Ultradog MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Twin Cities
I may have posted this before but it's such a great, fun story that it is worth rereading.
Flying the Blackbird
Flying the Blackbird
- Thread starter Ultradog MN
- Start date
gtractorfan
Well-known Member
Thanks, that was an interesting story. Wow, 64 minutes from Los Angeles to Washington D.C.!
MarkB_MI
Well-known Member
- Location
- Motown USA
Back in 1981, one of the editors of Aviation Week magazine took a "test flight" in an SR-71. It's an interesting read and includes a lot of technical detail written from the perspective of an experienced and knowledgeable pilot.
Note: Because it's a scanned image, the PDF is a bit large, about 29 MB.
A few excerpts:
"As the aircraft rolled out, Thomas applied the brakes only to find that the pedals went to the floor..."
"Until they have logged 60 hours in the aircraft, pilots are restricted to shallow bank angles."
"When the inlet and exhaust systems are working properly, they produce about 90% of the SR-71's thrust at cruise speed." [meaning the turbines are only producing 10 percent!]
"...it is possible to get lost quickly at Mach 3..."
"If the [engine inlet] spikes are as little as one-half in. out of position for a given speed, fuel flow could increase significantly enough to necessitate aborting the mission."
"At Mach 3, the SR-71 does not turn very quickly, and at a bank angle of 30 deg., our 180-deg. turn described a semicircle around Boise with a diameter of about 170 mi."
Aviation Week SR 71 flight review
Note: Because it's a scanned image, the PDF is a bit large, about 29 MB.
A few excerpts:
"As the aircraft rolled out, Thomas applied the brakes only to find that the pedals went to the floor..."
"Until they have logged 60 hours in the aircraft, pilots are restricted to shallow bank angles."
"When the inlet and exhaust systems are working properly, they produce about 90% of the SR-71's thrust at cruise speed." [meaning the turbines are only producing 10 percent!]
"...it is possible to get lost quickly at Mach 3..."
"If the [engine inlet] spikes are as little as one-half in. out of position for a given speed, fuel flow could increase significantly enough to necessitate aborting the mission."
"At Mach 3, the SR-71 does not turn very quickly, and at a bank angle of 30 deg., our 180-deg. turn described a semicircle around Boise with a diameter of about 170 mi."
Aviation Week SR 71 flight review
Logan in SE Texas
Member
Its' amusing that you posted this story. I have recently watched several Youtube videos about the plane and it's history. Very cool piece of American Military History. The men who were privileged to fly her are an extraordinary group and I am sure the men who were responsible for taking care of them mechanically were also, I would love to hear their stories.
grandpa Love
Well-known Member
Our 13 year old loves the Blackbird. He said yesterday at breakfast that they should still fly it!
Russ from MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Bemidji MN
There is one on display at USC, in Los Angeles, along with a space shuttle, it's a great place to visit!
An SR-71 was flown into the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH in the very late 1980s.
I was working in the engineering department at Delco Chassis at the time. My office was a very short distance from the runway where the SR-71 landed.
Everyone knew it was coming and many left the office to watch it land. I did not, considering it not work related and therefore not proper.
In retrospect, I wish I had gone to see it. How many folks have seen an SR-71 in the air?
Dean
I was working in the engineering department at Delco Chassis at the time. My office was a very short distance from the runway where the SR-71 landed.
Everyone knew it was coming and many left the office to watch it land. I did not, considering it not work related and therefore not proper.
In retrospect, I wish I had gone to see it. How many folks have seen an SR-71 in the air?
Dean
PaGlenn
Well-known Member
- Location
- New Milford Penna
The air machine that they used to power up the engines was powered by a Buick V8 engine. My Gdaughters other grandpop was a head of maintenance at one time on one of the birds. He was an Air Force Colonel.
Interesting you should mention that, I remember a sonic boom happening outside my elementary school in the mid 80's. We were at recess outside at the time. The teachers said it was a sonic boom, probably to do with being near Wright Pat. I remember it being fairly loud, kind of like a shockwave. My school was less than 50 miles from Dayton, wonder if it could have been the same plane?
What an airplane! I saw it fly in 1967 at Edwards AFB. Mixed compression inlets, analog controls, etc. It still is an amazing airplane. It was upgraded to digital controls somewhere along the way. The prototype was flying in something like 18 months after go-ahead and the documentation on the program was about only about 6 inches high. Nobody was on the program that was not a direct contributor and they came in under budget!
I worked on the original SST and on HSCT (son of SST) and we had some access to SR-71 info. Amazing airplane but not one you could kick the tires and gas it up and go! Mission prep was 24 hrs from what I understand and that included the pilot. If you are ever at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, they have one on display.
I worked on the original SST and on HSCT (son of SST) and we had some access to SR-71 info. Amazing airplane but not one you could kick the tires and gas it up and go! Mission prep was 24 hrs from what I understand and that included the pilot. If you are ever at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, they have one on display.
rlp in Co.
Well-known Member
I was in the Air Force in the 100th SAC SQUADRON. We flew the U2 and drones. When I got out in 1968 we were going to start flying the SR71. The pilots of the U2 were issued a can of Coors beer! This is not a joke! I can't remember what the purpose was now, you would have to ask a pilot of a U2 spy plane. The drones we flew were even more amazing than the U2 to me. When I was working on one, I asked the crew chief how fast it would go? He said " do you have the need to know that info?" Of course a airframe repairman really doesn't need to know that. It is probably still classified info. Only thing I know is that we never lost one in Vietnam!
gtractorfan
Well-known Member
I think it would be GREAT if they kept at least one operational for demonstrations -- such as at air shows. Wouldn't it be something to see one do a fly over leaving a contrail at top (or nearly top) speed!
You are one of the few, Jerry.
After speaking to some of my colleagues who watched it land, I learned that it flew over the chain link fence less than 100' above where they had parked their cars.
The old runway at the museum where it landed was short by SR-71 standards, and slanted uphill at the end. She came down hard and burnt up the brakes after landing. Of course, this was the last flight of this SR-71 so it didn't really matter.
Damn, I wish that I had gone to see it. Like not having served in the military, this is one of the true regrets of my life.
Dean
After speaking to some of my colleagues who watched it land, I learned that it flew over the chain link fence less than 100' above where they had parked their cars.
The old runway at the museum where it landed was short by SR-71 standards, and slanted uphill at the end. She came down hard and burnt up the brakes after landing. Of course, this was the last flight of this SR-71 so it didn't really matter.
Damn, I wish that I had gone to see it. Like not having served in the military, this is one of the true regrets of my life.
Dean
A truly amazing aircraft seen it several times at Edwards AFB back in the early 70's its one of my favorite airplanes and to think it was designed by Kelly Johnson and his team using slide rules no computers the younger generation today probably have no idea what a slide rule is Thanks for posting the article Ultradog
GB in MN
GB in MN
Boy does this bring back memories. Saw a few SR-71's taking off, and landing at Kadena AFB In Okinowa. I was a Marine assigned to 9th Motors (Jun 79-Jun 80) a couple miles South of their Main Runway. The locals called them the "Habu" which means Snake. Saw one a little closer At Suwon AFB in South Korea. The Hanger Doors were open, and we were maybe 100 yards away waiting for Supplies coming in from Okinowa. Impressive Bird.
PaGlenn
Well-known Member
- Location
- New Milford Penna
They also have an SR-71 on the retired Intrepid carrier deck in water off of NY City. They also have a few fighter jets and a Concorde and Space Shuttal.
buickanddeere
Well-known Member
Cost Cost Cost
The landing attitude was really something to see. The nose looked like it was up at a 45? angle. Delta wings tend to be able to lift at high AOA"s but the drag is also very high and so the max thrust limits the landing attitude. Edwards has like 11,000 foot runways and then miles of clearway beyond the runway.
I was civilian working for Boeing as a propulsion engineer on the original 737 and we were At Edwards for certification testing back in 1967. I also clearly remember when President Johnson announced that we had this airplane and he called the YF12 or something like that. If I recall correctly it was in January of 1965 and I was in my last semester of Aeronautical engineering at Purdue
I was civilian working for Boeing as a propulsion engineer on the original 737 and we were At Edwards for certification testing back in 1967. I also clearly remember when President Johnson announced that we had this airplane and he called the YF12 or something like that. If I recall correctly it was in January of 1965 and I was in my last semester of Aeronautical engineering at Purdue
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