SR 71 -for you aviators
- Thread starter Jimmy McGill
- Start date
Nope. The Russians built the MiG25 Foxbat as an interceptor, but the lawn dart couldn't come close.
If I recall correctly, with it's average speed of Mach 3.2 up to 3.4, it could outfly missiles. Some were lost due to maintenance issues, but not a single one was ever shot down.
Nevermind, found the answer to my question. And Lockheed plans coming out with SR-72 (un-manned) in 2025
If you haven't heard this, I love this story.
That is f'n great. Love it that that they ruined the Navy pilots day.
I don't believe I've seen one in flight but they train U2 pilots nearby and every now and again I hear one overhead. Distinctive sound.
Fun fact the SR-71 was supposed to be named RS-71 but Lyndon Johnson switched the letters in a speech causing Skunk Works to change 29,000 blueprints
Here's the thing. I don't believe there's ever been a confirmed top speed for them. The rumor is that the speeds you listed here are low.
If my memory is good, this thing flew so fast it's skin would expand it'd get so hot from how fast it was - so they had to design the plane to allow for that expansion. In fact a lot of the plane basically was "ill fitting" because to allow for thermal expansion - but once "heated up", things expanded and sealed/fit properly.
Yeah, I'm not an expert. Far from it. Hence why I wanted other opinions. I can't imagine the G-force for the pilot.
Edit: I wouldn't be surprised if they got it up to mach 4
Years ago a friend of mine filmed U2 and SR-71s landing and taking off when stationed at the base I think you're referring to. I recall him saying the pilots wore space suits because the elevation they flew was literally in space.
Yep. You don't do up 90k feet in regular flight jacket.
My father - one of his few good qualities was in my teens he was a member of a Military Book Club.
U. S. Fighters, Lloyd S. Jones, 1975. The YF-12A "fighter" version (there was also another version designated A-11) of the SR-71 is included, beginning on page 337. Some tidbits...
"At Mach 3, the YF-12A must make a turn of 180 miles to reverse direction."
"At Mach 3 speeds, the heat generated by the YF-12A can reach 1,100 degrees F. To reduce this high temperature, the planes are coated with 60 pounds of a special black paint which helps dissipate the heat. But despite this, parts of the airplane remain extremely hot for awhile after the plane has landed. This great heat also has an effect on the airframe itself. As heated metal expands, it can distort the precise aerodynamic shapes of a Mach 3 aircraft. An ingenious method of overcoming this was the use of corrugations in the wing surfaces. These ripples allowed the flexing of the metal skin without impairing the flight characteristics."
Crazy stuff given this first flew in late 1964.
Yep, they got very active at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Make sure enough pilots were trained up.
BTW, the landing gear on the wings falls off on takeoff and a chase car helps it land.
That had to be scary as shit to be the pilot. But those jocks loved that type of stuff.
Not sure if true, but to your point I heard the SR leaks fuel until it gets to cruising speed when the metal expands enough to keep it from leaking. Again, just something I heard. I have few questions about this though.
I don't like supporting the Military Industrial Complex, but it is pretty amazing some of the things our country has developed.
Wikipedia states that actually. I'd have to believe the leaks are captured internally and cooled down somehow...dunno, I'm no engineer.
I'm no hero. Call me crazy, but flying something that gets to 1,100 degrees that also leaks jet fuel...no thanks.
A few other Airmen and I rode on the wings of one while it taxied at Ramstein many years ago to help stabilize them. We road to the end of runway, then jumped off.
Pretty cool.
There's one at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum just west of Omaha.
www.sacmuseum.org
SR-71A “Blackbird” - SAC Aerospace Museum
The SAC Museum SR-71A Blackbird was delivered to the USAF on May 27, 1966, and has the third-highest flight hours of the fleet.
www.sacmuseum.org
We had a guy... @Tom Ace ...who popped up on another thread about the U-2 four years ago and talked about flying it. Really interesting stuff but he doesn't seem to be around anymore.
I think we have something that is faster than the SR-71. I think they didn't decommission it because it was expensive, but because they had something better. Supposedly it is called the Aurora, but obviously that could just be speculation. It's a good bet the Russians and Chinese know all about it too.
We have hyper sonic stuff out there that we don't know about. I'm pretty damn sure about that.
I was stationed at Offutt AFB and in 1968 they had a big airshow. Lot of great stuff but the main event was an SR-71 flyover.
That bad boy came cruising low and slow from the west at about 1000-1200 feet and about halfway down the flight line they pulled the nose up and lit the afterburners. Goodbye. Greatest thing I've ever seen.
SR-72 Darkstar. Rumored to already be flying at Mach 6 or 7.
If you go into Google Earth, turn on 3D mode and go to the north hangar at Palmdale Regional Airport, Air Force Plant 42, zoom in and look under the hangar you can see it.
Here is the lat/long (34.6421337, -118.0838234)
I think the CIA or another alphabet soup agency have/had the last one or two of the operational planes.
That was the farewell maneuver for the B-1 lancer the couple times I've seen it fly a demonstration. Pretty cool seeing something that big spool up and climb skyward so fast right in front of you.
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