Very O/T 'cept for the speed aspect - SR-71

[jscorse]

Just finished reading an article about SR-71 pilots. The have a meeting every two years at anair museum in Tucson AZ.

Here's the amazing part...

Years ago, at least two pilots punched out at 84,000 feet while travelling at 2,200mph or Mach 3.2, before their plane broke in two.

At that altitude their space suits are heated to 300C as they "reentered" the atmosphere. They would free fall for 30,000 feet while travelling supersonic, then ANOTHER 30,000 feet before their chute would open.

Their limbs where not ripped off travelling at 2,200mph because at 84,000 feet the air is so thin it is equivalent to 'only' 300knots at sea level because the air is so thin.

The first pilot to do this had to do the whole fall blind because his visor froze over instantlly. They later added a battery powered heater.

F-14/15/16 pilots have had limbs torn off or 'damaged' as a result of punching out at 'low' alt. and high speed.

FYI

[sfsvx]

While in the USAF I had a commander who was the first person to eject from an SR-71 and live. His pilot was the second.

That's a learning curve I don't really want to be behind.

[Mr. Pockets]

The SR-71 has dozens of stories surrounding it. From its design through its entire life, it's just a fascinating aircraft.

[wasions]

Originally posted by Mr. Pockets
The SR-71 has dozens of stories surrounding it. From its design through its entire life, it's just a fascinating aircraft.

I recently read that the whole plane (including the fuel tanks) leaked at sea level pressures. It wasn't until it was (really high) airborne, that it became air worthy.

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by wasions


I recently read that the whole plane (including the fuel tanks) leaked at sea level pressures. It wasn't until it was (really high) airborne, that it became air worthy.

It wasn't really sea-level air pressure that caused it to leak. The whole plane was built to expand and be happy at the temperatures it would encounter while flying.

[sfsvx]

Originally posted by Mr. Pockets
The SR-71 has dozens of stories surrounding it. From its design through its entire life, it's just a fascinating aircraft.

The airplane itself is unbelievable. Also, the crews who flew them have some incredible stories to tell. Unfortunately, they're the kind of stories where if they told you, they'd have to kill you.

Just goes to show you what industry and government can do when the government isn't worried about finding the lowest bidder.

[Shadow248]

You think that's a crazy ship? (i agree) Wait until you see it's replacement. The Lockheed SR-75 will begin testing in 2005...supposedly. It is supposed to be capable of Mach 5 and near 100,000ft ceiling. Of course, they say that now before they test it. There's another ship rumored to be in development...i don't know if it's official or just educated rumor...but it's a much smaller recon craft, which is triangle shaped (no tail), and uses "Pulse Detonation Wave Engines". People say they have seen this craft being tested in the desert (wow there's an original story) because the engines create a very distinct contrail. It is supposedly capable of speeds just over mach 7, at these speeds the entire craft glows red. People have also said they saw that. Which would possibly explain some UFO sightings. But who knows, really?

[SVXphile]

My favorite aircraft! Was Johnson ahead of his time or what? Amazing what a genius can do with a slide rule. Remember the MIG 25 pilot that flew to Japan? He said his dream was to shoot down an SR-71....but every time he or his comrades got anywhere close, the Blackbird would just accelerate away.....or climb to an altitude that they and their missiles couldn't reach. I have a strong feeling that Mach 3+ was nowhere near it's actual potential.
Those of you who attended the Great Smoky Mountain Meet, may remember my buddy Barry. He used to be stationed at Mildenhall, England air base. One morning on the way to work, he noticed an SR being towed out of its hanger, while a KC-135 tanker was down the field at the other end, prepared for takeoff. He HAD to stop and take a look, naturally....and noticed that the crew was running up one of the SR's engines. Just then, the tanker went to full throttle with a deafening roar....those of you who have ever heard one, I don't have to tell you how noisy they are....and it rolled down the runway toward the SR. Barry said that at that moment, the SR went to afterburner on that ONE engine.....and totally drown out the four engine tanker! He said the plume of flame was something to behold!

I am curious if the "SR-75" is the same as "Aurora"? There were many reports from the west coast of some very loud sounds...pulsing sounds....coming from the high desert. (Groom Lake?) Oddly, those reports seem to have ceased. There were all kinds of rumors of some type of external burn engine technology; I wonder if they came up against some major technical problem and suspended the program. I do know that the Air Force has admitted (off the record) that mothballing the SR was a mistake. Satellite technology takes great pictures, but cannot be moved from place to place in a timely manner. So what has taken its place? My guess is something very slow....very quiet....and invisible to radar. Don

[Jamsvx]

I've though the SR-71 was a beast of plane since I was a kid and first saw it in my uncle's serial on weapons.

I did not know that anyone had ejected from one (very disappointed with myself...military aircraft are another hobby of mine) and I think, although may be wrong, that the designation was supposed to be RS-71 (keeping within the nomclature of the designations of other recon birds).

There is a book floating around that has two of the A-12's (predecessors to SR-71) in formation at low level...looks amazing!

Final bit of trivia...the kickass AIM-54 Phoneix missile on the Tomcat was originally developed for the A-12 interceptor...guess you need need a Mach 6 missile when launching from a Mach 3 platform

But my favourite of favouites has got to be the XB-70 Valkyrie...now, THAT shows what can be done with a sliderule!

Gentlepeeples, the correct term for the device is "slipstick".

[Mr. Pockets]

SR-75: Never heard of it. But then, I'm sure there are tons of things we've never heard of nor seen.

XB-70: I saw one at the Air Force Museum in Dayton. I flew there in a C-130 with the Civil Air Patrol. There was no in-flight movie. Anyway, the XB-70 was very, very cool. Simply huge.

KC-135: I flew in one, also with the CAP, on a refueling flight with the Air National Guard. I got to lay down in an observer's position next to the boom operator while he refueled a group of F-16s. It's one thing to see something like an F-16 on the ground. It's an entirely different thing to see a group of them in the air, so close.

On the refueling flight, I remember having a terrible cold. The plane wasn't as comfortably pressurized as an airliner, and I thought my head was going to explode. If you have that sort of pain, I recommend grabbing your nose (plugging it) and trying to blow out through it. It hurts like hell, initially, but does a good job of releasing the pressure on your sinuses.

[sfsvx]

Originally posted by Jamsvx
I did not know that anyone had ejected from one (very disappointed with myself...military aircraft are another hobby of mine) and I think, although may be wrong, that the designation was supposed to be RS-71 (keeping within the nomclature of the designations of other recon birds).

The designation of the spy planes didn't seem follow the normal rules. The "U" in U-2 meant "Utility", a category that included various single-engine prop jobs and was chosen to hide the real mission of the aircraft. The new version of the U-2 is the TR-1, for "Tactical Reconaissance". "SR" was supposed to stand for "Strategic Reconaissance", but the whole designation of the SR, YF-12A, and A-11, starting with Lyndon Johnson's first announcement of the A-11, was somewhat confused. Ah, the '60's . . .

I was told (disclaimer here - I'm not a pilot) that many of the ejections followed aerial refueling. The SR was borderline unstable at the speeds and altitudes required to hook up to the KC-135, and getting the jet back up to operational speed and altitude following the refueling had to be done just right. If it wasn't, the jet could stall and break in two, and the pieces would start tumbling. Ejection during this tumbling was pretty exciting and sometimes fatal.

Again, I was told this second- or third-hand by another guy who wasn't a pilot, so it might be wrong - but it seems consistent with what little I do know about airplanes, flying, and aerodynamics in general.

[solarsvx]

the sr 71 black bird was one of my favorite planes growing up ,, its a incredbile marvel indeed..

from my understanding no plane to this date has mathed its spee dor altitiude,, and this is a plane that made may back whene, the 60s" im asuming

i dont think any other country has a plane like it,

While in AZ I visisted the Air Space Museum thing there. They had a mothballed SR71 there... I touched the tip of the cone on one of the engines... too bad I didn't have a screwdriver, I probably could have gotten the tip off from it.

- Ca$h

I work in the manufacture of military avionics, making important tidbits for the F-16, 18, 15, C-130, KC-135 and etc. During a training class in Indiana I was able to slip over to Dayton to see the the Air Museum.

Standing under the Valkyrie looking at it's 6 engines 3 stories above was a thrill. The gooseneck cockpit must have been 5 stories above. What a thrill, even greater than looking at the monster B-36. Too bad one had to crash.

We had a former SR-71 pilot and navigator working at our facility after their retirement from the military. Fellow workers would give them crap about flying the plane (of course with adequate respect), but they never, ever said anything......