stars, balloons, and a host of other common everyday objects become UFO's the instant they are viewed under other than normal situations

Then there is radar This poor inani when UFO proof is being offered ”Radar is not subject to the frailties of the human mind,” is the outcry of every saucer fan, ”and radar has seen UFO's”

Radar is no better than the radar observer and the radar observer has a mind And where there's a mind there is the same old trouble

If the presentation on the radarscope doesn't look like it has looked for years a UFO is being tracked

Radar is temperamental The scope presentation of each radar has certain peculiarities and an operator gets used to seeing these

Occasionally, and for soe For ets to appear on the radarscope The operator has learned to recognize them and knows that they are caused by weather They are not UFO's But overnight soes and now this saets The operator isn't used to seeing this and the targets are now UFO's

Many times we'd stumble across the fact that after the first report of a UFO being tracked on radar the saain, many times But by this time the operator would have learned that they were caused by weather and it wouldn't be reported to us

It is interesting to note that, toclassed as ”unknohen radarscope photos were taken The reason is simple The radar operator can take ample ti the actual sighting Also, more experienced radar operators have a chance to examine the scope presentation

Mixed in with the fact that there are few really qualified observers on this earth is the power of suggestion About the ti co halt

We saw this happen day after day

Few people I ever talked to, once they had decided they were looking at a UFO, stopped to calmly say to themselves, ”Now couldn't this be a balloon, star, planet, or so else explainable?”

In one instance I traveled halfway across the United States to investigate a reportman in the State Departot to talk to him and after he'd excitedly told ht had ”jumped across the sky,” he said, ”Want to see it? It's still there but it's not ju now”

We went outside and there was Jupiter