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As an RCS (Radar Cross Section) engineer, I can assure you (and CBS) that the engine and prop are more than sufficient to track the aircraft for hundreds of miles. There are lots of sharp edges and cavities/channels on an A/C engine which reflect RF energy extremely well. The prop is also an excellent reflector. That was one of the most vexing problems on the F-117. How do you shield the turbine blades from RF while allowing sufficient undisturbed air into the engine? There would also be some return from the fuselage. RF reflection (actually re-radiation) depends in large part on the dielectric coefficient of the material in question, compared to air. Fiberglass has a fairly high dielectric coefficient so the interface between the air and the fiberglass will present a significant discontinuity to the RF. Thus, there will be a significant return from the fuselage itself. Although you'll never convince the uneducated public or the headline hungry mass media, the threat from fiberglass aircraft is a non-issue. Just thought you all might be interested. Dave in Alamogordo, NM N93971 Wayne Woollard wrote: > ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- > > Well there ya go boys!! > > CBS has got its sights set on General Aviation. > > That disclosure about Fiberglas aircraft is pure bunk. I would use a more colorful term, but this is a family gathering I am told. > > Wayne > > Mike Dean wrote: > > > ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- > > > > A report from CBS news: > > > > Hiding In Plane Sight · Fiberglass Plane Made From Kit Can Evade Radar Detection > > > > SEBASTIAN, Fla., Jan. 22, 2002 > > > > (CBS) The Velocity airplane is visible to the eye, but to America's best radar system it is virtually invisible. And that, says U.S. law enforcement, makes the near stealth Velocity a tool for smugglers. > > > > Joe Bendig, the director of U.S. Customs' state of the art radar center says the system has a problem finding small fiberglass aircraft like the Velocity. > > > > "The radar pretty much gets absorbed by the skin. The only thing we really pick up is the engine, which is metal," he said. > > > > Until last spring, reports CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews, no one in law enforcement thought the Velocity to be much of a factor in drug smuggling. But then came a joint U.S.-Mexico drug crackdown the DEA called Operation Marquis. > > > > In the process of making some 300 drug arrests, the DEA says it learned that Arturo Beltran Leyva, a man the U.S. calls one of Mexico's top drug transport chiefs, owned five Velocities. > > > > "We've made our Mexican counterparts aware of this Velocity aircraft," said Rod Benson of the DEA. > > > > He says most drug smuggling by air happens with metallic planes visible to radar. > > > > The planes skirt the U.S. shoreline, or land in Mexico just short of the U.S. border, with the drugs then loaded onto vehicles of every type you can imagine - even school buses. > > > > Benson says so far, invisibility is mostly used by smugglers inside Mexico. > > > > "It's not just one transportation organization. We've identified others that have dabbled and are beginning to look at these Velocity aircraft to move their drugs." > > > > As for Velocity the company, it's based in two hangars in rural Florida and the plane is a mail order kit that is shipped in boxes to hobbyists who assemble it. > > > > The company is not under suspicion and its Vice President Scott Baker calls invisibility a coincidence. > > > > "There's nothing about the aircraft that was designed with the idea of hiding from radar and none of our marketing whatsoever speaks to stealthness." > > > > Even now, after the Sept. 11 terror attacks with military radar planes blanketing the border, officials admit Velocity would be tough to find. Until America's multi billion-dollar border radar can spot fiberglass, it can be beaten by an airplane built in a garage. > > > > ©MMII, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. > > > > -- > Mr. D. Wayne Woollard, CPBE > AIM: DWWoollard > ICQ: 124132836 > > "Why fly a Spam can when you can have fun and fly an Ercoupe?" > ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiLm.aVzvvT Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
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