SR-71 Blackbird

[Legacy777]

Awesome plane, and awesome story, definitely worth the read

http://gizmodo.com/5950763/holy-fcklook ... s-together

[mike-tracy]

Nice article! I've always been enamored by the Blackbird and the CIA version, and was lucky enough to see 2 in person over the years. One is at the Lackland Air Base in San Antonio, Josh.

[Legacy777]

I've seen one in the air & space museum & I think the museum of flight.

I've always liked them a lot...just a very awe inspiring plane.

[SILINC3R]

Thanks for the read Josh, very cool

[MConte05]

Go grab "Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed" off of Amazon. Fantastic read about the cold war years when the SR-71 was designed and built. It might be a bit dry for some who don't have a technical background, but given that I do design work for the F-15, I found it incredibly engaging and very relevant to what I do.

[wtdash]

Coincidence! I was just reading on these from the Jalopnik article I get in their emails. Theirs was related to the Stratos jump.

I read up a bit on these and the 'stealth' planes (B2 bomber, Nighthawk,etc.).

I can't Believe how HEAVY these planes are!

From wikiP:
General characteristics
Crew: 2 (Pilot and Reconnaissance Systems Officer)
Payload: 3,500 lb (1,600 kg) of sensors
Length: 107 ft 5 in (32.74 m)
Wingspan: 55 ft 7 in (16.94 m)
Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Wing area: 1,800 ft2 (170 m2)
Empty weight: 67,500 lb (30,600 kg)
Loaded weight: 152,000 lb (69,000 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 172,000 lb (78,000 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney J58-1 continuous-bleed afterburning turbojets, 34,000 lbf (151 kN) each
Wheel track: 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m)
Wheelbase: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
Aspect ratio: 1.7
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 3.3[81][82][N 5] (2,200+ mph, 3,530+ km/h, 1,900+ knots) at 80,000 ft (24,000 m)
Range: 2,900 nmi (5,400 km)
Ferry range: 3,200 nmi (5,925 km)
Service ceiling: 85,000 ft (25,900 m)
Rate of climb: 11,810 ft/min (60 m/s)
Wing loading: 84 lb/ft² (410 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.44

[James614]

That was a great article. Amazing story, and I'm surprised I didn't know that much about it seeing as how it was my favorite aircraft as a kid.

[Legacy777]

Coincidence! I was just reading on these from the Jalopnik article I get in their emails. Theirs was related to the Stratos jump.

I was going to post that one too.....I just read that today after the Stratos jump....which was bad ass btw!

[turbo_meow]

i want one so bad

[fireman2101]

Awesome read. I almost like it as much at the Huey but that's only because they we lifesavers in Afghanistan.

[entirelyturbo]

When I went to the New York Auto Show in 2009 with some friends, we went to the Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum and got a picture of all of us standing next to the SR71 sitting on deck. Unfortunately, the camera got lost at the airport when we got back in Orlando and all our pictures from the whole trip were lost with it. It's still really amazing just to see an SR71 in person, though.

[dafrompa]

I've seen the one at the national air and space mussem in dulles virgina. They say it's last flight was from CA and it only took an hour which broke a record flight before they finally put it to rest.

[Legacy777]

Yeah, I read that too. On the last flight it broke a speed record from the west coast to the east coast.

It still amazes me what the engineers, designers, pilots, etc did back then with what they had. Look at the SR-71.....it's a truly magnificent piece of machinery, even to this day...and still holds numerous records! Our generation is a bunch of slackers in comparison

[PhyrraM]

I'm not sure that statement is true.

Finacials are vastly different now than in the 50s and 60s. Also, I wonder how many years went by before the SR71 was even acknowledged?

For those in SoCal, March Air Field Museum has one out in Moreno Valley - along with tons of other cool planes. Used to be free on certain weekends.

[dafrompa]

I like that the x-43 can go mach 9 but i still think the sr-71 will always have my heart it's a great advancement in plane technology and has help man try to push the limits of speed more.

[dafrompa]

has anymore got on the plane simulators at any mussuems. I got on one at dulles it was cool you could barrel roll in and it would lean where you banking it was a great time didn't care if i shot any plane out of the sky just wanted to take the simulator for a spin

[mike-tracy]

^^I have not but want to! I wonder if the nearby Museum of Flight has one? I've never been despite living close for the last 13 years lol.

[Danny-G]

I saw one at the Museum of Flight years ago, it was absolutly amazing to see. I don't know if its still there or not.

[Legacy777]

I remember going to the museum of flight back when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade in 86-87. I've still got the pictures I took

[Legacy777]

You know....I just looked up the book that excerpt came from, Sled Driver. The book is $250 and the older collectable ones out of print are even more. They're going for like $2,000 on Amazon.

[chrisshara]

I recently did an internship at Pratt and Whitney. I learned that those engines were known for leaks. I also learned that the shell of that jet would become more streamlined during flight from the pressure. It would flatten out slightly.

[Legacy777]

Yeah....that whole plane leaked fuel on the runway due to them having to design everything for the "at temp" conditions during flight.

[georryan]

Sure seems like the crazy stuff they'd do to make something like that possible in back then is leagues above the risks we take today, or maybe we are smarter, or who knows. I agree, though. That jet is amazing!

[Legacy777]

More SR-71 awesomeness.

http://gizmodo.com/5994110/the-most-bad ... light-suit