Ken Lafler: August 2015

Monday, August 31, 2015

The YB-49 Flying Wing By Ken Lafler

In the late 1970's and early 1980's a rumor began to circulate through the aerospace industry. A rumor of a plane being built that could not be seen on radar, enter enemy airspace, deliver it's pay load and return undected.

This was the F-117 and B-2 Stealth aircraft being developed by the Lockheed Corporation and Northrup. These planes were so secret the public was unaware of their existence for over ten years. Being on a "Black Budget" in some cases even members congress were not aware of these program's.

Both planes have what is called a "lifting Body". This means the entire plane acts as a wing giving the aircraft more lifting capacity. Also a shorter amount of runway is needed due to the Short Take off and Landing ability of the planes.

But unknown to the general public a plane almost identical existed over forty years earlier. It was the YB-49 Flying Wing, developed by Jack Northrup and the Horten Brothers of Germany.

The Flying wing was one of the most innovation planes ever built. Unfortunately it went into service in 1947 after World War Two had ended and the DOD saw little use for it. The YB-49 was based on the design of the Chord Mono Plane built during World War One by Hugo Junkers, which was made of fabric.

The Flying Wing configuration was actually developed by the Horten Brothers of Germany during World War Two. The Horten Brothers noticed that a plane built out of the wing design had a very low radar signature.

When Germany fell and the allies moved in, a full scale prototype was discovered in a hanger in a remote part of the country. The allies were stunned by the level of technology, and quickly brought it back to the United States for back engineering.

Jack Northrup and the Horten Brothers were both working with the wing design and discovered also that the plane was extremely stable and was an ideal bombing platform.

The plane did have problems with the pitch and yaw though. There was very limited compartment space for the crew and munitions and the plane could at times be difficult to maneuver.

In 1950 the
plane was on a routine test run at Muroc Air Base when the plane "Red Lined". This means the plane exceeded it's airspeed and the skin peeled off.

The Wing crashed about eight miles from Mojave. This was near today's Edwards Air force base. The base is now named after the Co - Pilot, on board that day Glen Edwards. Edwards had been one of the pilots on Chuck Yager's flight in which he broke the sound barrier.

This was kept secret for several years.

At this Point the YB-49 Program was canceled due to lack of funding and the several accident's.

In the early 1980's production began on the B-2 Stealth Bomber which was almost an exact replica of the YB-49 . Jack Northrup finally saw his plane go into service before he passed away.

By
Kenneth Lafler

An Interview with Kim Cousins - Lake Elsionre Chamber of Commerce

Sunday, August 30, 2015

The Freemasons and the Jack the Ripper Case. By Ken Lafler

The case of Jack the Ripper has been a source of public fascination for over a century. The Freemason's are also popular topic of discussion today. But unknown to most of the public there is a connection between the two.

Fall 1888 - White Chapel, London England -

Beginning in the Autumn of 1888, a series of murder's took place in the slum area of London called the White Chapel District.

Called by Jack London "The People of the Abyss" the area was inhabited by the homeless and prostitutes. People in White Chapel lived in absolute poverty.

From this nightmare of despair arose a murderer the likes of which the world had never seen before. Writing deranged, tanunting letters to the police the killer carved a place in history by coining a name for himself, Jack the Ripper.

One of the Ripper's letter's was written in red ink and was signed "From Hell". The letter sent a shock wave through out London and had been sent to a man named George Lusk who also was a susupect in the crimes.

Some experts on the subject feel that this letter was actually from the Ripper himself. Also a letter signed "dear boss".

One of the Murder sites.

The White Chapel District.

The first murder was that of Mary Nichols which took place on August 31 1888. There were five murders in all, Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Sride, Cathrine Eddows and Mary Kelly.

One of the Murder site's

But some feel there were actually 15 deaths. The person committing these crimes was thought to be a person of wealth due to his ability to move about undetected.

The victim's articles were placed about the body in an unusual manner. They appeared to resemble a Pentagram. The Pentagram was the symbol of the Freemason's before being replaced with a "G" for Geometry or God depending on whom you talk to.

Masonic Symbol

The Mason's are a secret society, with not a lot being known about them. They have a strong connection with royalty.

Another strange part of the case was a message chalked on a wall by the site of the murder of Cathrine Eddows.

The message had a chilling effect on those who saw it. Some feel it referred to Freemasonry. It was quoted as saying "The Jewes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing''. Experts on the case feel this does not refer to the Jewish Community but to the Mason's.

In the message, the term is the "Jewes", not the "Jews". It is thought to be a part of Free Masonic myth, not of the Jewish people.

Sir Charles Warren

The Chief of police Sir Charles Warren who was a high ranking Freemason was awakened and rushed to the scene. Upon seeing the inscription he quickly washed it off. Why would the chief of police destroy the only message left by the Ripper.

The Detective assigned to the case was a man named Fredrick Aberline. In films, Aberline is depicted as either and alcoholic or an opium addict as in the film "From Hell" with Johnny Dep.

However there is no evidence that either was the case. Aberline was considered a top grade detective and went on to work for the Pinkerton Investigator's.

There were many suspects in the case, but one stood out in particular. Prince Albert Victor, The Duke of Clarence . Some referred to him as Eddy. Of all the Ripper suspects he was the only Freemason.

The Duke of Clarence.

The Duke of Clarence was Queen Victoria's Grandson and second in line to the throne of England.

He had been studying art in the White Chapel District and had supposedly contracted Syphilis
from a prostitute and was rumor to be slowly going insane.

His Doctor, Sir William Gull, had supposedly kept a detailed record of the Prince . Gull was seen in White Chapel on several of the nights of the murder's. Gull was a suspect in the Ripper murder's and some still feel he was the person responsible.

The way in which the bodies were torn apart indicated that the killer had no medical knowledge ruling out a doctor.

In my research I felt the Duke of Clarence was the more likely killer with Gull covering up. Recent evidence claims the Prince was not in London at the time of the murder's, but the evidence is not entirely convincing.

Fredrick Aberline

The last four years of the Prince's life were spent under medical confinement. The murders did stop after he was hospitalized. He died from unknown circumstances.

In 1970, a Freemason named Sir Thomas Stole gave an interview in a newspaper called "The Criminologist" and a BBC interview claiming he had all the Ripper files and that the Duke of Clarence was in fact Jack the Ripper .

A week later he recanted his story in the London Times and seven days later he was dead. The Family claimed to have burned all the record's regarding the Ripper case. All the evidence implicating the Prince had been destroyed.