Originally posted by chris beacham
The first signs are a dull red glow relatively low on the horizon. I know exactly where to look for it seems to appear in the same spot most times.
The same spot, you mean, like a commercial air lane, regularly used by commercial air liners?
Sometimes this 'glow' may remain motionless for several minutes. Then it will intensify and start to move across towards the first signs of the rising Sun. Someimes the light will peter out shortly thereafter and I lose sight of it. Other times it will gather speed and start to throw a trail. These trails can be very short or in some cases, several miles long from the look of it. The colour varies from white to yellow, to pink, to red, to black.
Sounds exactly like the contrails I see from the aircraft at my local air port.
and at no time does the activity show signs of being sourced from any airports
Doesnt mean it isn't though. Just because the aircraft aren't coming in to land, or still taking off (and aircraft gain altitude pretty quickly), doesn't mean they aren't from a fairly local airport, or that they are long haul, and cruising at tens of thousands of feet. You can't say they aren't from an airport from their flight path.
. As I said in my original post I have made an effort to indentify the craft with closer up photography. So far all I can really come up with is that the subject has no wings or tail section, is very bright and silent, and has the ability to disappear instantaneuosly.
OK, let's get a few things straight. The fact that you can't see, nor capture wings or tails on film, does not mean the craft do not have any. The fact you cannot hear any noise does not mean the craft doesn't make any. I live near an airport, and see aircraft every day. I seldom see wings and tails, never hear their engines, but often see bright reflections from the fuselage. Often, all I can see if the reflection, so if the aircraft banks slightly it might not reflect in my direction any more. It has not disappeared, it's still there, it's just I can't see it. Or the sunlight falling on it could be obscured by a cloud, same goes, the reflection is no longer visible, that all.
The 'exhaust' thrusts straight down from the center of the undercarriage and starts to flow behind the craft as it gathers speed giving the impression that is is being ejected out the back like a normal aircraft.
That sounds like pure speculation! You are saying it looks like it comes from the back, but you _think_ it comes from underneath. Unless you have a picture to confirm that the 'exhaust' comes from underneath, you should be careful about making claims you can't substantiate.
You would being doing both yourself and me a disservice if you choose not to accept these insights as honest attempts to try to understand what is happening in my neighberhood......
Honest? I hope so, but then honest mistake in interpreting what you see. All of your problems seem to be rationalising your perceprtions. Nothing you have posted looks out of the ordinary. The only extraordinary things, are the claims.