Some more interesting SR-71 performance info here: http://www.u2sr71patches.co.uk/sr71performance.htm If I'm reading the data tables correctly, it looks like the SR-71 goes Mach 3.3 at 80,000 ft. And, the indicated airspeed would be less than 480 kts even though the plane would have a true airspeed of 2200 mph (1911 kts). .
For comparison here's the wing shot of the Concorde, also from Duxford. Similar interesting dip and twist, even taking into account the overall droop of the wing at rest. Image Unavailable, Please Login
this is the only airplane that nearly every time I read something new about it or see a new picture of one, my heart beats faster and my imagination goes wild. super secret airplane... born in the Cold War... used for extraordinarily dangerous and critical missions over very hostile territories that had great interest in shooting it down, but no one could touch it. every bit of it an engineering marvel... designed using a slide rule... money no object... and just. so. beautiful. extreme and extraordinary and inspiring in every sense. (my eyes literally tear up just writing this)
......and, in the late fifties, designed to be somewhat stealthy, at a time when we believed that no one had ever heard of stealth yet!
Had the privilege of listening to Kelly Johnson speak at a Society of Experimental Test Pilots symposium in 1982. The stories he told of airplane development in the 50's/early 60's was amazing. They were pumping out new designs (fighters) in about 18 months. Not updates to existing models, but brand new clean sheet designs. That includes the A-12/SR-71. Sad really as, just like the Saturn V, we couldn't design the same airplane in less than 5 yrs nowadays.
wow. to have been in the room with such a visionary leader speaking about his craft. that must've been truly a privilege. to think... that this was the very first aircraft built out of titanium... so not only did they need to design this masterpiece... they then needed to then design and create the first tools and manufacturing processes to even build such a craft! it takes a special kind of leader to assure all these separate specialists worked together efficiently and well... such a massive undertaking is ripe for failure... and at such a critical junction in the Cold War... Kelly Johnson and those reporting to him... did. not. fail. they took design and engineering to new heights (literally), a whole new category of aircraft, overcame incredible obstacles... and delivered. and they did it all in secret.
Are any sr-71's still flyable? I know NASA grabbed one or 2.. Do they still have them or have they ended up in museums also.
Photos from Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, OR taken today - some great stuff: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Found this in-flight photo on the web. Beautiful airplane from this angle. Image Unavailable, Please Login
^^ kudos to him for not wanting to discuss something that happened so many years ago. And kudos to Art for thinking to ask permission first. .
I can't tell you how many car designs used the SR-71 as "inspiration" over the years. One of the coolest planes..................ever.
