CLOSE-UP : A Model Spy

In a small, cluttered office in an industrial park in Sorrento Valley, John Andrews designs model airplanes for the Testor Corp. But don’t let the innocuous job description fool you. Andrews, ex-military man, patriot and admitted cynic, is a nemesis of Pentagon security. His models, sold in toy stores and hobby shops nationwide, are chillingly accurate replicas of some of the military’s most secret aircraft.

In 1986, Andrews caused an international sensation when he designed a model of what was then the super-secret F-19 Stealth fighter. His latest scoop: the SR-75 Penetrator and a faster companion craft that Testor calls the XR-7. The two-plane system is Andrews’ rendition of the Aurora project, whose existence has long been denied by the Air Force. Aviation sources speculate that Aurora is the replacement for the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane and is capable of speeds exceeding Mach 5.

Andrews bases his renderings on publicly available government documents, advice from a network of aviation and aerospace contacts and his own engineering knowledge. And when those sources fail him, he collects his information the old-fashioned way: by spying. “Legal spying” stresses Andrews, who last year, armed with a backpack and high-powered telescope, spent a cold night on a mountaintop in a remote section of southern Nevada to sneak a peek at the planes housed at the nearby Groom Lake military facility. Because of his snooping, that area has since been closed to the public.

“I’ve never bought or solicited military secrets,” Andrews says. “I just love these planes and keep abreast of what they’re doing.” He says he’s never broken the law, but “I have made people angry. I’d like to think I help keep those guys in Washington honest.”