Pacific Flyer lets me down

I am a fan of, and happy subscriber to, Pacific Flyer magazine. Anyone who loves aviation should be. Pilots are a conservative bunch, and occasionally Pacific Flyer will veer toward anti-government conspiracy mongering; but I forgive them that since the info on classic planes, air shows, aviation news, and current events is the best available.

But in their March 2012 issue, I had to write in about a particular article. It was a very positive review of a book, Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen. I haven't read it, and don't intend to; you'll see why in a moment. Sadly, I came across the following in the review:

The spacecraft that crashed at Roswell were actually flying saucers and they did have crews, she reports. But they didn't come from outer space; they came from Russia, built by a couple of Nazi brothers captured by the Russians at the end of the war.

And the crew? Children with large, misshapen heads, outsized eyes, and other imperfections designed to create a "War of the Worlds" scenario in the US. Stalin was apparently hoping to create a panic among the US populace when word got out about what they found.

But the builders left equipment inside that had cyrillic lettering, making the source obvious. Wisely, the US clamped down on all publicity, claiming they were just weather balloons (there were two of them). This fascinating insight takes up an entire chapter.

I was less fascinated by the "insight" than the reviewer.I will claim to have serviceable expertise on a number of points mentioned in Pacific Flyer's review; notably,Nazi UFOsand theRoswellincident (which never had any connection to Area 51). Iwrote the following letter to the editor:

I had to do a double-take, and am still reeling, from your publication of a positive review of a book promoting Nazi UFOs and the "crash" at Roswell. This has no place in responsible aviation reporting.

I'd hoped my letter might get printed. I doubt it will be, as I quickly received the following reply (in its entirety):

Read the book; then you'll be qualified to criticize it.

Wow.

I left it there. Some battles are best left unfought.