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Thread: SR-71 Blackbird

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
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    Northern Oregon
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    Amazing. The pilot Buz Carpenter says in the video" the plane was designed with a slide rule. The engine and the plane expand and contract up to 6" with heat and cooling" Wow
    "Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right."
    - Henry Ford

  2. #17
    I actually got to do some engraving for one of the pilots.
    He brought in a scrap book and had me do some work off of some of his patches he had worn.
    WOW was that a good day. He spent a bit of time just telling me about some of his flights.
    The ones he could talk about anyway.
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  3. #18
    That was great Chris. Thanks!
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  4. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Weber View Post
    Always thought the SR-71 was the coolest most badazz plane ever built. ...
    Reportedly, the following was an exchange between Los Angeles ATC and unidentified aircraft.

    Aircraft: "LA Center, this is Aspen 3. Requesting angels 80." (80,000ft above sea level).
    LA Ctr: "Aspen 3, LA Center. Right! And just how do you propose to get up there?"
    Aircraft: "LA Center, Aspen 3. Requesting permission to descend."

    .... insert long moments of radio silence ....

    LA Ctr: "Aspen 3, LA Center. Clear to descend."

    (Wouldn't you love to see expression on the controller's face.)

    *********************
    The SR was prone to engine issues. One was over Hanoi when they lost both engines at their normal altitude, and 'glided' down to about 8000ft before they got a re-light on an engine. Went immediately to full-mil and into the burner range. They went through Mach 1, before starting to climb. Would love to have seen the replacement glass bill for that.

    Read a story about SR mission from England to Middle East (N.Africa?). France wouldn't approve overflight, so they hit tankers all the way down thru Gibraltar. Engine outage forced them to cut across France at lower altitudes. French sent Mirages to intercept and they demanded the SR's flight clearance number on radio. Pilot finally got the engine running and the back seater flashed a single finger salute out his window as they disappeared into the stratosphere.

    _____________
    Adder- Went back and watched Mr. Edward's linked video. I believe Brian Shul's book is the source for my citation of engine issues. And pleased to realize my recollection of "Aspen" as the SR's call sign was correct (I made up the "3").
    Last edited by Malcolm McLeod; 06-09-2021 at 10:35 PM.

  5. #20
    excellent you tube. Tired from too many long days but once started had to watch that whole thing. Great in a number of ways plus jogged my memory of past stuff size change leaking fuel etc. His story amazing, plane amazing.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    Auburn, ME
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    I read a book about it a while back and there were a lot of interesting things that happened. I guess it was supposed to be the RS-71 but the president called it the SR-71 so they couldn’t tell the president he was wrong so it became the SR-71. Another interesting happening is that it was so secret no one knew the design but they found out the Russians had the profile and finally figured out that they had a mock-up they would put outside to test the radar signature but would wheel it in when the satellites went overhead and the satellites were seeing the latent heat signature from where mock-up was placed. There are some great books out there about the program

  7. #22
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    Feb 2010
    Location
    Woodstock, VA
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    I just looked up books on the SR-71 and saw a couple used copies of Sled Driver…..both were over $600!

    I love reading about these things, it’s just awesome that they were built with slide rules!

  8. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Bartley View Post
    I just looked up books on the SR-71 and saw a couple used copies of Sled Driver…..both were over $600!
    Yeah, I've looked periodically for years and they are always priced in the multiple-hundreds when I've checked.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Maryland
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    I've heard that because of the heat expansion issues a "cold" SR-71 would leak a bit of fuel when on the ground, but the leaks would stop once the aircraft heated up

    There's a SR-71 on display at the Air and Space museum near DC, I think I spent about an hour just looking at it

    check out photo #23 where they're moving it on a road, gotta wonder what it would be like if you saw that in your rear view mirror

    Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird | National Air and Space Museum (si.edu)
    Last edited by Mike Soaper; 06-13-2021 at 11:08 PM.
    Hobbyist woodworker
    Maryland

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Cedar Park, TX - Boulder Creek, CA
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    832
    There's an A-12 on display in Huntsville. Allegedly a bit faster than a 71. Smaller than I thought it would be. Never got to see a 71 fly, skipped Reno the last year they sent one out. Never made it to one on display yet either. But the XB-70, my fave, is on my list. I think it's intake ducts are longer than a 71.

    Saw an X-15 on a pole at the State Fair in Sacramento when I was a kid. Had the external tanks on it. Never have figured out if it was real or a mockup.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Maryland
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    Seems there was a X-15 with external tanks.

    Without external tanks the x-15's would reach about mach 4 in 90sec.

    With external tanks and a longer burn time it reached mach 6.75 ,about 4500 mph, enough to start melting some of the plane
    Hobbyist woodworker
    Maryland

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Cedar Park, TX - Boulder Creek, CA
    Posts
    832
    Yeah, I think only the 1 they extended the fuselage on for more fuel capacity. And had to coat it with an ablative material to survive. IIRC, the damage was from shock waves coming off a dummy Scramjet they had in front of the bottom fin. And still haven't really made that work even what, 50 years later? I've got boxes of books ...

    Late 20's I looked into AF flight school. No college degree, age limit to get in ... and eyesight not good enough. Disappointing, but in reality I've always been too big a coward anyway ;-)

    Had a project manager that had 2 rides on the shuttle, and 1 on a Soyuz. Fun to talk to, wild stuff. He had one of the (split) hold down nuts from the boosters on his desk. Probably the most beautiful piece of machining I've ever seen.

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