The SR 71 Blackbird

[bob10]

https://youtu.be/WOQncsVloow

[bob10]

The Aurora project.

https://youtu.be/Y9MaP-J5ps8

https://youtu.be/5SbeClnx4Hk

[Pickles2]

Awesome Bob, AWESOME.
I love my Spifires, Mustangs, any WW11 Warbirds etc, but the SR 71 Blackbird, is my absolute favourite aircraft.
I have actually stood underneath one at the Duxford Museum in the U.K.
Thanks, Pickles.

[JDNSW]

The SR71 (and its predecessor A-12) is an amazing aircraft - especially when you realise that they entered service in 1964. They were an example of designing without any preconceived constraints and designed right at the edge of the possible for technology of the day.

IT was shut down by Pentagon politics rather than anything to do with the aircraft. Some generals objected to what was effectively a CIA private airforce! (And wanted the budget for bombers)

John

[PSI250]

Definitely an awesome aircraft.

There's some funny facts like how they leak fuel When on the runway etc due to the extreme thermal expansion of the tanks they don't seal until they heat up.

'Sled driver' is apparently a good read if you can find a copy. Last copy I saw was going for over $1000.

There's that cool ground speed check story out of the book in this link here
SR-71 Blackbird Pilot Trolls Arrogant Fighter Pilot with Ground Speed Check. | Tribunist (http://tribunist.com/technology/sr-71-blackbird-pilot-trolls-arrogant-fighter-pilot-with-ground-speed-check/)


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/01/836.jpg

[cripesamighty]

Sled Driver is an excellent read. I have it as an eBook. The other great read is the SR-71 flight manual which has been recently declassified. A few pages are redacted but the bulk of it is available as a pdf download.

[squizzyhunter]

There's that cool ground speed check story out of the book in this link here
SR-71 Blackbird Pilot Trolls Arrogant Fighter Pilot with Ground Speed Check. | Tribunist (http://tribunist.com/technology/sr-71-blackbird-pilot-trolls-arrogant-fighter-pilot-with-ground-speed-check/)


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/01/836.jpg

Pure gold!

Has always been my favourite jet without question.

[Boxhead63]

Awesome Bob, AWESOME.
I love my Spifires, Mustangs, any WW11 Warbirds etc, but the SR 71 Blackbird, is my absolute favourite aircraft.
I have actually stood underneath one at the Duxford Museum in the U.K.
Thanks, Pickles.

I too have been to Duxford. It's always on the visit list for my young bloke and I. An absolutely fascinating place. I could not believe that i was actually walking through a Concorde. I would love to have had a look inside the Blackbird. One day!

Cheers
Rob

[bob10]

They were brave men who first flew the SR 71. The story about the Aurora got me thinking. The only engine capable of flying to mach 10 would be the scram jet engine.The first successful launch of a ram jet engine in the World was at Woomera, by a Qld University team. This is how a scram jet works' EDIT- NASA got involved with the Qld. Uni. project, and nothing much has been heard of it since, AFAIK.

https://youtu.be/xpOa3B03gYg




The video is part of an edX open online course, HYPERS301x: Hypersonics ? From shock waves to scramjets.

Introduction to the free course;

https://youtu.be/VAQBXw6cVdE

You can access all the videos and other course content for free by enrolling at https://www.edx.org/course/hypersonics-shock-waves-scramjets-uqx-hypers301x-2.


The story of the QLD UNI launch at Woomera;

On the trail of the Scramjet - the Lab - ABC Science Online (http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/hyshot/)

[bob10]

Building of the SR71.

https://youtu.be/d8I7MLD0YZQ

[Pickles2]

I too have been to Duxford. It's always on the visit list for my young bloke and I. An absolutely fascinating place. I could not believe that i was actually walking through a Concorde. I would love to have had a look inside the Blackbird. One day!

Cheers
Rob
I went inside the Concorde too,..VERY narrow,...a friend of mine did the trip across the Atlantic!
Pickles.

[squizzyhunter]

Awesome! I did not know about scramjets, I enrolled in the edx course as I want to watch the rest of the vids when I have access to WiFi and I can never find any of these walrus threads once they are off the latest post area.

[vnx205]

There are a few versions of this other joke about the SR-71.

In another famous SR-71 story, Los Angeles Center reported receiving a request for clearance to FL 60 (60,000ft).
The incredulous controller, with some disdain in his voice, asked, "How do you plan to get up to 60,000 feet?"

"The pilot (obviously a sled driver), responded, "We don't plan to go up to it, we plan to go down to it."

He was cleared...

[Pickles2]

Building of the SR71.

https://youtu.be/d8I7MLD0YZQ
That was simply a SENSATIONAL film,...every second of it was intriguing. And yes, I remember the U2 being shot down.
I was going to say that the SR71 was the fastest "hot rod" aircraft ever, but it was much much more than that,....I actually don't have words to describe it, except that I now know, more than ever, why this is my favorite aircraft.
Thanks Bob, Pickles.

[bob10]

Awesome! I did not know about scramjets, I enrolled in the edx course as I want to watch the rest of the vids when I have access to WiFi and I can never find any of these walrus threads once they are off the latest post area.

I enrolled as well, not because I'm smart, but because I support anything to do with QLD. AND at the age of 68, I may learn something. Finally. After all these years. As long as there are no exams.......

[Plane Fixer]

Bob
I am 67 and still working on aircraft and still learning
After 51 years I am very conscious of what I do not know.
I am off to start a new job this week specifically on my favourite gas turbine mounted in several different airframes.

[bob10]

Bob
I am 67 and still working on aircraft and still learning
After 51 years I am very conscious of what I do not know.
I am off to start a new job this week specifically on my favourite gas turbine mounted in several different airframes.

Good for you mate. All power to the fixers!

[Hugh Jars]

I was visiting the Smithsonians in DC and Virginia. At the Steven F Udvar-Hazy museum an SR-71 takes pride of place among the exhibits. I did one of their free hourly tours, which are staffed by volunteers.
I got friendly with the guide, who was this unassuming, polite gentleman in his 70's.
I had an inkling he was a pilot, and this was confirmed when we got to the F-4. He had flown several thousand hours on type in Vietnam.
When we got to the SR-71 he looked over at me and said "I have xxxx hours on this too". I asked "on type?" And he said "no, on this actual aircraft".
After the tour finished, I spent about an hour with him at the aircraft. It had only been declassified a few months, so he was happy to chat about some of his missions, which I found fascinating. What a nice bloke!

His name is Buz Carpenter.