Two Coast to Coast AM UFO pictures

1.  Romerhaus picture:  Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii (January 1997).  Two long objects "firing" a beam of light between each other.  These things look like that they escaped from the Babylon 5 tv series.

Bill Romerhaus provided Coast to Coast am readers lots of information about what type of film he was using when he witness this event. A Nikon 800mm f/5.6 wiht a 2x tele-extender on a very heavy duty tripod. Film was Fuji Velvia 35mm transparency at a exposure rate of f/8-f/11 for about 15 seconds.  He managed to take 10 to 20 pictures of the object. Two of which he reports getting good shots of the objects.

A clear night in January of 1997, as a party was coming to a close, the group noticed the strange lights.  Weather was a clear night, no clouds or haze at all. 

Romerhaus thinks that the objects were at least a mile or two in altitude and as big as a Boeing 747 jetliner.  They were blinking multi-colored lights on their perimeters.  And the outline of the craft could be determined through the viewfinder of the camera. Twenty minutes later, the second craft arrived and the light beam connected the two for a minute or two. 

Eventually, he called into Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell hosting.

Again - looking at the picture that was sent into the C2Cam website - these 'craft' look like something that would have been on the scf-fi tv series Babylon 5.

2.  Ellis Picture:  San Diego, California (March 26, 2009). Isadore Ellis was on on the patio having a cup of coffee when he noticed the light in the sky.  The light did nto move for about 3-4 minutes.  Looking at it through binoculars, he witness a disk shaped object, round on the bottom and top, with a light streaming from the top.  That is when he got a camera and began to take pictures.  

Twenty seconds later, it shot up and to the southwest and disappeared.  No noise was heard coming from the object.  Shortly thereafter, a helicopter flew over and Isadore Ellis noted the time as 11:00pm.  They lived in east San Diego.

Looking at this picture - I can't help but think there is a connection with the "drones" and the strange "guidewires" rising up from the center donut hole of the drone.  At least that is what it looks like to me. 

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Ref. Coast to Coast AM website.

(Hawaii pic link - ( http://www.coasttocoastam.com/gen/page3001.html?theme=light )

San Diego link - ( http://www.coasttocoastam.com/gen/page3007.html?theme=light )

also from (http://alienufoparanormal.aliencasebook.com/)

Space Storm 2012 - Chicken Little or Not?

I have noticed in recent weeks, news reports about possible effects of a major solar storm hitting the earth and knocking civilization backwards in time about a 100 years or so.  Have you?

We are so dependant on electronics, satellite communications, etc. that anything that can interfer with the normal operation of that stuff can negatively affect us to a far greater extent than previous solar storms.  

Catch phrases such as "It'll be worse than (Hurricane) Katrina." are croping up all over the news. 

It only makes sense to harden our electric grid against solar bursts (and EMP).  But the people who control the purse strings don't think of getting ready for a rainy day.  The bottom line comes first.  

We are so screwed!

UPDATE:  Over on NewsMax.com, there was an article by Newt Gingrich about how America can be brought down to its knees or even destroy our way of life.  One nuclear explosion and its EMP and say good-bye to the US of A.  This is the link to that article ( http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/gringrich_emp_weapon/2009/03/29/197257.html ).  It goes hand in hand with what I posted above about the effects of a major solar storm hitting the planet - its all about the EMP baby!  Don't ever forget that.  Get braced for more articles like this in the next four years.  

What happens in four years you ask?  2012.  The end of the Mayan calendar, projected big solar storm (or Planet X, or a asteroid, or nuclear war, disease, etc) will wipe out civilization yada, yada, yada.  

Quick! go out into your backyards and start digging that fallout shelter.  You can always use for other purposes like housing your survival seed packages to grow your own survival garden.  Or stashed your comicbook collection for future mutant explorers to discover thousands of years from now.

Folks, December 21, 2012 will roll over to December 22, 2012 just like any other year does.  And we'll be here still.  

Russians to get New Moon Rocket!

News from Russian Space web about several things, one of which is that Russian space officials are about to select a winning proposal for a new rocket that is intended to carry cosmonauts to the moon and back.

For the first time since 1964, the Russian space program is making the Moon its main objective.  And it will only be the second time since the collapse of the Soviet Union that the Russian government has endorsed the development of a new space launch vehicle/booster.

Expected test flight for the new booster will be by 2015.  Roscosmos (the Russian Space Agency) set out several objectives for the designers.  First objective would for the rocket to be able to boost 3 times heavier the load than the current Soyuz spacecraft (between 20 to 23 tons to low-earth orbit) - including twice the number of crew. Currently, the Soyuz carries 7 tons to low-earth orbit.  To use more environmentally friendly propellants. The new rocket be developed with the replacement for the Soyuz.  First manned flight of the new rocket should take place by 2018. This coincides with NASA's planned returned to manned spaceflight with its Constellation Program.

In other news, the Russian government has committed itelf to moving its main space launch site from Baikonur in Kazakhatan to Vostochny in Russia's Far East.  

The head of Roscosmos, Alexander Chulkov, told the BBC News that the agency is planning on picking a winner by March 25th.

The designers must employ non-toxic propellants such as kerosene or liquid hydrogen on all stages of the vehicle.  

The Russians are also thinking about a lunar space station for their craft to dock at before decending down to the lunar surface.  Artwork is similar to Salyut or Mir in appearance.  When the lunar ascent vehile returns to the station, they leave the ascent stage on a unused docking port to expand the size of the station on every mission.  

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Ref. Russian Space Web (http://www.russianspaceweb.com/)

Russian Lunar Station ( http://www.russianspaceweb.com/los.html ).

New Russian space booster ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7946689.stm ).

Major Matt Mason Movie With Tom Hanks

I'm going to post this news on both of my blogs.  I am so totally geeked out over the POSSIBILITY of this even happening!  

Universal and actor Tom Hanks have optioned the rights from Mattel for their 1960's era action figure Major Matt Mason. 

This project is designed to be a "star vehicle" for actor Tom Hanks (Apollo 13).  Script will be written by Graham Yost.  Playtone partner Hanks and Gary Goetzman will be the producers.

For those who do not know about Mattel's Man In Space Program, otherwise known as Major Matt Mason; a American team of astronauts lead my the good Major in the white spacesuit.  The toy line first appeared in 1966 and was a 'major' hit in the massive buildup for the real manned moon missions.  Major Matt Mason toyline was retired in the early 1970s.

It was reported that Mattel executives Tim Kilpin and Barry Waldo came to the Playtone meeting with samples of the action figure and some of the gear that went with it.  It was also reported that Tom Hanks arrived with his own Major Matt Mason figure.  

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Ref. Scifiwire.com news item posted 03/25/2009.  This is the link for it. ( http://scifiwire.com/2009/03/universal-to-adapt-matt-m.php)

Some USAF C-130s Grounded Still

Upper wing barrel nuts on half of USAF's cargo C-130s have kept that veritable trooper grounded. The C-130 has been the backbone of the tactical airlift command for the Air Force since 1956 when the first C-130s went operational.  The C-130 is built by Lockheed Martin.

Officials in the 330th Aircraft Sustainment Group at Robins Air Force Base have issued a worldwide inspection order on March 4th after finding five cracked nuts in a C-130H undergoing depot maintenance on the base.  That order effectively grounded the fleet - including the newest C-130s, the "J" models, until they were inspected.  The nuts and other related bolts - 26 per aircraft - anchor a rainbow-shaped fitting that holds the wings to the center wing box on the aircraft's fuselage.

There are more than 2,000 C-130s in 70 different variants and five basic models have been produced for the United States and other foreign countries.

With 90% of about 600 USAF aircraft inspected, 266 were found to have three or more suspected barrel nuts.  Terrence May, director for the 330th Sustainment Group provided the following information to the Macon Telegraph, "If they had two or less, it was considered a safe condition and they were returned to service."

The suspected nuts, traced to a single vendor, are readily identiffable, May said.  "You can't tell if they are cracked by eyeballing them.  The cracked area would be on the underside of the nut in the threaded area."

They had already shipped out replacement bolts to aircraft operating in Iraq and Afghanistan.  

May also added, "The lab analysis may show a manufacturing defect or it may indicate that a particular type of high-strength steel is not suitable for this application."

The Robins engineers are not too much concerned about the actual flight loads - but the stress of landing tends to be the main concern.  And operating on unimproved runways is also a concern.  

Director May offered praise for his engineering and technical staff.  Specifically for their ingenuity and the staffing of a nonstop, telephone hot line for units around the world.  He was hopeful that they would be able to discontinue the hot line by the middle of next week.

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Ref. Macon Telegraph, March 13, 2009 - Robins Air Force Base, GA. (http://www.military.com/news/article/half-of-af-c130s-remain-grounded.html?ESRC=dod.nl )

President Obama Ends Pilot Carry Law (in Secret)

In an article by Patrick Sperry posted on March 17, 2009 on the Washington Times. The Obama administration secretly ends program that let pilots carry guns.

President Obama secretly ended the Federal firearms program that allowed commercial airline pilots to pack their own guns with them on a flight as a last ditch effort to stop any terrorists that might breach the cockpit doorway.  However, it should be expected of this president since it would be in-line with his anti-gun ideology.  The administration is hoping to divert some $2 million dollars from teh pilot training program to hire more supervisory staff - who do the in field inspections of the pilots.   

The 12,000 Federal Flight Deck Officers ( the pilots who have been approved to carry guns, are reported to have the best behavior of any federal law enforcement agency.  No cases at all where any of them has improperly missused their firearms.  

Fewer than one percent of these officers have had any legal or administrative actions against them.  And in the end, virtually all fo those cases have ended up being "trumped up."

Repoter Patrick Sperry provided one example of a flight officer who had visited the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles in the last few weeks. While there, the pilot noticed that federal law enforcement officers can, with the approval of a superior, obtain a license plate that cannot be traced, a key safety feature for law enforcement personnel.  The pilot asked if, as a member of the Federal program, was he eligible.  The DMV staffer checked and told him "No."  The very next day, administrative actions were brought against the pilot for "misrepresenting himself."  It is these kinds of cases that President Obama wants investigated.

Since the election, the approval process for letting pilots carry guns on 0planes slowed significantly.  Now reports are coming out that the Federal Flight Deck Officers approval process has been slowed down to a stop.

Carrying guns on airplanes is nothing new.  Before the 1960s, Commercial Pilots carrying US Mail on aircraft were required to carry handguns.

There are NO independent polling taking place out in the country where the public is demanding the pilots disarm.  Quoting Sperry, "Only anti-gun extremists and terrorist recruits are worried about armed pilots."

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Ref.  The Washington Times.  ( http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/17/guns-on-a-plane-obama-secretly-ends-program-that-l/ ). 

photo comes from ( www.airlinerphotos.com ).

Microorganism in Earth's Stratosphere

From Science Daily(March 18, 2009).  News released recently from the Indian Space Research Organization that they have discovered three new species of bacteria, not found on the surface of the Earth, which are highly resistant to ultra-violet radiation.  

The experiment was conducted using a 26.7 million cubic feet balloon carrying a 459 kilogram scientific payload soaked in 38 kg of liquid neon, was flown from the National Balloon Facility in Hyderabad, operated by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).

Throughout the balloon flight, the probes remained immersed in liquid Neon to create a cryopump effect.  They collected air samples from different heights ranging from 20 to 41 kilometers in alititude.  Then the samples were parachute down and safely retrieved.  The samples were analysed by the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderbad, and the National Center for Cell Science (NCCS).

One of the new species was named after the distinguished astrophysicist Fred Hoyle (Janibacter hoylei).  The other one was named (Bacillus isronensis) which recognising the contribution of ISRO in the balloon experiments which actually lead to the third species now known as (Bacillus aryabhata) which was named after the anicent astronomer Aryabhata and also the first satellite of the ISRO.

This was the second such balloon experiment flight conducted by the ISRO.  The first flight was made in 2001.

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Ref. Science Daily article (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090318094642.htm).

Aerospace, Technology, Paranormal and UFO news

Decided to upgrade the title of my blog here to include the word Technology.

HRP-4C Female Fashion Robot

Today, Japanese robot designers showed off a new robot that will soon be strutting her stuff down a fashion runway.  The HRP-4C.

The humanoid, girlie-faced robot with slightly over sized eyes (Manga style).  A tiny nose, shoulder length hair and boasting 42 motion motors programmed to mimic the movements of flesh and blood fashion models.  

She greeted the audience at the National Industrial Science and Technology outside of Tokyo by saying, "Hello everybody, I am cybernetic human HRP-4C." The "fashion-bot" is five feet, two inches (158 centimeters) tall - which happens to be the average height of Japanese women aged 19 to 29, but weighing in at 95 pounds (43 kilograms) - that includes the batteries.

While her face is manga-inspired, she has a silver metallic body. "If we had made the robot too similar to a real human, it would have been uncanny." Shuji Kajita, one of the inventors, told reporters. "We have deliberately leaned toward an anime style."

The institute said the robot "has been developed mainly for use in the entertainment industry."  But it is not for sale at the moment.  

The "fashion-bot" hammed it up for the photographers and television crews, the seductive cyborg struck poses, flashing smiles at her audience.  Pouted when commanded to do so via bluetooth devices.  

This preview was just a warm-up for her appearance at a Tokyo fashion show scheduled for March 23, 2009.

Projected price for this class of robot is around two million dollars. 

Now for my observations... When the Japanese can reduce the costs to a more favorible range for the greater masses, these things will take off.  These things first and formost are to help the Japanese with their aging population for such things like elder care in nursing homes and companionship.  But, the unwritten (or unspoken) idea behind these things is a tried and true staple of science fiction.  

Sex-bots!  I give you example number one.  In the new version of Battlestar Galactica, the human-looking cylons and especially the blonde known as the "Six" model, played by actress Tricia Helfer.  For those of us old enough to remember how quickly prices for VCRs came down once the mainline movie industry (and the porn industry too) got into making tapes and selling them.  

The same will be true for the sex-bots which in turn will bring down the costs for humanoid (and human size) robots to the general public.  Then, while all that is taking place, keep updating the the Laws of Robotics as put forward by Isaac Asimov.  And for those of us who need a reminder of what they are, here is the wikipedia link to them (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics ). 

And this will bring up a interesting question about copyright laws reguarding the looks of a actor/actress, or regular person off the street.  Lets have a what if?  Rich guy wants a sex-bot of actress Tricia Helfer.  She has the copyright to her appearance and the production company has the right to "Six."  

Now lets look at this problem.  Same rich guy wants a sex-bot of a old girlfriend that he had a fling with in college and he has photos so that the robot company and build him his old girlfriend.  But that was 20 years in the past and now that same woman is a politican.  And images of this old rich guy and his "robot" toy gets out, and affects this woman's chances at re-election. 

What is the legal recourse for both of them? That will be interesting to see in the coming decades.

 

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Ref.: Fashion robot to hit Japan catwalk.  March 16, 2009. ( www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.44a97a809485fd7d7e11839fef31a365.21&show_article=1)

Breitbart.tv url ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brD5D0ytD04&eurl=http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=298783&feature=player_embedded). 

Harriot- Not Galileo Was the First to Observe the Moon!

Get this bit of trivia..

Galileo was not the first man to view the Moon through a Telescope.  According to the Sussex Record Office, a Thomas Harriot drew images of the Moon several months earlier than what Galileo did.

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Ref.:  National Space Society Blog (March 15, 2009) ( http://blog.nss.org/?p=617).

Will the Shuttle ever launch again - maybe?

NASA will once again try to launch space shuttle Discovery on the latest construction trip to the ISS(International Space Station) 220 miles above Earth. Lift-off is set for 7:43pm Sunday evening from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The meteorologist as predicting that there will be a 80 percent chance that the weather will be suitable for launch tonight.

Problems have been plaguing this launch. One was the satellite collision last month and they had to check the debris orbits to see if it would be safe for a launch. Engineers also had to replace seals in fuel vent line. Hydrogen gas began to leak from the shuttle's fuel tank which is a potential fire hazard. While the seals were replaced, the cause for the leak is still unknown according to the reuters.com news article posted by Irene Klotz (March 15, 2009, 11:36am EDT).

NASA is up against a time schedule to avoid a conflict with a Russian Soyuz mission that will replace the station's primary crew on April 7, 2009.

This mission's cargo is the fourth and final solar power module for the U.S. section of the station. That solar panel module weighs in at 16 tones and is to complete the 11-segment exterior backbone or spine of the space station. This is to be the first of five missions to the space station this year for the space shuttle.

UPDATE: Well- Discovery managed to lift-off after all.

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Ref. reuters.com ( http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE52E09120090315 )

UFO photographed over Czech Republic

Saturday, February 14, 2009, just before 8pm and again at about the same time on February 17th; local residents witness something strange in the skies ober the northern city of Cheb, population of 33,000, in the Czech Republic. Calls flooded local radio stations, newspapers, and police had to deal with the numberous calls regarding the UFO appearance.

On February 17th, Stanislaw Strmen, a resident of Cheb, went outside to try and fix his TV antenna because he was experiecning TV reception problems when he noticed four objects moving over the city towards the direction of Germany. He also noted a deep humming sound. With his digital camera, he managed to take a few pictures before they left the area. Quoting him, 'I think they might have been real UFOs-they weren't aircraft or helicopters."

Of special note in the pictures that he took, the objects appeared to be the rather "old-fashion" flying saucer type instead of the more "Modern" triangles of the last two decades. Other witness to this event also reported the objects to be saucer shaped.

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Ref. article by Michael Cohen posted on March 6, 2009 on allnewsweb.com. Photo by Stanislaw Strmen. Source: Karlovarsky.denik.cz. (http://www.allnewsweb.com/page6616617.php )

Japan Wants the Moon Also!

In a Reuters.com news article by Yoko Kubota (March 6, 2009. "Japan considers putting robot on moon"), Japan is now considering putting a robot on the moon by 2020 and a astronaut by 2030.  This amid concerns of being left behind in a supposed asian space race (China and India).

These plans come after China's first space walk and the launch of India's first unmanned moon mission in 2008.  China is planning on putting their astronauts on the moon someday although no schdule has yet been released.  

A official for the (Japan's) Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy (SHSP) said, "Some experts are concerned that unless there is an independent program, then Japan may be left behind in terms of space development."  

"If large scale space development projects, such as moon probes or space solar power system, are conducted, not only robots but also people will have to be there.  The technology of manned space programs will certainly become the foundation in such cases." that government offical said.

Japan's space flight history had setbacks in the 1990s and only recently since 2007 with their lunar explorer.  Six astronauts have been sent into space with the United States or Russia.

There are also concerns with North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilites.  That lead to recent changes to (Japan's) decades old pacifist policy with the passage of a law allowing the military use of outer space for Japan's Defense Forces.  

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) has a annual budget of 228 billion yen ($2.3 billion).  This is just a small percentage of Nasa's $17 billion annual spending.   

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Ref. Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE5251RS20090306 )

Rocket Racers!

Rocket Racing Test Flight on Space.com (http://www.space.com/common/media/video/player.php?videoRef=SP_080827_rocket_racing). 

China Plans for its Own Aircraft Carrier?

China is increasing its military budget by 14.9 percent which brings their spending to 480.7 billion yuan ($70.2 billion dollars approx). 

U.S. claims that real spending is much higher than this announced budget.

China is upgrading its nuclear arsenal and has confirmed plans to build its first aircraft carrier.  Still unclear in Richard Spencer's article if that funding is in this budget.  (I'm making a guess that it is.  Because it goes right along with naval flight training that Chinese pilots have been doing).  

If China does build a aircraft, it is presumed to be along the lines of the Russian Admiral Kuznetzov.  That ship is 300 meters long by 73 meters wide.  Unlike U.S. aircraft carriers, the Kuznetzov has only two conventional steam engines for power.  American carriers are almost all nuclear power now.  Capable of carrying 2600 people.  The ship carries (16) Yak-41 Freestyle and (12) SU-33 Flanker-D jet fighters.  Helicopters carried are (4) Ka-27LD Helix, (18) Ka-27PLO and (2) Ka-27S helicopters.  

Weapons carried include anti-submarine missiles and "Shipwreck" anti-ship missiles.

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Ref. Telegraph.co.uk article "China to increase defence spending by 15 percent" by Richard Spencer in Beijing 03/04/2009. ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/4936931/China-to-increase-defence-spending-by-15-per-cent.html). 

Close Shave by Asteroid 2009 DD45

A asteroid shot past the good ole Earth by a mere 72,000 kilometers (44,750 miles) acording to the Planetary Society and other news outlets.  Labled as 2009 DD45, it is estimated to be about 21(68 feet) to 47 meters (152 feet) in size.  

This size of an asteroid is thought to be nearly the same size as the one scientists think exploded above Tunguska, Siberia, on June 30, 1908. The end result of that encounter was the flattening of 80 million trees covering 800 square miles (or 2,000 square kilometers).  That explosion in 1908 was the equileviant of 1000 atomic bombs.

2009 DD45 was spotted last Saturday (February 28, 2009) by astronomers at the Siding Spring Survey in Australia, and it was verified by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Centre (MPC).  This is the organization that catalogues Solar System rocks.

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Ref.  "Space rock gives Earth a close shave"  http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.783c3aae6eb418393fc6f8c443ef6765.2f1&show_article=1

(Web) Surfing Into Aeronautical History

A chanced web surfing accident at work last week uncovered for me a real treasure trove of World War Two web links. I started off looking for seaplane links and came across Classic Pacific Seaplane History (all links are listed below in the reference section, so click there to view it).

Then I discovered the December 7 website. It had the same look and feel as the Seaplane one. Found out about the efforts of Hawaiians trying to save Ewa Field and make it into a National Park. The United States Navy is fighting tooth and nail to prevent that. In the mean time, Ewa is quickly turning into a residential and shopping mall place. And having looked at the Yahoo Real Estate listings for Ewa when its close to quiting time at my call center job late at night when I'm bored - the prices for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house is outrageous to my Texas sensibilities. However, if I won the lottery and was able to move to Hawaii; I would love to move into a house near Ewa. Be that as it may, this Marine fighter plane strip west of Pearl Harbor is overgrown with weeds now from the Google images that are presented on that web page.

Then there was the link for pictures of the aircraft that were used in the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora" Oh Man! I'm in seventh heaven for a airplane freak like myself. Finally I checked out the contact info and discovered that they were the creation of a John Bond (www.JohnBond.com). Turns out that his websites is part of the Hawaii Internet Website Network. From that point, you get links to such things like Gilligan's Island, McHale's Navy, Hawaii 5-O, Magnum P.I., etc.

Ok... So I OD on Hawaii stuff this weekend. Just makes me want to go back there again someday. One trip is not enough. That's why I included some my own Hawaii trip pictures taken on October 31, 2007, with this posting. The P-40 you see in my photograph isone of the ones used for the "Tora, Tora, Tora" shoot and its in a sad state of repair when I made my visit.
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Ref. December 7 website (http://www.december7.com/)

Save Ewa Field! (http://www.december7.com/1941/Ewa_Oahu/index.html)

Classic Pacific Seaplane History website(http://www.pacific-seaplanes.com/)

Classic "Tora, Tora, Tora" movie Aircraft website (http://www.december7.com/1941/Classic_Movie_Planes/index.html)

Hawaii Internet ( http://www.hawaii-internet.com/ )

John Bond (www.JohnBond.com )