The book does not say that the agency does that; characters speculate that it might .
Melbourne:
Back in the day, when airline passengers saw American secret military research aircraft in test flights, they’d be met on the ground by people who would explain to them that there were secrets, and they should not discuss what they saw
Isn’t it easier to just have the pilot wear a gorilla mask and a bowler hat?
Jack Valentine Woolams (1917–1946) was the senior experimental test pilot and later chief test pilot at Bell Aircraft during the introduction of the P-39, P-63, P-59, and X-1 aircraft. He set a world record for altitude and was the first person to fly a fighter jet non-stop across the United States.
Woolams was born on February 14, 1917 (Valentine's Day), to Leonard and Elsa Woolams in San Francisco, California, and raised in the suburb of Ross, California. Woolams attended the University of Chi...
Melbourne:
Back in the day, when airline passengers saw American secret military research aircraft in test flights, they’d be met on the ground by people who would explain to them that there were secrets, and they should not discuss what they saw.
I’ve heard of military pilots encountering classified aircraft (and subsequently being sworn to secrecy), but trying to get an entire passenger jet full of civilians to not tell anyone what they saw seems like it a logistical nightmare, and also totally unnecessary. Aren’t there areas of restricted airspace where test planes can be flown without being seen closeup by civilians?