The SR-71

Just a couple of notes on the XB-70 and SR-71. Reposted from another place, but maybe still worth telling.

I knew a guy who worked on the XB-70 prototypes. There were actually three planes built, one of which was a "learning exercise" on how to weld all the exotic metals; it never actually flew. He says that they built plastic film "tents" around the areas to be welded and filled them with neutral gas (maybe Argon) to weld. I guess they thought spraying Helium or such just around the arc was not good enough...tragically, there was a worker suffocated from residual inert gas being trapped in part of the fuselage.

An XB-70 engine (but not the plane) used to be at the Omaha SAC museum. I was amazed to see that practically every little plumbing fitting on that engine was welded. Perry told me that the design philosophy was to make the B70 as nearly as possible an "all-welded airplane".

They also have an SR-71 there, (at least back in the early 90s) sadly it had been just left outside on the tarmac to deteriorate. It was interesting to look up into the gear wells and see that there were actually plumbed inflatable bags to surround the wheels when they were up, presumably to cool them with jet fuel to avoid cooking the rubber. Also they had a B-58, a B-36, and an English Vulcan at Omaha SAC.

 

Don't recall one at Paine, but around the same time an SR-71 did the same routine at a couple of Abbotsford Airshows. The first year it just did a couple of flybys and then departed (in a hurry), but the second year it landed and parked. Yes, the airplane does leak like a sieve after it cools down!

 

For those geeks who enjoy reading technical manuals for fun (goodness I miss reactor plant manuals!)

http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/manual/

 

just saw the blackbird at the smithsonian...wow
the most amazing thing is how freakin' big that plane is !!

 

For anyone that is interested, there is also an SR-71B in Kalamazoo, MI. At the "Air Zoo"
"The Air Zoo’s Blackbird is the only “B” model in existence – a trainer model with a second cockpit meant for a flight instructor."

http://www.airzoo.org/aircraft/sr71-blackbird/

 

Saw one at the Huntsville Space Museum when we were driving back from Florida a few years past. The plane was actually designed with gaps in the panels and joints. Reason being with the friction of the speeds it traveled, the materials would expand and seal the joints. Pretty amazing feat of engineering.

 

I knew dat. The fuel was JP7, a special jellied substance when it was cold but fluid when heated by the air frame which in turn was heated by skin friction of the air at Mach 3.

 

I'm adding that to the list of places I must visit when I eventually come to America

 

A shot I took of the SR-71 at the SAC Museum a few years ago...I spent nearly an hour looking at that plane, just examining all of the rivet work and shapes.
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We have one here in the Museum Of Flight in Seattle with a drone, too.

 

I remember gawking at this jet all the time -- as it was parked along the tarmac of MSP... it's a pity to hear they moved it.

 

I think it's a shame the one in NY on the Intrepid is slowly dying..It looked so frail when i saw it in 03.

 

At least they probably don't rust - but all the plastic, rubber, etc. will be gone pretty soon. I am glad that they got the one in Omaha inside at least.

 

There was a photo of the locheed plant somewhere in a dessert, there were a few A12's parked nose to tail all wrapped up, I wonder if they are still there.

Nasa ran a few for a while. Apparently the starter was a ford 427 on a cart.

 

454 Chevy was what I had heard - not that that is any big toot. anybody know for sure?

 

here's where they are...

http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/a-12/a-12locations.php

 

The starter carts for the SR-71 were Buick engines that were hopped up by a Calif tuner. At the time there were no big block engines (like the 427 or 454) those might have come later, but the original starter carts in the 60's and early 70's were modified Buick engines.

 

JP-7 is a liquid. It just has a very high flash point. You can put out a cigarette in a bucket of JP-7. It was the oil that coagulated at room temperatures. . A special diluent was added so that it did not jell at room temp and startup. After a while the diluents burned out so the lubricant could work at temperature. The lubricant had to be re-diluted before it got too cool or it was a mess.

While I was working at P&W during the 70's one of our engineers was a crew member for a guy who was racing a Formula B car at the Road Atlanta runoffs. It was very cold that year, and he "obtained" some of the diluent and they added it to the gearbox. In the early laps of the race the car had a huge advantage and won the race, the lower drag of diluted oil in the gearbox reduced the drag and gave him an advantage.

 

Thanks for your clarifying that fuel stuff for me as I have had little experience with SR-71's. Messed around with a few SR-9's and Sr-10's but they were Stinsons.

 

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Article in my local paper that might be of interest: http://slidellsentry.com/articles/2009/03/02/news/doc49abeaba7d189133841432.txt

snippet: "...In the 1990s, the Blackbird was threatened with extinction and then recalled into service. “Blackbird Resurrection,” by retired U.S. Air Force Col. Joseph Reich, recounts the reactivation and eventual permanent deactivation of the aircraft. Reich, the Air Force Junior ROTC commander at St. Paul’s School in Covington, is a former intelligence officer and the chief of targets and imagery at U.S. Central Command during the resurrection of the Blackbird. The book is a fictionalized account of actual events and contains a wealth of information for military historians, aviation enthusiasts and even students of leadership studies..."

 

I really love the SR-71. I have seen the ones on display at Dulles (actually went to the landing in 1990), Pima Air Museum (Tucson, AZ) twice and I am going to see the one at the Aviation museum in San Diego when I go there in May. I have read a ton on them and can tell you that they have one of the SR-71 engine starters at Pima. It used 2 Buick Wildcat engines to turn the starter shaft on the 71 just to get it started. Most don't realize that the SR-71 was actually the first stealth airplane because of the chicanes are a stealth feature. Further, the fuel that the SR-71 had it it's wet wing and fuselage was also used to cool the skin on the plane. Truly amazing piece of technology.

Forgot to attach the below pic. It is a heads on look to the SR-71 that I took at Pima Air Museum.
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