So, I caught something listening to Jarvis and his childhood memories - the XF-103 that crashed near his house. ...
So, I caught something listening to Jarvis and his childhood memories - the XF-103 that crashed near his house. Being that my research is military based, and we have family friends in all branches of the service, I've been a fan of some aspects of military technology.
My dad's favorite plane was always the F-104 Starfighter, but I had never heard of a 103, so I hopped onto google to take a look... apparently the XF-103 program was cancelled before it ever flew. Also, the plane pictured by Tycho that looks similar to the cupid's span portal is most definitely not an interceptor - wrong general shape, too broad of a cross-section for supersonic flight.
Now that Jarvis has reappeared, this line of questioning might be moot, but I have to wonder if Jarvis lied for some reason. He seems so good at casual lies, and being a skeptic and cynic... well, I'm going to peek into it a bit more unless this has already been investigated.
My dad's favorite plane was always the F-104 Starfighter, but I had never heard of a 103, so I hopped onto google to take a look... apparently the XF-103 program was cancelled before it ever flew. Also, the plane pictured by Tycho that looks similar to the cupid's span portal is most definitely not an interceptor - wrong general shape, too broad of a cross-section for supersonic flight.
Now that Jarvis has reappeared, this line of questioning might be moot, but I have to wonder if Jarvis lied for some reason. He seems so good at casual lies, and being a skeptic and cynic... well, I'm going to peek into it a bit more unless this has already been investigated.
I listened to some of that audio but I have a bad memory. So I have some questions. What is an interceptor? Is an xf-103 an interceptor? Is it possible his memory was faulty? Why do you think he lied?
ReplyDeleteSorry I ask lots of questions.
No, questions are good - they keep speculators like me from getting too comfy with wild hypotheses :)
ReplyDeleteXF-103 was supposed to be an interceptor - fast fighter jets that were/are meant to get to Soviet/Russian aircraft before they got close enough to US territory.
I knew that the angled air intakes looked familiar, and I found the plane in Tycho's drawing: F-105 Thunderchief (aka Wild Weasel). Vietnam-era strike fighter.
http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=160
As much as I'd love for there to be a conspiracy here, it's very possible that Jarvis was just "off" - especially after you've been shot and turned into an XM entity, mixing up XF-103 with YF-105 isn't that big of a stretch.
If he was lying? XF-103 sounds "out there" and the X means experimental, potentially "special". The 103 never even got a nickname - I was hoping it had one to try and infer something about the crash... "Thunderchief" and "Wild Weasel" are both promising, but the more I look in this particular rabbit hole, the more and more it's looking like a sinkhole instead!
The f105 started out as a nuclear capable fighter bomber known as the thunder chief. When it became a electronics warfare playform is when it became known as the wild weasel. The 105 was not agile enough to evade the MiG 17, faster in level flight == easier to shoot down. The F4 replaced it until the MiG 21 came on scene. F4 became a EWP for the same reason and was replaced by the F15
ReplyDeleteHow old is Jarvis? If it was still in the prototype (Y) stage, that would have put the flight sometime in the late 50s. I only saw him post-"resurrection" but he certainly didn't appear to be a ~60 year old... which would have meant it was in more regular use.
ReplyDeleteI'll be curious to see if anyone else has anything to say about this topic tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteTycho also pictured Jarvis with hair. Sometimes, his drawings aren't the literal truth but are instead intended to capture the emotional resonance of a moment of time.
ReplyDeleteWhich makes complete sense... but he put a lot of effort in drawing that plane in detail, which piques my curiosity a bit, still.
ReplyDeleteThere is some evidence to suggest that intense XM exposure could prolong the lifespan of susceptible individuals significantly above the norm. Evidenced by Nigel Moyer (Susanna's father would have to be in his late 80s) Hank appears younger than his timeline would suggest, same for Devra, Wright, the list goes on.
ReplyDeleteI also forgot the starfighter lives on as the T-37 trainer Nasa continues to use to this day. Kelly Johnson was one hell of a aeronautics engineer
ReplyDeleteLockheed constellation, P-80 , F104, U-2, A-10/12 and ultimately the SR-71. Talk about someone who was years before his time. All these planes (except the constellation) were designed in the 1950's
I do beleive that is all point of it Michael Bramnik . The Xf 103 never officially existed. That is probable the reason why Jarvis and his family were told to keep quiet and pretend it never happened. (who knows the plane might even had been a XM experiment)
ReplyDeleteBut officially the NIA is no longer active ;)
Post WWII... I see to remember a recent doc about Olly talking about WWII experiments with XM.
ReplyDeleteDid a little bit of digging, and I'm currently a few more steps deeper into this particular rabbit hole.
ReplyDeleteNikolas Moore you wouldn't happen to be referring to a kindly looking man named Joe who is a consultant at Niantic, conveniently also from California City, CA?
You can say Joe's name. He's not "Voldimort".
ReplyDeleteI could say Voldemort ten times a day. In this case I'm refraining just because apparently his Niantic profile and his real life profile are all one in the same, and I'd hate to have him getting bothered by tens of people, especially if I'm wrong! :)
ReplyDeleteOh yeah over tagging would be a bummer if it were a job like his.
ReplyDeleteaaaand a few minutes after I wrote that, I see people on the #ingress board tagging him left and right heh.
ReplyDeleteJoe Philley - associated with the number 102 - ex-USAF - plays Ingress, etc.
Perhaps he was the pilot the day of the crash that Jarvis saw?