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Major William Straitsmouth pulled back on the control yoke inside his coffin at Groom Lake, Nevada. The air-conditioned white shipping container was where he usually remotely flew test planes and other drones for testing at Area 51.
He wasn’t even sure what kind of plane they were flying tonight. Based on the minimum elevations, four engines, and response time, he surmised that it was one of the big cargo lifters. But whether it was a C-17 Globemaster or a Boeing 747, he had no way to tell. It could even be one of the Russian or Chinese transports for all he knew.
His control suite was very limited compared to the usual full linkage or full instrumentation. He’d never heard of any of the big jets being set up for remote flight, so that wasn’t a clue either.
Major William Straitsmout
