SR 71

I had the privilege of seeing the Sr 71 put on a show at Paine Field in the 80's. How they managed to get it there is unknown to me but it was there . When it arrived it put on a show by several buzz jobs that impressed us totally. When it finally parked in front of the hangar it pee'd steaming liquid from from the wings that was captured in many pans placed under the aircraft. It was the previously jellied fuel that had been heated by skin friction that was leaking from the now open seams in the skin since they were cooling and shrinking to open the joints. It was on static display during the show but it put on a better show when it left than when it arrived. Paine Field is on a plateau above the Puget Sound...about 200 feet above sea leavel. When the SR71 left it made a sweeping turn to the west and disappeared. As we sat there wondering where it was it appeared out of nowhere, climbing up over the lip of the plateau and streaking down the runway into a climb that took it up almost vertically to an altitude where we could only hear it. We were told that it had a date with a tanker.
Switches

 

My understanding is that, in part due to the leaks you witnessed, they can't take off with much fuel on board. So SOP is to take off, immediately rendezvous with a tanker, fly the mission, possibly rendezvous with a tanker again, and land.

 

Much like the B-52. It can't take off with a full fuel load in the tip tanks and wing tanks either due to to wing droop and t.o. capability. A date with a tanker, a deep drink and it didn't matter.