Chapter 3

Regardless of shape or point of origin, all UFOs apparently have similar propulsion systems, for all are capable of fantastic accelerations and maneuvers, often making 90-degree turns at supersonic speeds. Some have even been observed to make 180-degree changes in direction at these speeds. The water-skipping flight characteristic, first reported by Arnold has become a standard fixture of UFO reports. Statistics show other characteristics that are standard: the falling leaf descent, the spiraling climb and the rotating rim. for example, have all become classic ingredients of UFO observations.

A UFO seen in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, in the summer of 1966 exhibited many of the characteristics described above, plus a few others. The craft, which was rimmed with blinking lights, fluttered into view at treetop height and stopped over a clearing where a group of teen-age boys were having an outing. It was so close and so ominous that one of the youngsters, in a paroxysm of excitement, contemplated running to his home, which was nearby, to get his .22 rifle, but then thought better of it. As the boys watched, transfixed, the object floated in the air above them like "a cork on water," seeming now and then to lose its balance but always rushing in the nick of time to regain its stability. Afterward one of the boys concluded, "You could tell it was watching us. It was real creepy." This UFO remained in view for an estimated five minutes; then, turning a pearly-gray color, it shot off into the gathering dusk.

The description of this UFO bears a marked similarity to the one given by police officer Eugene Bertrand and civilian Norman Muscarello in John G. Fuller's Incident at Exeter. In both cases elements of the descriptions suggest that the UFOs gave the appearance of floating on water.

The Exeter UFO was described as 'gobbling and yawing" as it moved, a description which requires no stretch of the imagination to associate its performance with that of a ship at sea. In the Exeter incident, however, the UFO, rocking on its axis at an altitude of about one hundred feet, emitted a brilliant red light bathing several farmhouses in the area with an eerie red glow, and causing officer Bertrand, who feared radiation, to rush Muscarello to the protection of the nearby patrol car. No such light was seen in the Old Saybrook incident.

Concerning the wobble or sliding motion of these and other UFOs, it seems apparent that whatever the source of lift, the force must be applied unevenly in a rotating fashion, first applying lift to one side of the craft, then traversing the rim to lift the other side. The rotating or alternately blinking lights might be interpreted as circumstantial evidence of this possibility.

Witnesses almost invariably report a total lack of sound from UFOs seemingly ruling out the possibililty of jet or combustion Engines. A high-pitched whine or buzz reminiscent of an electric generator is, however, reported by some witnesses of low-flying UFOs; this, along with evidence of electromagnetic interference with earth devices, has given rise to the theory that UFOs operate on some electromagnetic principle not yet known to mankind - an electromagnetic principle which perhaps can create and control its own gravitational field.

Cases of electrical failure in cars near UFOs are now legion. Radios in both cars and airplanes have been jammed, and some investigators are even convinced that the great northeastern blackout was caused by UFO activity.

Regardless of what aerodynamic principle is employed, perhaps the most amazing aspect of UFO performance is the maneuverability. In defiance of all known laws of physics UFOs can make 90 and 180 degree changes in direction while traveling at supersonic speeds. They often come to sudden stops and often, from a hovering position, have been observed to dart at fantastic velocities.

Some typical observations of these maneuvers follow.

- Summer, 1958. In Wallingford, Connecticut, a bright object in the sky, first thought to be a satellite, made a sudden 90-degree turn when in the zenith of the heavens. (This object if at the altitude of a satellite must have been traveling at about 18,000 mph.)

- June, 1947. A brightly illuminated object was observed over Maxwell Air Force Base darting all over the sky with fantastic bursts of speed. Among the observers were two pilots who concurred that the object did indeed make 90-degree turns.

- October, 1958. Crew members of a train in Indiana were terrorized by four strange disc-like objects which paced their train en route to Indianapolis. The objects, sometimes in formation, streaked past them, stopped abruptly and then shot back again. "They never circled."

- July, 1952. A pilot at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, while flying a B-29 observed a glowing object that reversed its direction with no apparent transition of velocity.

The laws of physics would seem to preclude the possibility that living organisms can survive the tremendous g-loads involved in such aerobatics. In fact, engineers scoff at the possibility that even metallic structures, let alone living organisms, can withstand such stresses. Does this mean, then, that observers are all having identical hallucinations? Or that they are all telling identical lies? Fortunately, neither of these hypothetical alternatives is necessary, for while it is not too obvious, there is a remarkably simple and mathematically sound explanation. The key is to be found in the realm of theoretical physics.

At present physicists believe that gravitational mass (weight) and inertial mass (resistance to change in motion) are caused by two different forces in nature. It is believed that although the gravitational mass of an object on the earth would differ from the gravitational mass of the same object transferred to the moon, the inertial mass of the object would remain the same. And indeed, what little experimental evidence we have at present would indicate that such is the case.

Laboratory conditions, however, limit experiments with gravitational forces. On the earth we can find only small variations in the strength of gravitational fields. At the equator, for example, objects weigh only slightly less than at the poles. To date, we have no way to control the strength of a gravity field. (Apparent lack of gravitational fields such as the effect produced on orbiting bodies is in reality a balance of two forces - centrifugal and gravitational - and therefore does not produce a true gravity-free field in which we could measure changes in inertial mass.) Such limitations prevent our ascertaining whether or not mass varies as gravitational field strength varies. If the two varied linearly (at the same rate) then we would be aware of it, but if they vary at different rates we could mistakenly assume that inertial mass is constant; that it never changes and is unaffected by the strength of the gravitational field where it is being measured.

Experiments show that between two points on the earth where the gravitational fields differ, an object changes in weight, but its resistance to change in motion (its inertial mass) remains the same. To one who has never seen a UFO make a 90-degree turn at thousands of mph, this type of evidence might be final and conclusive, but as for me (I have seen such a UFO), the evidence only inspires further thought.

Can we ignore the fact that mass and weight seem so inextricably interdependent - that the heavier an object is, the more resistance it offers to a change in its motion? Can we say with any measure of assurance that it is just a coincidence of nature that two independent phenomena of cause and effect produce this relationship; or does it make more sense to say that only one force in nature is responsible for both gravity and mass?

Einstein showed us that an object in motion gains in mass as it gains in velocity but though we have no trouble measuring velocities, we have not yet been able to measure changes in mass (except in some experiments involving atomic particles). The reason for this is that the mass does not change appreciably until the object attains speeds approximating the speed of light. Therefore ordinary speeds of a few thousand mph would make no measurable change in the mass, even though at the speed of light the mass of any object would be infinite.

I propose that the relationship of inertial mass to gravitational mass is analogous to the relationship of Einstein's mass to velocity. To visualize this theory, I suggest the following: A six-pound weight taken from the earth and weighed on the moon would register just one pound on our lunar satellite. Now, if weight and mass varied at the same rate, the mass of the one-pound weight on the moon would also decrease to one sixth its original value. Since, however, similar experiments on earth have shown no change in mass, we might conclude that perhaps even on the moon the mass would still be the same. But it would only apparently be the same, for in reality, according to my theory, there would be a slight, immeasurable change. The difference in gravitational fields might have to be of the order of 100 to 1 or better before differences in mass would be detectable. Then, as we proceed to ever-weaker gravitational fields, we should see the mass diminishing at a rapidly increasing rate, until the two, mass and gravity, eventually both became zero.

Since at the moment this theory can be neither proved nor disproved, and since its verification would explain all the flight characteristics of UFOs, thus eliminating the necessity of accusing millions of witnesses of having mass hallucinations or of lying, I can see no justification for assuming that it is in error.

If it is true that inertial mass is relative and that its value becomes zero for any object capable of neutralizing earth's gravitational field, then the problem of how UFOs avoid the effects of momentum is easily understood: since momentum (the force which throws drivers against windshields in car accidents) is the product of velocity and mass, it is obvious that an object with no mass would have no momentum either. Consider the consequences if this is the case: a flashlight with no mass would move away from the light beam with a velocity equal to the velocity of the light beam itself; a UFO with no mass would be propelled by a beam of light or any other form of radiation, and having no momentum, would stop abruptly whenever the thrust source stopped.

A craft such as this would need two interacting controls, much like the clutch and the accelerator of a car, but instead of these, the UFO would have a gravity-field control and propulsive-radiation control. In order to travel at low speeds, such a craft must intermittently adjust the gravity control to give the vehicle mass in order to slow it down. The flight characteristic produced by such a system would best be described as like a "saucer skipping across water." If the UFO, while moving at great speed, were to suddenly acquire mass, a roar like thunder and a flash of light would result from the collision with air molecules.

To elaborate this theory, consider the lack of any evidence that saucers use radio communication. Since radio waves travel no faster than light or UFOs, why use a radio? On February 2, 1967, the pilot and fifty-nine passengers on board a DC-4 airliner traveling from Piura to Lima, Peru, watched in disbelief as they were tracked by a "dancing" UFO. It was shaped like a cone and exhibited a variety of flashing colored lights. When it came close, the lights on the airliner dimmed and the radio went dead. After nearly an hour the UFO vanished with a blinding burst of speed, only to return again a moment later with a second UFO. Instead of calling by radio, the first UFO went and brought back the second!

Scientists, particularly in the field of rocketry, have concluded that because of the problem of mass-ratio (ratio of total rocket weight to weight after fuel is expended), speeds approximating the speed of light are impossible. Also, according to Einstein's theory of relativity, an infinite force would be necessary to move a given mass at the speed of light, at which time the mass would also become infinite. But these two barriers topple, and the achievement of such a speed becomes possible, in the face of this new look at physical laws. And now it becomes increasingly reasonable to accept the possibility that UFOs originate from parts of the galaxy other than the solar system.

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