SR-71

This slug?

Not to hijack the BlackBird thread, but as we know, the Soviets copied just about everything we made, but could never perfect anything due to their top down one-way street chain of command amongst other things..

Sort of a Hustler/Starfighter cocktail
Tsybin RSR
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Yeah, it's hard to tell in the pics, but it looked in rough shape. The windows on that and the Tomcat were just faded white and yellow. They both deserve better. I think the one on the Intrepid in NYC is also outside unless they put a circus tent on it like Shuttle Enterprise, which ended up collapsing and damaging it during Sandy.

Anyway, next Thursday I'm going on a road trip to visit UAB. I'm planning on seeing four Blackbirds in four days (Eglin AFB, Birmingham, Huntsville, Warner Robins). I'm definitely bringing my DSLR for that trip. Thursday through Sunday of next week. Hopefully I don't burn out, lol...or worse if my camera decides to.

 

great
plenty of pix please!

 

I used to LOVE putting the Blackbird in the background of my sketches....
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Sure thing! I'll probably make a new thread for that with a bit of info on each particular airframe. If I have time, I'll go to Dulles and see that Blackbird again in January when I'm in Maryland that whole month. I fly out to San Diego the end of that month and will try to see the one out there as well. Would love to see them all. Been thinking of vacationing in London this spring with family and there is one out there in addition to the Donington F1 museum...hmm.

 

Stumbled across these today...

CW
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Was the MIg 25 and 31 not supposed to be able to intercept the blackbird?

 

Interesting as the Phonix missile system in the Tomcat was designed for the A12 interceptor.

 

The -25 was designed in response to the development of the B-70, which of course never entered production. Engines were not reliable and anything over Mach 3 destroyed the engines. Pretty good summary in wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-25

 

Pics are pretty good. I was at the Quonset air base/museum the day the F-14 was flown in to be retired and join their collection. The pilot did a few low passes and then landed and taxied right up to where myself and and a small group were waiting. That was an extremely loud plane. F-14 is my favorite for looks in a fighter aircraft. It was also retired to soon. http://www.williammaloney.com/Aviation/QuonsetAirMuseum/GrummanF14Tomcat/pages/01GrummanF14Tomcat.htm

I have seen the SR-71 displayed outside of DC, another incredible aircraft also retired too soon.

Both locations of the National Air & space museum, the mall and the hanger are great places to visit. There should be regional versions housing all the great pieces of history in large, comfortable buildings telling the history of the country in interactive displays instead of rotting outdoors seen by very few.

 

Yes, a real shame that these icons of American aeronautics are neglected like this. When operational, were they ever "stored" outside? I bet they were primarily in the air or hangered instead.

BTW, sounds like a great road trip!

 

My all-time favorite plane the B-70 Valkyrie. So far ahead of its time. My Air Force - 300 Valkyrie's and 1200 Black Widow's with a few SR-71's.


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vPvr29wJ80[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQi-IaFO3kk[/ame]

 

Not a chance in hell. The 31 could approach Mach 2.7 to 3, but at the expense of engine damage every time it did so.

 

and here I thought I had just about every cool photo of the SR71
thanks!

 

Is there any photo of the SR-71 that is NOT cool?

 

yes,you got me on that one

 

How many did they build in total?

 

Breakdown by variant of Blackbirds from what I can find:

SR-71A/B/C: 32 (20 remain)
YF-12A: 3 (1 remains) There is a C variant, but it's also a SR-71A that is included in the number above.
A-12: 13 (8 remain)
M-21: 2 (1 remains)

So only 50 built and 30 survived.

Sources:

Production data: http://www.u2sr71patches.co.uk/sr71production.htm
Survivors: http://www.johnweeks.com/sr71/index.html

 

I will never forget my dad, who was a Colonel in the Air Force, telling to get in the car to go look at a plane that was scheduled to land soon at Eglin, AFB. As we drove from our on base housing to the perimeter of Eglin field we saw the approach and landing of an SR-71. It was absolutely an awesome sight and you can bet that the MPs did not let you get too close to that magnificent and irreplaceable bird. I still recall how proud I was to live in a country that produces such extraordinary machines.

 

And, THAT right there is the saddest thing. Where are we now, but more importantly where are we heading? Are we developing anything today that is as truly advanced as the Blackbird was then?

I've read about Scramjet technology. Mach 10 is the goal. If not possible, what is? As we approach the limits of what we can achieve on the technology curve, developmental breakthroughs will be tougher to reach, I suppose (law of diminishing returns). Maybe we've plucked the low-hanging fruit from an engineering standpoint. Economic viability plays a role in this, too, though.

But, is there ANYTHING we should be excited about?

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/research/mach10_meteor.html

Given NASA's funding, the X43 project has to be on hold, if not dead altogether (note the ~Mach 7 flight was in 2004).

After how many years of GA, civilians can only surpass Mach 1 on the G650 or the Citation X, which is something the military has been able to do since Yeager's achievement. Are we topped/ing out?

CW

 

Excellent points. Just where are the Kelly Johnsons in this day and age and how can we insure that they have the proper environment to innovate and prevail?

 

Most great leaps in technology (of all kinds) come in times of war... fact. Aircraft are a perfect example.

WWI - Wright Flyer descendents to the Sopwith Camel and dogfighting.

WWII - Fabric biplanes to the ME-262 and the Komet.

The SR-71 was a product of "The Cold War", arguably World War III. Only the threat of nuclear annihilation kept us from an actual, physical war.

The tech development, however was in high gear... "Beat the Russians". Sputnik, the Race to the Moon, SR-71, X-15.



Things are not like that now... arguably... so we have less and less funding for developments like that. Less and less impetus to rapidly develop the next breakthrough. Few people working 24/7 to feverishly beat the other guys.

So, your question, Chip; how to create that environment without a war, or?????

I don't know.

 

Good point.

The biggest development recently appears to be UCAV and drone technology. Going higher into space maybe a logical step, but it seems that that's not where the exciting developmental work is. Too far away to be practical (can't be repaired) maybe? Too expensive?

But, there may also be physical limitations to atmospheric performance, right? As the X43 article discusses, enormous frictional temperatures have to be dealt with.

I'm not a "dreamer", but there have to be people out there who are white-boarding new, exciting ideas. Not that we'd be privy to them if their military, I guess.

CW

 

The YF-23 from what I had heard was looked at as being a replacement for the SR-71, when the F-22 was selected to be the replacement for the F-15. It could reach 100,000ft without afterburner, as far as what the Mach number was, I have no idea.

The game has changed, and there is no longer a demanding need for a high mach aircraft, there really is no use for the F-22 either.

Jim

 

61-7964 Resides in Ashland Nebraska, only 30 min from my house. Very aggressive pose wouldn't you say?
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