Invisible Aircraft???

Question

So my boyfriend was talking to me about airplanes. He is certified to fly one but not commercial. But he seems to know a lot about them and stuff. So the other day, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and we heard a plane but couldn't see one. He told me that they (meaning the government) can now make military planes that are invisible. I laughed out loud.

I think he was serious though.

1. Wouldn't that be dangerous to other planes flying if they can't see another coming towards them?

2. Wouldn't this be all over the news?

Do they really exist because this is really bothering me and he seems so sure they exist. And he is not one to make up stories.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Complete-invisibility does not exist.  There is no Philadelphia Experiment in the sky.

You'd be surprised how well sunlight at the right angles and amounts can keep you from seeing something, especially when it is not a very light  reflective surface.

Answer 2

what probably happened  was u herd the aircraft and looked in the direction u thought it was coming but actually if an aircraft sounds like its coming from ur right it mite be coming from ur left vice versa its to do with echos

Answer 3

No, the technology does not exist to make an airplane invisible.  There are a number of reasons why you might hear an airplane but not be able to locate it visually in the sky.  The most common reasons are...

--The haze is thicker than it looks

--The airplane is near the sun's position in the sky

--You have mistaken some other sound for the sound of an airplane

--The airplane is nearby and out of sight behind ground clutter or the horizon.

There are other possible reasons, but it would be hard to say from the chair where I am sitting.

So relax--there are no invisible airplanes.

Answer 4

I don't think their really invisible but going to fast to see. The faster a plane goes the higher the mach number (times the speed of sound IE mach 3, 3 times the speed of sound) So if you have a plane that goes mach 15+ It will be out of sight by the time you hear it. I think that's what he means. Then again you never know with the military. Every class of aircraft has there own fly zone IE commercial jets is 38,000+ and the commercial express jets is around 10,000. I think the faster you go the lower you fly. Hope this helps you.

Answer 5

Sure there are. I've seen lots of 'em!

(He was pulling your leg.)

Answer 6

Yes! This is possible.

The F-22 Raptor has a new way to hide itself.

It produces a thick cloud around it so it camouflages.

Answer 7

First thing, There is no way to make an aircraft completely invisible, but its damned hard to see any kind of fighter because their paint is gray. They do that intentionally to avoid detection.

I dont want to sound to out there, but there is a chance that one day they will cover aircraft with lcd pixels to allow them to adapt to light conditions. It wouldnt make the invisible, but it would not be possible to see them from anywhere but very close. They actually had a demonstrator of this but on a light armored vehicle from britain, and it make a pretty huge difference. But who knows, its more important to be stealth to radar than to vision, so maybe it wont catch on.

But in reality, military aircraft use different radio types  and frequencies than light aircraft, its very very unusual to hear them unless they are talking to someone who doesnt have both transmitters, like some smaller controlled airports.

On top of that, atc is completely aware of military aircraft movements, and they will provide spacing from any aircraft flying on instruments or any vfr aircraft using flight following.

Also, when military aircraft go on manuevers, they usually do it in a military operation area (moa) which are large pieces of airspace listed on maps that inform pilots of areas and times when military operations are allowed. Almost the entire east half of michigan is a MOA, and there are all sorts of other airspaces that they ake us aware of so that we dont get in the way.

The military is very respectful and forthcoming to civilian aviation, We may not know what they are flying but they make sure we are all safe.

Answer 8

maybe you misunderstood him. Obvisouly we (government) cannot make an aircraft completely invisible....but we can make some really really stealthy aircraft.

Answer 9

he most likely is just taking you away with his fabricated fairytales. Should he be in the contact with such technologies, he would be eable to NOT to talk about it, too.