The SR-71 Is/was AWESOME

a reply to: Zaphod58

I don't recall exactly, just something I read.... It pretty much said what I wrote. I have no idea if true or not.

a reply to: tinner07

Most of it was. They didn't turn over the UK though. They slowed before reaching DC and landed. I think that one is now in the Smithsonian.

Awesome plane, just ridiculously fast.

I remember reading a funny story that one of the pilots (allegedly) mentioned in an article I read.

"We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot asked Center for a readout of his ground speed. Center replied: "November Charlie 175, I'm showing you at ninety knots on the ground."

Just moments after the Cessna's inquiry, a Twin Beech piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed. "I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed." Boy, I thought, the Beechcraft really must think he is dazzling his Cessna brethren. Then out of the blue, a navy F-18 pilot out of NAS Lemoore came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Navy jock because he sounded very cool on the radios. "Center, Dusty 52 ground speed check". Before Center could reply, I'm thinking to myself, hey, Dusty 52 has a ground speed indicator in that million-dollar cockpit, so why is he asking Center for a readout? Then I got it, ol' Dusty here is making sure that every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows what true speed is. He's the fastest dude in the valley today, and he just wants everyone to know how much fun he is having in his new Hornet. And the reply, always with that same, calm, voice, with more distinct alliteration than emotion: "Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground."

And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done - in mere seconds we'll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die now. I thought about all of our Sim training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn.

Somewhere, 13 miles above Arizona, there was a pilot screaming inside his space helmet. Then, I heard it. The click of the mic button from the back seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no emotion, Walter spoke: "Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?" There was no hesitation, and the replay came as if was an everyday request. "Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground."

I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that Walt and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most fighter-pilot-like voice: "Ah, Center, much thanks, we're showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money."

For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the Houston Center voice, when L.A.came back with, "Roger that Aspen, Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one."

a reply to: Slanter

Thats one of my favorite blackbird stories, cracks me up every time. I`ve heard there is an aircraft out there whos pilots ask the question "what were those Blackbird pilots doing, walking?"

a reply to: Zaphod58

New York to London Speed Run 1st September 1974


Time Flown: 1hour, 54min, 56.4sec

Distance Flown: 3,461.528 statute miles

Speed Flown: 1,806.95 statute mi/hr.


London to Los Angeles Speed Run 13th September 1974

Time Flown: 3hour, 47min, 39sec

Distance Flown: 5,446.87 statute miles

Speed Flown: 1,435.59 statute mi/hr.




West Coast to East Coast of USA

(National Record-Speed Over a Recognized Course): Coast to Coast Distance: 2,404.05 statute miles, Time: 1 hr 07 min 53.69 secs, Average Speed: 2,124.51 mph

Los Angeles To Washington D.C.

(World Record): Distance: 2,299.67 statute miles, Time: 1 hr 04 min 19.89 secs, Average Speed: 2,144.83 mph

St Louis To Cincinnati

(World Record): Distance: 311.44 statute miles, Time: 8 mins 31.97 secs, Average Speed: 2,189.94 mph

Kansas City To Washington D.C.

(World Record): Distance: 942.08 statute miles, Time: 25 mins 58.53 secs, Average Speed: 2176.08 mph

Note: The above records were confirmed on the 15th March 1990 after the initial release on the 6th March 1990.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Yes an A-12 had A SAM2 missile fragment.
Dennis Sullivan A-12

a reply to: paradoxious

The performance characteristics of the Blackbirds have all been fully declassified.

Mach 3.32 was the design cruise speed, but maximum allowable Mach number was dependent on outside air temperature and its effect on compressor inlet temperature (CIT). The pilot was authorized to accelerate to Mach 3.3 as long as CIT remained at or below 427 degrees Centigrade. Speeds exceeding Mach 3.3 were occasionally recorded, but generally the pilot tried to avoid this area of the performance envelope because it placed excessive thermal stress on the airframe.

Some maximum speed milestones:
YF-12A, 1 May 1965, Mach 3.14 (2,070 mph)
A-12, 8 May 1965, Mach 3.29 (2,171 mph)
SR-71A, 28 July 1976, Mach 3.32 (2,193 mph)

The Blackbirds were designed to cruise at 85,000 feet with a useful fuel load and reconnaissance package. Because the A-12 was 20,000 pounds lighter than the SR-71, it had an altitude capability about 3,000 feet higher than that attained by the SR-71 at any given point in a flight profile for missions of the same range.

Some maximum altitude milestones:
YF-12A, 1 May 1965, 80,257 feet
SR-71A, 1968, 89,650 feet
A-12, 14 August 1965, 90,000 feet

In 1975, Lockheed studied the possibility of expanding the flight envelope of the SR-71 with some modifications. The results of several studies concluded the maximum speed limit could be extended to Mach 3.5 for short periods of time. The only structural limit to speeds above Mach 3.5 was a KEAS (knots equivalent airspeed) limit of 420, set by inlet duct pressures and temperatures that exceeded acceptable values. Limited inlet capture-area and excessive engine CIT also limited operation at higher Mach numbers, even with proposed modifications.

Similar studies addressed the possibility of achieving flights well above 85,000 feet. results indicated the SR-71 could briefly reach an altitude of about 95,000 feet in a zoom-climb profile. The proposed mission could have been accomplished with an airplane having a gross-weight of 85,000 pounds. According to the flight profile, the pilot would accelerate from Mach 3.2 to 3.5 at an altitude of 80,000 feet, then zoom to 95,000 feet as speed decreased to normal cruise mach numbers. The airplane would subsequently settle back down to an altitude of about 84,000 feet. Sustained flight above 85,000 feet was limited by wing surface-area and engine thrust capabilities.

Stories about the Blackbirds leaking fuel while on the ground are true. Maintenance crews had to place numerous pans and buckets underneath the airplane while it was parked in the hangar. It was kind of a nightmare for Air Force firefighters who were accustomed to seeing any fuel leak as a serious fire hazard, but the flash point of JP-7 was extremely high. You could drop a lit match in a puddle of JP-7 and the flame would be extinguished. I once tested this with a small sample I collected from a drip pan beneath the SR-71B. Igniting JP-7 required a shot of tri-ethyl borane (TEB) -- you can see the effect in archival photos and videos as a green flash in the afterburner at engine start. I once got to see this phenomenon close up in real life (from a distance of less than 20 feet).

a reply to: Shadowhawk

There was a story in one of Brian Shul's books, I think it was, of an SR-71 getting ready for a flight out of Okinawa where the V8 cart leaked gas, and started a fire. The crew chief took a broom and swept JP7 over the flames while everyone else was running for the doors and put the fire out.