SR-71: Power by Chevrolet, Rubber by Goodrich

The fuel tanks leaked until it was airborne and the skin heated up. I bet this was one dangerous bird to fly.

Mustang did an SR-71 tribute

01sr71mustang.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
The Soviets had/have a Mach 3+ interceptor - the MiG 25 Foxbat (and its successor, the MiG 31 Foxhound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-25




Yes but:

Quote:
It has a top speed of Mach 2.83 (as high as Mach 3.2, but at risk of significant damage to the engines)


It wasn't capable of sustained Mach 3.2+ cruise like the SR-71 was.
 
A friend used to fly back seat in the National Guard F4 in reconnaissance trim. He said they could do Mach 3 for a short time, limited by fuel. Dose that sound plausible to those knowledgeable of the F4?

Ed
 
The Foxbat/Foxhound airframe isn't anywhere near the same class of airplane.

It had a lower top speed, it couldn't sustain the speed, it had a small fraction of the range, it was designed to be a point defense interceptor of the Mach 3 B-70.

The Blackbird routinely flew over Russia and Libya. Their MiG-25s never even came close to intercepting the SR-71. The Blackbirds flew over those nations with impunity.
 
Originally Posted By: edhackett
A friend used to fly back seat in the National Guard F4 in reconnaissance trim. He said they could do Mach 3 for a short time, limited by fuel. Dose that sound plausible to those knowledgeable of the F4?

Ed



No.
 
An amazing plane for sure! I love that plane. Love watching shows about it. Thanks for posting this.
 
Usually by the time those big buicks could be heard pushing the red line I had luanched my KC 135 Q tanker so it could be in place to meet the Habu (what the Okinawans called the SR) over the water somewhere. I'd be heading in to grab some chow a shower and a couple hours sleep before returning to recover my plane. Then it would be prepare to do it all over again the next day.
 
I've read the SR-71 used a hydrazine powered fuel cell as a APU. It also needed a small bit of gasoline in its fuel or even a little hydrazine to ensure the engines are still candled at altitude. Facts or urban legend?
 
The f-16 has a hydrazine powered EPU, I don't think the SR-71 had any type of on board aux power unit. Maybe they were thinking of the TEB used to ignite the JP-7 fuel.
 
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The California Science Center in LA has the only A-12 trainer.

[Linked Image from californiasciencecenter.org]


https://californiasciencecenter.org/exhibits/air-space/air-aircraft/a-12-blackbird

I've saw a NASA SR-71 at the 1997 Edwards AFB Open House. They had a bunch of things going on there including Chuck Yeager celebrating the 50th anniversary of his breaking of the sound barrier by riding in an F-15 breaking the sound barrier. Didn't really see much since it was way up there. Just sounded like a crack and it was gone. We also saw a couple of F-117's literally come into the crowd where everyone just parted. The maintenance crews giving out signed photos of the plane. Saw a lot of weird stuff too including a Blue Angels maintenance crew member who was on an exchange program (the Thunderbird were flying). There were a lot of planes on the ground including the SR-71, a B-2 in a hangar, and even an F-14. The F-14 pilot was talking about how he gassed up from Air Force tankers during the Gulf War.
 
Originally Posted by y_p_w
I've saw a NASA SR-71 at the 1997 Edwards AFB Open House.


IIRC, all SR-71's were owned by NASA and loaned out. When the plane was retired, they were all returned to NASA to be dismantled. Then, it was briefly brought back into service, then retired again. Currently, NASA operates the only functional example, and keeps a stockpile of spare parts from the retired units to be able to continue doing so, to test airframes at speeds only the SR-71 is capable of, which is done by mounting models to its back.

I saw this beauty at the Smithsonian just outside of Washington a few years back when I was working at AAFB:
[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by y_p_w
I've saw a NASA SR-71 at the 1997 Edwards AFB Open House.


IIRC, all SR-71's were owned by NASA and loaned out. When the plane was retired, they were all returned to NASA to be dismantled. Then, it was briefly brought back into service, then retired again. Currently, NASA operates the only functional example, and keeps a stockpile of spare parts from the retired units to be able to continue doing so, to test airframes at speeds only the SR-71 is capable of, which is done by mounting models to its back.

I saw this beauty at the Smithsonian just outside of Washington a few years back when I was working at AAFB:
[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]



Did it turn into a giant robot with a giant cane?



However, NASA claims that they had/have access to the SR-71 on loan from the US Air Force.

Quote
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/X-Press/SR-71_spotlight.html
Two SR-71 Blackbird aircraft were flown by Dryden for high-speed and high-altitude aeronautical research during the 1990s. The aircraft included an SR-71A and an SR-71B trainer version, both loaned to NASA by the U.S. Air Force. The SR-71 is the world's fastest and highest-flying production aircraft, capable of attaining more than three times the speed of sound and altitudes of more than 85,000 feet.
 
Originally Posted by y_p_w
However, NASA claims that they had/have access to the SR-71 on loan from the US Air Force.

Quote
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/X-Press/SR-71_spotlight.html
Two SR-71 Blackbird aircraft were flown by Dryden for high-speed and high-altitude aeronautical research during the 1990s. The aircraft included an SR-71A and an SR-71B trainer version, both loaned to NASA by the U.S. Air Force. The SR-71 is the world's fastest and highest-flying production aircraft, capable of attaining more than three times the speed of sound and altitudes of more than 85,000 feet.


Perhaps it was the CIA that originally owned them? They spearheaded the development program. I may have my facts screwed up there. That same page notes that they (NASA) had a decade of experience with the SR-71 airframe as the YF-12 when it was operated by NASA between 1969 and 1979, so that may be what I was thinking of.
 
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