“FLYING PENCILS”
ONLY JETS — AT 30,000 FEET!
The “flying pencils” seen over the West Coast on Friday were not flying saucers — not by any stretch of the imagination! Nor were they any other form of extra-terrestrial life.
No. They were nothing more than Air Force Vampire jets flying at 30,000 feet. The planes, six in number, were taking part in an exercise, following separate routes down the West coast.
The jets came from Ohakea, near Bulls, in the Manawatu, rushed over the Southern Alps about 1 p.m. and returned up the east coast.
Long, white vapour trails formed by condensation from the wing-tips gave rise to the tinnitus that they were “flying pencils”.
When several people said they roared like planes, they probably didn’t know how close they were to the truth!
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“Saucer” Report From Hastings
HASTINGS, Today (PA).—A glimpse of a “flying saucer” over the Havelock North Hills is claimed to have been obtained by Mr. Ian Johnston of Hastings shortly after 8:45 on Friday night. He reports that he was standing in a street in Hastings when his attention was attracted by a green light moving in the sky over the hills to the east.
The object appeared to be cigar-shaped and moved swiftly in a north to south direction.
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Further Mysterious Objects Seen In Sky
5 NOV 1955
TARANAKI DAILY NEWS
The appearance of further unusual objects in the sky following on that seen recently over North Taranaki and Waikato are reported from Auckland and the West Coast.
A lighted object, flying silently at great speed, was seen by Mr. D. W. Paul, Hendon Avenue, Avondale, early this morning. With him at the time was an Auckland taxi-driver, says an Auckland Press Association message.
“The taxi-driver saw the object first,” said Mr. Paul. “We were going down Hendon Avenue at 1 a.m. and the object was flying parallel with us and to the south.
“At first there was a ‘swishing noise’ rather like a jet. It appeared to be a long object with three or four lighted windows; but the windows were much bigger than usual on aircraft.
“It passed us in uncanny silence. The most remarkable fact was the absence of any noise. It was visible to us for about four minutes before vanishing into a cloud.”
Mr. Paul said he stayed on the side for some time in the hope of catching another glimpse of the object. A little while later, an aircraft (later identified as a Royal New Zealand Air Force Sunderland) flew at right angles to the object’s course with its landing lights blinking. “It was completely different,” said Mr. Paul, “from the other object.”
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Oamaru Man Sees Strange Light in Sky
A lighted object in the sky on Wednesday night was clearly seen just before 8:30 p.m. by a well-known Oamaru businessman, Mr. Ewart McDiarmaid, who served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II.
“I was coming in from the garden when I first noticed the light,” Mr. McDiarmaid said. “It was travelling at about the altitude at which one sees the N.A.C. planes and on a horizontal course.
“The object appeared to be spinning and alternately showed as a white, green and red light,” he said.
“The light was far too brilliant to have come from a plane and it was hardly likely to have been a meteor as it maintained a course parallel with the horizon until it disappeared from sight after a few seconds.”
Reports of strange objects flying in the sky over Hamilton on Wednesday night have been received from two sources, reports the Press Association message. Mr. S. Vale, of Hillcrest, and his son first noticed a bright light in the south-western sky when in their car coming down the Hillcrest hill at 7:47 p.m. They watched the light for some distance and as they neared a store pulled up and the customers in the store and the
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Strange Object Seen In West Coast Sky Today
A cylindrical, luminous object flashed across the West Coast skies with a roar about one o’clock this afternoon, according to reports from Kumara and Greymouth residents.
It is reported to have moved at great speed from the south-west, across Kumara, glowing in the clear, sunny sky before disappearing behind a cloud bank screening the Southern Alps.
Observers claimed that the object disappeared above Rotomahana, where, last February, an apparently similar object went out of view after following a similar course. The February visitation was accompanied by an explosion, which seemed to shake the earth, being felt over a considerable distance.
Today’s object was reported to have sped across the sky accompanied by a loud roar, like that of an aeroplane engine.
Though some Greymouth residents have reported sighting the object, it apparently was seen particularly clearly at Kumara where, according to reports, a big proportion of the townspeople saw it. One resident was able to look at it through field glasses, though it moved too quickly for any long, clear view to be obtained.
One report said that the object was cylindrical in shape—as the February mid-afternoon visitation was reported to be—was luminous and left a long vapour trail.
Another Kumara resident said that if it had made its appearance at night, the “long glowing cylinder” would have lit up the whole sky. He could not judge the height of the object. All were impressed with the