They were purely spy planes right. No cargo on board. You can't go that fast with cargo on board.
SR 71 -for you aviators
- Thread starter Jimmy McGill
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Well, flying from west-to-east, it did have a tail wind.
Here's a fun sr71 fact. The sr71 needed a lot of titanium. Titanium is light and heat resistant though very difficult to machine. The country with the largest reserves of titanium is still Russia. For acquiring large amounts of titanium, the Cia set up front companies to acquire titanium from Russia. The very same Russian titanium went into the black bird, which overflew Russia many many times. Ahh, irony.
I wasn't AF, but many years ago I did work at the Indianapolis air traffic control center high altitude sectors where we would get the occasional call from an SR-71 pilot requesting permission to descend into our air space. We controlled up to 60,000 feet so you knew they had been "somewhere up high" but we never knew their altitude as it was classified. They would enter our air space in order to hook up with a KC-135 aerial refueling tanker at usually around 25,000 feet give or take.
There was an aerial refueling wing at Grissom AFB about 50 miles north of Indy so they would come down and enter one of their designated refueling tracks, get fueled up, and then request clearance up to FL600 so they could then leave our air space and continue their assignment.
The sr71 lost so much fuel pre and during takeoff due to the leaky skin and the cold temp of the fuel that it tanked right after take off. The skin made of mostly titanium tightened and stopped leaking at high speed due to the increased temperature which in effect sealed the aircraft.
SR-71 pilot tells the story of a tense mission over the Barents Sea where he spotted a Soviet MiG-31 scrambled to intercept his Blackbird - The Aviation Geek Club
SR-71 pilot tells the story of a tense mission over the Barents Sea where he spotted a Soviet MiG-31 scrambled to intercept his Blackbird
theaviationgeekclub.com
https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-proof-of-SR-71-flying-deep-inside-China-or-the-USSR-Are-so-long-ago-happened-SR-71-flight-records-ava...
https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-proof-of-SR-71-flying-deep-inside-China-or-the-USSR-Are-so-long-ago-happened-SR-71-flight-records-available-for-public-or-researchers/answer/David-Tussey
Linda Sheffield Miller on Instagram: "SR-71 FLY OVER CHINA? ‘President Nixon has much better liaison with the military and the Central Intelligence Agency, and more alert advisers than his predecessor President Dwight Eisenhower. As a result, he has
956 likes, 7 comments - sr71habubrats on July 8, 2024: "SR-71 FLY OVER CHINA? ‘President Nixon has much better liaison with the military and the Central Intelligence Agency, and more alert advisers than his predecessor President Dwight Eisenhower. As a result, he has ordered a suspension of...
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Linda Sheffield Miller on Instagram: "SR-71 FLY OVER CHINA? ‘President Nixon has much better liaison with the military and the Central Intelligence Agency, and more alert advisers than his predecessor President Dwight Eisenhower. As a result, he has
956 likes, 7 comments - sr71habubrats on July 8, 2024: "SR-71 FLY OVER CHINA? ‘President Nixon has much better liaison with the military and the Central Intelligence Agency, and more alert advisers than his predecessor President Dwight Eisenhower. As a result, he has ordered a suspension of...
First let me say I’m a big SR-71 aficionado and have visited several in static museums.
BUT…it wasn’t the fastest or highest even during its prime. It had a close cousin called the A-12 Archangel that was kept secret until the late 90s. Essentially the A-12 is a lighter, less rounded plane manned by the CIA that was slightly faster and could fly slightly higher than the SR-71. They look similar and at first glance you might think they were identical but a side by side comparison shows the differences.
Almost drove off the road while noticing one that is still used by NASA, sitting on the runway nearby at Patrick Space Force Base.
Also, saw this youtube video while looking for pics of the NASA version.
The World’s First U2 Spy Plane Photo Shoot at the Edge of Space
Five years ago on a trip to DC we went to the Udvar-Hazy building out by Dulles. I got a picture of my then 7 year old son on a walkway elevated above the floor with an SR-71 behind him, then behind it is the space shuttle Discovery. He had no idea how cool that picture is.
Not too dissimilar to this shot, but with a bit better framing, plus my kid in it.
Not too dissimilar to this shot, but with a bit better framing, plus my kid in it.
NASA’s last SR-71 flight was 25 years ago.
The Armaments Museum at Eglin AFB / Ft Walton Beach has a static display you can walk under. Engines have been removed.
They have one hanging from the rafters at the Strategic Air Command Museum in Gretna NE.
Home - SAC Aerospace Museum
Welcome to the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum — immerse yourself in the discovery of flight and space exploration.
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Was talking about the U2 Dragon Lady. (Which also happened to be the old name of a nearby beach bar).
They have one at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robbins Georgia...they are awesome to see. I think I saw one at the Air and Space Museum in DC as well maybe?
museumofaviation.org
SR-71A Blackbird | Museum of Aviation
museumofaviation.org
Just wanted to say, great non-political thread. Nice to see everyone playing nice on a neutral topic.
(Knock on wood. Not trying to jinx anything.)
Everyone in the thread should read this. I assume most of you already have.
Ben Rich = father of stealthEveryone in the thread should read this. I assume most of you already have.
