Great video! Didn't know the SR had a periscope! Went back to some old photos I took and sure enough it's there. Not on the A12 pics I have. https://www.flickr.com/photos/havblu/8919731936/in/set-72157633867551375
I know! I have a friend who worked on these as well as the U2 and some of the stories he tells are pretty amazing, like the fact that the gas tanks are supposed leak when it's on the ground and cool. I've only seen one in operation once and that was at an ALCS game at the Oakland Coliseum during the opening ceremonies. It buzzed the place seemingly coming out of nowhere and the noise and black color was amazing.
Have heard some rumblings that the Mig-25 could match the SR-71. Not true, the Mig 25 was a mach 2.8 aircraft and the SR-71 and variants were mach 3.5+. Quite a difference in technology between a conventional aluminum airframe with steel leading edges and the SR's titanium based structure.
The Soviets apparently spent a lot of time figuring out how a MiG-31 could intercept the SR-71. None effectively did, although according to one MiG driver, they got close enough to actually intercept had the SR-71 been in Soviet airspace. ...one of the first Foxhound pilots, Captain Mikhail Myagkiy, who had been scrambled with its MiG-31 several times to intercept the US super-fast spy plane, explains how he was able to lock on a Blackbird on Jan. 31, 1986: The scheme for intercepting the SR-71 was computed down to the last second, and the MiGs had to launch exactly 16 minutes after the initial alert. ( ) They alerted us for an intercept at 11.00. They sounded the alarm with a shrill bell and then confirmed it with a loudspeaker. The appearance of an SR-71 was always accompanied by nervousness. Everyone began to talk in frenzied voices, to scurry about, and react to the situation with excessive emotion. Myagkiy and its Weapons System Officer (WSO) were able to achieve a SR-71 lock on at 52,000 feet and at a distance of 120 Km from the target. The Foxhound climbed at 65,676 feet where the crew had the Blackbird in sight and according to Myagkiy: Had the spy plane violated Soviet airspace, a live missile launch would have been carried out. There was no practically chance the aircraft could avoid an R-33 missile. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have always heard that the Mig-25 coulf hot 3.0 for very short bursts and required engine rebuilds after every time it did so. I have also gotten it from reliable sources that the Blackbird variants could exceed 3.5. The official acknowledged speed record is 3.2. Taz you may have better info than I as to the true top speed, buy I do believe it was higher than will be acknowledged for a long time. PDG
I can believe they got a missle lock. I have heard that before as well. But I am not convinced that the missle could actually connect. The pilot could simply alter course or increase speed which alters the firing solution. It could happen, but I find it unlikely. Of course, I am just playing armchair quarterback from more than a quarter century away.... PDG
Exactly my thoughts. At 120km for the lock thats around 70 miles. So at that distance the Blackbird pilot has plenty of reaction time for any countermeasures he may choose to employ. PDG
The SR-71 never directly overflew the landmass of the USSR (or China, apparently) - which gave the USSR no real cause to shoot the aircraft down. For those interested, this claim is repeated by a Blackbird pilot at: 1hr 18min of this video SR-71 Pilot Interview Richard Graham Veteran Tales - YouTube
Countermeasures? SR-71 had none that I've ever heard. The missile mentioned (R-33) is a mach 4.5 unit, so a lot faster than the Blackbird. An excellent reason that the SR-71 never overflew the USSR or China.
Video of a Blackbird doing an airshow... A bit awkward and low altitude and speed. The SR-71 Blackbird's Air Show Demo Was Both Sinister And Awkward
SR71 engine explanation. Really neat! [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3ao5SCedIk&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/ame] http://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-secret-engine-technology-that-made-the-sr-71-the-fa-1673510951
SR-71 carried a very potent ECM package. SR-71s top speed was governed primarily by inlet temperature. Once it rises above 420 Celsius there's imminent danger of an engine unstart, which can disintegrate the aircraft. If the outside air is cooler than usual, higher speed can be achieved - vice-versa, if the temperature is higher, there may be performance issues - indeed, on Baltic and North Sea flights there were instances where SR-71 could not achieve Mach 2.8 due to unusually high air temperature at altitude and those missions were usually cancelled.
And only 61 years (nearly to the day) separated the Wright brothers' first powered flight from the SR-71's, a fact that I find astonishing, perhaps all the more so now that that's fewer years than I've been alive.
