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Blackbirds! by MrPBody
Started on: 12-09-2001 10:57 PM
Replies: 25
Last post by: Mark Matthews on 12-13-2001 01:50 PM
MrPBody
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Report this Post12-09-2001 10:57 PM Click Here to See the Profile for MrPBodyClick Here to visit MrPBody's HomePageSend a Private Message to MrPBodyDirect Link to This Post
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loafer87gt
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Report this Post12-09-2001 11:13 PM Click Here to See the Profile for loafer87gtSend a Private Message to loafer87gtDirect Link to This Post
The Blackbird is still one of my favorite aircraft. I used to have a whole whack of posters covering my ceiling of the plane when I was a kid. Have you ever played around with any of the Micro$oft flight simulator programs? If you have any of them on your computer, here is a site with an awesome Sr-71 you can fly in the game. It is near the bottom of the page.
http://www.fsplanet.com/best2.htm
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Nashco
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Report this Post12-09-2001 11:20 PM Click Here to See the Profile for NashcoClick Here to visit Nashco's HomePageSend a Private Message to NashcoDirect Link to This Post
Those are very cool. They had (still do maybe???) one at the Seattle Museum of Flight, but I never got to go see it.

Hmm...I wonder if it's still there??? I should look into that.

Bryce
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MrPBody
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Report this Post12-10-2001 07:31 AM Click Here to See the Profile for MrPBodyClick Here to visit MrPBody's HomePageSend a Private Message to MrPBodyDirect Link to This Post
loafer87gt --

I have flown the SR-71 on an old copy of Chuck Yeager's Flight Trainer. It's hard to get off the ground, but once you're in the air, point it at the moon and go up until the sky turns black!


Nashco --

If you're in Alabama -- there's one in Huntsville and another in Birmingham. Warner Robins, near Macon, GA, also has one.

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LZeitgeist
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Report this Post12-10-2001 08:03 AM Click Here to See the Profile for LZeitgeistSend a Private Message to LZeitgeistDirect Link to This Post
Last time I was there, the museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio had one on display...
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DaRkLoRD
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Report this Post12-10-2001 12:40 PM Click Here to See the Profile for DaRkLoRDSend a Private Message to DaRkLoRDDirect Link to This Post
SR71s and F-117As are 2 of my favorite aircraft.. if you like them, I recommend the book "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich. excellent book, very interesting.

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Fformula88
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Report this Post12-10-2001 12:47 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Fformula88Send a Private Message to Fformula88Direct Link to This Post
The SR-71 is very cool! I have a huge model of one I made years ago!
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terryk
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Report this Post12-10-2001 03:00 PM Click Here to See the Profile for terrykSend a Private Message to terrykDirect Link to This Post
Castle Air Force Base in Atwater California has one. They finally repainted the one in Huntsville, AL. It was looking pretty bad there.
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WampusCat
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Report this Post12-10-2001 03:16 PM Click Here to See the Profile for WampusCatSend a Private Message to WampusCatDirect Link to This Post
The ANG museum on the northside of Minneapolis St. Paul International has one on display. Remember all the stories/rumors about the 'aurora' that supposedly replaced the SR71? Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine ran a few articles where they claimed to have heard radio conversations with one of the pilots and had tracked it and measured its speed. Then the stories just kinda died off. http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/aurora.html http://aurorapage.tripod.com/

[This message has been edited by WampusCat (edited 12-10-2001).]

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hugh
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Report this Post12-10-2001 07:38 PM Click Here to See the Profile for hughSend a Private Message to hughDirect Link to This Post
I've read some fascinating articles on the SR71.On it's last flight it flew out over the Pacific,refueled and got a running start towards Washington DC.It made it in about 1 hour16 minutes.Satelites reduced the need for the SR71 and caused it's eventual retirement.
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LZeitgeist
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Report this Post12-10-2001 08:31 PM Click Here to See the Profile for LZeitgeistSend a Private Message to LZeitgeistDirect Link to This Post
Yup, the one in the Smithsonian broke a cross-country record on the trip there, its final flight before being put in the museum.
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Report this Post12-11-2001 12:14 AM Click Here to See the Profile for maryjaneSend a Private Message to maryjaneDirect Link to This Post
Is it true the sr-71 leaked fuel all over the place till it reached cruising speed? I know they were supposed to be un-armed, but they just looked mean as hel*.
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Report this Post12-11-2001 01:38 AM Click Here to See the Profile for mrfieroSend a Private Message to mrfieroDirect Link to This Post
I always like the SR-71 too. My dad was in the Air Force and I got to see one up close and personal (got to see it in the air too!) in '79 or '80 while we were stationed on Okinawa (Kadena AFB).

A VERY cool plane!

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loafer87gt
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Report this Post12-11-2001 03:42 AM Click Here to See the Profile for loafer87gtSend a Private Message to loafer87gtDirect Link to This Post
Mj, indeed the Sr71 did leak fuel until it reached a certain speed/height and then the airframe would tighten up. There was actually a variant of the Sr71 that was proposed for interception called the YF12, and it was capable of carrying air to air missles. It is distinguishable from the regualr BB by its nose section. The one plane I really want ot know more info about is the Aurora, the new ramjet the military is supposedly testing.
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Report this Post12-11-2001 02:36 PM Click Here to See the Profile for PAUL88GTSend a Private Message to PAUL88GTDirect Link to This Post
The one in Huntsville is parked in front of the Space and Rocket Center on Interstate I-565 on the west side of town. You do not have to pay to get in the museum to see it (up close). You may want to check it out if you come to the Swap Meet at the Fiero Factory next April.
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artherd
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Report this Post12-11-2001 11:33 PM Click Here to See the Profile for artherdClick Here to visit artherd's HomePageSend a Private Message to artherdDirect Link to This Post
I saw that plane in Seattle, first one I've seen up close... AWESOME! Rocket Sled indeed!
I lucked out, Brian Shuel was there (Author of the Sled Driver books, and a SR-71 pilot
We spent the rest of the day there, and I talked with him a bit. They would get up at 6am, fly around the USA TWICE, and be back in CA for lunch....

THe SR-71 would indeed leak fuel on the ground when 'cold' (the airframe normally *operates* in excess of 1,000degreesF.) The JP-7 Fuel is a special, and *very* hard to ignite. Once a fire broke out in a trashcan in a SR-71 hanger, and a quick-thinking mechanic took a bucket of JP-7, tossed it on the fire, and it WENT OUT!

The JP-7 soaked SR-71 did catch fire once on the run-up pad, but considering the burning temp at sea level is about *HALF* the operating skin temp of the airplane.... They just sat tight and let it burn off

The Titanium Airframe is being gradually heat treated as the plans grow older through normal flying. It does not stress crack like Aluminum, and it is stronger today than it ever was when new. These planes could last *forever!*

The SR-71 Pilots will live about 5min longer than the rest of us, due to Relativity Dialation!!!

------------------

Ben Cannon
88 Formula, T-top, Metalic Red           "Every Man Dies, not every man really Lives"
88 Formula, Northstar, Silver                     -Mel Gibson, "Braveheart"

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artherd
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Report this Post12-11-2001 11:47 PM Click Here to See the Profile for artherdClick Here to visit artherd's HomePageSend a Private Message to artherdDirect Link to This Post

artherd

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Kelly Johnson:
"Will it do Mach 3?"
"Oh yes"
"Will it do Mach 3.5?"
"Oh yes"
"Will it do Mach 4?"
"I am not at liberty to discuss the top speed of the SR-71..."
"Will it do Mach 4.5?"
"I am not at liberty to discuss the top speed of the SR-71..."
"Will it do Mach 5?"
"I am not at liberty to discuss the top speed of the SR-71..."
"Will it do Mach 5.5?"
"Oh, no, it won't do Mach 5.5"

Brian once told me that over Libia, he was doing Mach 3.5, and still had *THREE INCHES of afterburner travel* left on the throttles....

Best!
Ben.

PS: They start the JP-7 with Tri-Ethel Borane, a high-energy density exlposive developed for deep pressure offshore oil exploration (blowing holes in rock a mile down.) CERTINLY NOT for starting jet engines

Count the Mach Diamonds!


------------------

Ben Cannon
88 Formula, T-top, Metalic Red           "Every Man Dies, not every man really Lives"
88 Formula, Northstar, Silver                     -Mel Gibson, "Braveheart"

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Report this Post12-11-2001 11:48 PM Click Here to See the Profile for maryjaneSend a Private Message to maryjaneDirect Link to This Post
relativity who? What?
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Report this Post12-12-2001 04:40 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Red2m4Send a Private Message to Red2m4Direct Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by maryjane:
relativity who? What?

I could be wrong...

...but i think Artherd was refering to the Theory of Relativity, Re: Albert Einstien, it links velocity and time...as you speed up, time slows down, relative to a non-moving observer. Experiments have been done with atomic clocks. Atomic clocks are very very accurate, if they run for 1000 years they will only be off a second or two, any way... You put one clock on the ground and the other on an airplane and fly around for a few weeks, and when your done the clock on the airplane will be a little bit behind the clock that is left on the ground.

So, when Artherd says that the pilots will "live longer" he is technically incorrect, what is happening is that we on the ground are traveling faster through time than those in the airplane. Five minutes would be a HUGE difference, but may be correct, if you asume that the pilots have a fairly long carreer. (And spend a lot of time flying in the airplane at high-speeds.)

It's 4:30 am, if this doesn't make sense, I appologize.

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Report this Post12-12-2001 08:21 AM Click Here to See the Profile for PheageyClick Here to visit Pheagey's HomePageSend a Private Message to PheageyDirect Link to This Post
Man those things are fast. I beleive stil the fastest plane ever to be in service.

Woulder what it would take to strap one of the engines onto a fiero...
<fantasy>
ignition...check
maskes on...check
belted in...check
fuel injetors...check
ingnition in 3
2
1
BAM! Mach 4 in 3 seconds.
</fantasy>
Anyways....
<relizes he was daydreaming out loud>

------------------
'88 coupe, 5 speed, custome paint job
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Sage
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Report this Post12-12-2001 09:45 AM Click Here to See the Profile for SageSend a Private Message to SageDirect Link to This Post
Ben, you never cease to amaze me! Good stuff. That thing sounds like it goes way beyond being "just a machine".

This thing sounds like one of the machines that can do things that the human body can't tolerate, so who can fly it to the max of it's capabilities?

Don't flog me with a wet noodle, I don't know anything about this stuff, I'm just asking?! I will never get over the basic CONCEPT of manned flight, let alone a mechanical beast like this thing! That's just incredible!

Good info...all, thanks for sharing.

Happy holidays!

------------------
Have a good one!

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Report this Post12-13-2001 12:05 AM Click Here to See the Profile for artherdClick Here to visit artherd's HomePageSend a Private Message to artherdDirect Link to This Post
Can a pilot take it? Man, what a plane, but for the most part; yes.

Straight line speed is no problem, depending on who you ask, we're all hurtling away from the rough center of the universe's expansion at anywhere from .1-.6C (speed of light) any way you slice that, it's fast

However, let's just say that you DO NOT want to yank on that control stick very hard above certin mach numbers or so (unsurprisingly the airplane is fairly sensative above mach 3 Most airplanes have a speed that which, once exceeded, you can *hurt* the plane by yanking it around to roughly. Pilots know this as 'manuvering speed.'

PS: Despite extensive shielding and a 3" thick SOLID quartz windscreen, the cockpit temp rises above 220F during normal runs.

You could cook a steak on there!

With some technology though (Apollo era climate controled space suits actually) the human body can mostly take it

PSS: Red2m4, time dialation with speed, exactly what I was talking about. Yes, it IS a huge number! as for 'older' or live 'longer', it's all relative :P)

Best!
Ben.


 
quote
Originally posted by Sage:
This thing sounds like one of the machines that can do things that the human body can't tolerate, so who can fly it to the max of it's capabilities?

------------------

Ben Cannon
88 Formula, T-top, Metalic Red           "Every Man Dies, not every man really Lives"
88 Formula, Northstar, Silver                     -Mel Gibson, "Braveheart"

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TSPalmer
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Report this Post12-13-2001 12:46 PM Click Here to See the Profile for TSPalmerSend a Private Message to TSPalmerDirect Link to This Post
The pilots wore a modified space suit if I remember correctly to survive both the pressure and the heat associated with the speeds the SR-71 could reach, plus the altitude that they flew at.

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T.Shawn Palmer
'85 SE 4cyl 5spd

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BN Boomer
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Report this Post12-13-2001 01:21 PM Click Here to See the Profile for BN BoomerSend a Private Message to BN BoomerDirect Link to This Post
Seems I also recall that the Blackbird doesn't/didn't take off with a full load of fuel. Just enough to get it airborne and able to be aerially refueled.

I think there is one on display at Hill AFB in Ogden, UT, too.

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BN Boomer
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Report this Post12-13-2001 01:27 PM Click Here to See the Profile for BN BoomerSend a Private Message to BN BoomerDirect Link to This Post

BN Boomer

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Also, considering that jet engine fuels are fairly close to diesel and kerosene, it shouldn't came as any great surprise that it isn't very easily ignited. You can put out matches and cigarettes in the stuff. The only general time an explosion hazzard is present is on hot days when fumes begin to generate, and even then it is usually only in confined areas like fuel tanks.
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Mark Matthews
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Report this Post12-13-2001 01:50 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Mark MatthewsSend a Private Message to Mark MatthewsDirect Link to This Post
When I was a kid living in Boulder, Colorado one would fly over the house about once a year. That was quite interesting hearing, and feeling, it boom overhead. Until living in CA, it felt like what a earthquake would feel like. No I know better!

------------------
Mark Matthews
'87 GT Fastback T-top

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