SR-71 pilot story

[Wicked98Snake]

Just awesome.

[DON SVO]

And the best part is you know they did not post the actual top speed. There is supposed to be a Readers Digest article where one of the pilots mentions flying across Montana(?) in a very short time, not realizing that the speed required was higher than ever admitted. It is one bad bird!

I did the math on the WOT blast over Syria from the article, and it gives an average speed of 2,250mph. He did say he was accelerating so it stands to reason that 2,350 should be achievable without much effort. I also read that, due to engine design, they get better fuel economy the faster they go. Such an interesting plane.

[mikec]

Definitely a plane for the ages. "Outran almost 4000 missiles"? Makes you wonder why they bothered wasting missiles after the first couple dozen?

[Sgt Beavis]

I did the math on the WOT blast over Syria from the article, and it gives an average speed of 2,250mph. He did say he was accelerating so it stands to reason that 2,350 should be achievable without much effort. I also read that, due to engine design, they get better fuel economy the faster they go. Such an interesting plane.

Well, that is the nature of a Ramjet engine. It was meant for high speeds. They are very inefficient at low speeds because they can't compress the incoming air that well.

Also, the SR-71 was a flying fuel leak. Fuel seeps from it's tanks until it gets up to a certain speed. At that point the metal expands and closes any gaps. It amazes me that these planes didn't go up in flames all the time..

[Lason]

I always loved those planes. Even with F22's and all the other modern planes the SR-71 looks like it still is just as modern.

[Lason]

Well, that is the nature of a Ramjet engine. It was meant for high speeds. They are very inefficient at low speeds because they can't compress the incoming air that well.

Also, the SR-71 was a flying fuel leak. Fuel seeps from it's tanks until it gets up to a certain speed. At that point the metal expands and closes any gaps. It amazes me that these planes didn't go up in flames all the time..

HAHA thats crazy! Was the fuel just that corrosive or what? I noticed JimD say that fuel caused leaks.

[JimD]

It amazes me that these planes didn't go up in flames all the time..

Ive heard you could put a cig out in a bucket of JP-7. We had to send a sample from each body tank to the lab for a flash check, prior to pumping the fuel load on, and then every 4 hours until takeoff.

[Jester]

HAHA thats crazy! Was the fuel just that corrosive or what? I noticed JimD say that fuel caused leaks.

wikipedia the SR71 and it will tell you all about it. It is an amazing piece of technology. They are made loose until they hit mach 3 and then everything tightens up and it literally morphs into perfection. The plane actually shrinks the faster she goes............and she is far happier the faster she goes.

[Jester]

Ive heard you could put a cig out in a bucket of JP-7. We had to send a sample from each body tank to the lab for a flash check, prior to pumping the fuel load on, and then every 4 hours until takeoff.

True. Done it. Was a bulk fueler in the Marines.

[GhostTX]

I've read that several times, and it's still cool beyond reason. I love that plane.

That has to have been posted at least a dozen times before....

But I still don't care. I'll read it every time.

A repost I never tire of, either.

HAHA thats crazy! Was the fuel just that corrosive or what? I noticed JimD say that fuel caused leaks.

wikipedia the SR71 and it will tell you all about it. It is an amazing piece of technology. They are made loose until they hit mach 3 and then everything tightens up and it literally morphs into perfection. The plane actually shrinks the faster she goes............and she is far happier the faster she goes.

The components expand due to the heat of the air friction at the high speeds. If the plane was designed "tight", it would buckle as those parts expanded and ran into each other.

[Jester]

A repost I never tire of, either.



The components expand due to the heat of the air friction at the high speeds. If the plane was designed "tight", it would buckle as those parts expanded and ran into each other.

That thing is so fucking crazy. Would kill to fly one.

[roliath]

Someone needs to post the video of the sr71 sitting on the runway just leaking fuel from its seems. Once it took off it had to refuel due to its design (since most fuel leaked).

[5.0 n it]

Love it

[tribaltalon]

My old ROTC colonel was an U-2 pilot, and he had some crazy stories about trying to land that sucker.. apparently the lift coefficient is so high, it really does not want to come down at all. he'd spend hours going around and around trying to get the plane slow enough to land. obviously couldn't talk a whole lot about it because alot of that stuff is still classified but it was cool listening to his stories. obviously, not as cool as the blackbird though. lol.

[sig239]

Some more good ones,

Funny Flight Stories

In his book, Sled Driver, SR-71 Blackbird pilot Brian Shul writes: "I'll always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one day as Walt (my backseater) and I were screaming across Southern California, 13 miles high. We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we entered Los Angeles airspace. Though they didn't really control us, they did monitor our movement across their scope. I heard a Cessna ask for a readout of its groundspeed."

"90 knots" Center replied.

"Moments later, a Twin Beech required the same."

"120 knots," Center answered.

"We weren't the only ones proud of our groundspeed that day as almost instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, 'Ah, Center, Dusty 52 requests groundspeed readout.'

"There was a slight pause, then the response, 525 knots on the ground, Dusty".

"Another silent pause. As I was thinking to myself how ripe a situation this was, I heard a familiar click of a radio transmission coming from my backseater. It was at that precise moment I realized Walt and I had become a real crew, for we were both thinking in unison." "Center, Aspen 20, you got a groundspeed readout for us?"

There was a longer than normal pause.... "Aspen, I show 1,742 knots"

"No further inquiries were heard on that frequency"




In another famous SR-71 story, Los Angeles Center reported receiving a request for clearance to FL 60 (60,000ft).

The incredulous controller, with some disdain in his voice, asked, "How do you plan to get up to 60,000 feet?"

"The pilot (obviously a sled driver), responded, "We don't plan to go up to it, we plan to go down to it."

He was cleared...