Robert Barnard wrote:

Paul,

This came to me off the Sonex news letter.
I don't know if you want to post this or not.  But it sickens me to

think

someone may jump to some conclusions.  I hope some crusading

aviation hater

doesn't get a twinkle in their eye about this one.

Subject: Sonex List: Off Topic: The "Evils" of homebuilding

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.

I have not the foggiest notion on how to deal with this.
The Government is just going to have to come up with something
to counter this. I am sure it is not just the Velocity. All composite
airplanes, more or less, have this characteristic I am sure.
I hope they don't force us to stop building composite airplanes.
There is little they can do about it anyway as they could be built
overseas.

Paul Lamar

I've already gone to the CBS web site & responded to this.
You have to wade through deep doodoo to read this kind of
article. FAA radar can see flights of birds; it isn't going
to have any problem at all seeing a Velocity with a 400 lb
chunk of aluminum & steel hanging on the back. And I suspect
that military radar is a bit more capable than the FAA
variety. Otherwise, why are we paying so much for F-117's &
B-2's?

Bottom line is that CBS & the other networks have long since
sunk to the 'National Enquirer' level; willing to say
anything regardless of facts to frighten the public &
increase advertising revenue.

I encourage everyone to take 5 minutes & send CBS an email
expressing your feelings about their distortion of facts to
sell advertising.

Charlie England

This article is junk science. The human in the plane,  is  visible to the
radar. So is the engine, all of the misc. metal fasteners, wire, the tires
and brakes, and I believe, the fuel and probably any cargo. Keep in mind
that all of this hardware is flying in close formation, which increases the
return on that one position. One flat head screw sticking up can spoil the
stealth of an F-117, therefore, I find this story very implausible. If there
is any graphite in the aircraft, it is also visible. I'm not sure about
Kevlar. Glass is used for radomes, and is transparent to radar, It does not
"absorb" the radar as the story indicates. I have no doubt that the RCS of a
velocity is much less than say a Bonanza, because it is smaller and also the
materials used in construction.  It is much more likely that the smugglers
choose the velocity because of it's speed, range, and load carrying
capability, the relative stealth of the airframe is just an added bonus.

If there are any EE's out there who can correct me on this please do, but
this fits my understanding of the subject.

Monty

Definitely way less than a Bonanza and it probably works well enough.
At least I am sure the dope smugglers believe it does.
I also don't think people or fuel show up on radar. Perhaps
the wiring if any. An infrared satellite or high altitude surveillance airplane
however might be another matter.

Paul Lamar
 
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