Simviation Forum - Can anyone tell me what this is?

Reply #15 - Jun 17^th, 2003 at 2:05am

BFMF Offline
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Doesn't that balloon look unrealistically high ??? Roll Eyes

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Reply #16 - Jun 17^th, 2003 at 3:24am

MattNW Offline
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I still wanna know what that paddle shaped thing is flying around the Carl Vincent in Hawaii.

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Reply #17 - Jun 17^th, 2003 at 4:30pm

loomex Offline
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I am sure that the paddle is actualy an radar antenna that wasn't animated correctly

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Reply #18 - Jun 17^th, 2003 at 4:56pm

fisharno Offline
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That's exactly what it is... A Radar Antenna.

I think somebody goofed in the M$ Annimation Dept. I thought I saw a fix for that piece of scenery, somewhere ???

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Reply #19 - Jun 17^th, 2003 at 5:00pm

Boris_G Offline
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Okey i noe that u are near Key West, ni will assume, but u noe what happens when we assume smtn, so i will guess that its a weather ballon n navigation light no ti for space shuttles lol i can think of nutn else

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Reply #20 - Jun 17^th, 2003 at 9:05pm

Paz Offline
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My Grandparents lived on Big Pine Key after they both retired, when I was a kid we used to spend two weeks a year down there, this had to of been 15 years ago and I remember that balloon was there back then.
My Grandpa was an ex-Navy guy and he always told me it was a surveillance balloon to keep an eye on the Cubans and to try to cut down on drug smugglers, so that's what I have always believed the big white balloon was used for.
After reading this thread I did a little research and came up with the following, which proves not only was my Grandpa right, but so are all of you guessing it to be a weather balloon:

"Fat Albert, a blimp tethered to Cudjoe Key, carries sophisticated radar systems, and is officially known as a Tethered Airborne Radar System. Technicians at the TARS base track low flying airplanes, drug boats, and whatever else interests the CIA, FBI, DEA, and the Weather Bureau."

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Reply #21 - Jun 17^th, 2003 at 9:57pm

BFMF Offline
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How high is it off the ground?

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Reply #22 - Jun 17^th, 2003 at 10:34pm

WebbPA Ex Member
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Funny, I've driven to Key West several times and never noticed it. Anyway, here are a few more links.

http://www.af.mil/news/airman/0301/baloon.html

http://www.cruisingguide.com/flkphotoalbum/cudjoe_key_spy_blimps8_5117.jpg

http://www.cryptome2.org/ckafs-eyeball.htm

http://boonedocks.net/travel/florida/cudjoe.html

http://www.wtvt.com/investreptr/tv_marti.html

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Reply #23 - Jun 17^th, 2003 at 10:45pm

Paz Offline
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Quote:

How high is it off the ground?

One of WebbPA's link says it is 10,000 feet above the ground.
I was thinking about it some more and realized that I haven't been to the Florida Keys in over 20 years, man, time sure does fly.

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Reply #24 - Jun 18^th, 2003 at 11:09pm

Eternal Offline
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Ive seen the Aurora Borialis from my back yard. Tongue

Dont need to see it in a sim. I live in middle NH USA.

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Reply #25 - Jun 18^th, 2003 at 11:37pm

Paz Offline
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Ive seen the Aurora Borialis from my back yard. Tongue

Dont need to see it in a sim. I live in middle NH USA.

???

&&Still no linked images allowed around here Paz! Naughty...&&

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Reply #26 - Jun 18^th, 2003 at 11:59pm

WebbPA Ex Member
I Like Flight Simulation!

I'm with Paz. If you've seen real northern lights I don't know how you could mistake a helium balloon for them. But some people think anything in the air is an alien spacecraft so I guess it just depends on the observer.

As long as we're going off topic I saw a UFO once. Took me a couple of hours to figure out it was a satellite.

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Reply #27 - Jun 19^th, 2003 at 12:06am

MattNW Offline
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Quote:

???

The Aurora Borealis is caused by solar radiation in the Earth's magnetic field. When Solar activity is high (Sunspots and Solar Flares) it can be seen much further south than usual. I've seen it here in Southern Indiana once.

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Reply #28 - Jun 19^th, 2003 at 12:09am