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America's Flying Saucer
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Mar 19, 2024
The story of America and Canada's joint efforts to build a "flying saucer" during the Cold War as fears increased over a possible war with Russia.
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[Music]
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years before the United States launched
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a massive Saturn rocket from Cape
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Kennedy in Florida to put a man on the
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moon there had been efforts during the
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Cold War days to build a flying saucer
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which would help defend the nation in
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the event of a war with Russia the
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effort was a joint effort between
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America and Canada but after many
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attempts and millions of dollar spent
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the program was shut down both the US
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and Russia were in a space race and on
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the 21st of July
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1969 American astronaut Neil Armstrong
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became the first person to walk on the
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moon he stepped out of the Apollo 11
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lunar module and onto the moon's surface
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in an area called The Sea of Tranquility
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the Flying Saucer program saw its first
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test on the 7th of October 1959 this is
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the story of that program its rise and
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[Music]
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fall
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[Music]
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the AOC Canada vz9 avar was developed by
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a Canada as part of a secret US military
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project carried out in the early years
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of the Cold War in the air it would have
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resembled a flying saucer originally
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designed as a fighter like aircraft
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capable of very high speeds and
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altitudes the project was repeatedly
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scaled back over time and the US Air
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Force eventually abandoned it
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development was then taken up by the US
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Army in Flight testing the AAR proved to
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have unresolved thrust and stability
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problems the AAR was the ultimate result
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of a series of blue skies research
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projects by Design Min ER Jack Frost who
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had joined Avro Canada in June 1947
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after working for several British firms
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at Avro Canada he had worked on the AOC
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cf1000 before creating a research team
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known as the special projects group
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Frost first surrounded himself with a
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collection of like-minded Maverick
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engineers then arranged for a work site
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that was secured with security guards
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locked doors and special pass cards f it
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was expected that any future European
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War would start with a nuclear exchange
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that would destroy dest most air buses
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so aircraft would need to operate from
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limited air buses roads or even
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unprepared fields and frost felt the
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excellent performance of his new engine
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would be a natural fit the cockpit was
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positioned over the main bearing behind
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the intakes a spine on the top and
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bottom ran from the cockpit area to the
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rear edge of the aircraft several other
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versions of the basic layout were also
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studied in 1952 the design was Advanced
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enough that the Canadian defense
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research board funded the effort with a
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$400,000 contract a wooden mockup of
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project y was completed it appears the
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project was considered to costly within
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the military establishment on the 11th
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of February 1953 the story on the
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project was leaked to the Toronto Star
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along with images of the Omega design
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apparently in order to gain further
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funding 5 days later the minister for
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defense production informed the House of
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Commons that Avro was indeed working on
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a mockup model of a flying saucer
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capable of flying at 1,500 mph and
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climbing vertically nevertheless further
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funding was not forthcoming a group of
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us defense experts visited AO Canada
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Frost co-opted the tour and roted it to
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the special projects area where he
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proceeded to show off the project why
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mockup in models and drawings some never
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before seen by senior company officials
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for a completely circular disc-shaped
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aircraft known as project Y2 the Yousef
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agreed to take over funding for frost
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special projects group and a contract
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for
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$750,000 followed in 1955 aom management
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was interested enough to commit to.5
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million to build a private Venture
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prototype in March 1957 the Air Force
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added additional funding in 1955 an
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extensive article appeared in look
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magazine that among other claims
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speculated that current UFO sightings
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were soviet-built saucers the article
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went on to describe such an aircraft
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with diagrams that were clearly
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influenced by the AO design in 1958
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Frost proposed building a smaller proof
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of concept test vehicle he called the a
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car by this point the US Army became
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interested in avo's concept as well
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Frost pitched his smaller design both as
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a prototype of a vehicle suitable for
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the Army's needs the new plan appeared
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to make everybody happy and a $22
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million joint Services contract managed
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by the Air Force was awarded to a to
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build and test to a cars additional Air
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Force funding of approximately
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$700,000 was also moved to the a car
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project in March 1959 an additional $
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1.77 million cont contract was received
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for a second prototype just as the first
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working test models were being
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manufactured disaster struck the
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Canadian government canceled the AOC
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cf-105 Arrow program on Black Friday the
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20th of February 1959 the ensuing result
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was the layoff of almost all avoc Canada
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employees including those with the
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special projects group however 3 days
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following the announcement of the AO
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cancellation many of the special
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projects employees were rehired the USAF
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project office devoted to the AO
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projects recommended the program be
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cancelled Frost was forced to try to
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rescue the project and made a resounding
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case for continuation of US military
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funding late in May 1959 the USAF
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authorized Avro to continue the Flying
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Saucer program all who flew the a car
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considered it tricky to fly likening it
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to balancing on a beach ball the first
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AAR car rolled out of the a mountain
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Factory in May 1959 from the 9th of June
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to the 7th of October 1959 it was was
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tested in a static hover rig but was
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incapable of hovering properly the
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second was completed August 1959 on the
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29th of September the first attempt to
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Hover was made with the AAR Tethered to
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the ground after the vehicle became
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Airborne an uncontrollable roll and
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Pitch coupled oscillation started that
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forced each of the three wheels into the
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ground in turns changes were made to the
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stability system as testing continued it
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became clear that the problem was
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inherent to the design and the engineers
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started referring to the effect as hub
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capping so named as it appeared similar
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to a hubcap spun on the ground the first
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completely free flight occurred on the
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12th of November 1959 this test proved
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the nozzle control system unacceptable
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after five flights testing was
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temporarily halted on the 5th of
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December 1959 by which time the a car
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had logged 18.5 hours of test time tests
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continued in January 1960 and appeared
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to work much better however while the
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new control system improved the hovering
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qualities the craft now became unstable
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at higher speeds Avro was convinced that
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the concept was still workable and
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proposed a new program for major rework
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of the propulsion and control system
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modifications were completed and testing
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resumed in April 1961 the new design
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demonstrated much better control in
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Hover and considerably improved lift on
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the 9th of June 1961 a second YF NASA
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flight evaluation of the a car was
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conducted on the similarly modified
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second Prototype at the Avro facility
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during these tests the vehicle reached a
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maximum speed of 23 mph and showed the
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ability to Traverse a ditch 6 ft across
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an 18 in Flight above the critical
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altitude proved dangerous if not nearly
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impossible due to inherent instability
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and a range of control problems before
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modifications could be achieved funding
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ran out in March 1961 Frost proposals
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for a modified design were not accepted
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and the AAR and related programs were
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officially canceled in December 1961 by
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the US military the second AAR had
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logged about about 75 flight hours at
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the end of the flight testing the a car
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was an object failure only two a cars
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were ever produced and because the US
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military had paid for the work they
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reverted to us ownership at the end of
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the
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[Music]
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program