SR-71 Blackbird

Here.

Ooop's

What a shame to see that bird retired. In all of aviation history, definately the most interesting bird out there.

I once took a base tour at Beale AFB, near Marysville, CA. This was the home of the SR-71. There was a major there that gave us a little background info on it. I don't remember much about it, but one thing he said will forever stick with me. "You know you're going fast when you take off over Sacramento, and 45 minutes later you refuel over Miami." An exaggeration, I'm sure, but I'm also sure not by much. I had a chance to stand underneath one, and was able to touch it. The hull does not feel like metal. Rather, it feels like plasterboard. I also understand that because of the speeds it flies, it actually exapnds one foot in length due to the friction of the air passing over/around it. Luckily, titanium can handle expansion and contraction like that.

Nice links, Adrian. Allow me to add one more. SR-71 Blackbird at Global Security.

I remember a story about how the fuel it used had an incredibly high flash point. It was so high that you could actually use it to put OUT fires!

Can't find any proof though so it's probably rubbish.

Actually, that's not rubbish. A secial fuel, JP7, with a very low vapor pressure and high flashpoint, was developed for the SR-71. It was intentionally hard to light, because the skin temperature in the area of the fuel cells exceeded 600 degrees Farenheit at cruising speed. It would in fact extinguish a cigarette, or, if poured in quantity, as unvaporised liquid, directly onto a small, independent open flame, such as a burning piece of paper, it would smother the fire. In fact, the fuel was used both as coolant and as hydraulic fluid in the engine systems, pre-heating the fuel prior to injecting it into the engine's combustion chamber where it was ignited. The plane's afterburners, however, were fueled with the extremely volatile Tetra-Ethyl-Borane; when those puppies lit, it was truly spectacular, and gave the plane a helluva kick-in-the-butt.


Oh, I cleaned up that multi-post deal for ya. Sometimes, when the server load is heavy, or if there's congestion on the 'net, it might seem a post didn't "go through", as the confirmation page might seem not to be happening. Almost always, once you click "Submit",the post got here, even if the confirmation page seems not to have gotten back to you. Clicking "Submit" repeatedly usually results in repeated posts. If you're in doubt whether a post "made it", you can copy your reply to your clipboard, or into something like Notepad, then refresh the thread page to check. If its there, cool. If not (rare, but it can happen), just paste your post into the Quick Reply box, and click "Submit" ... just once, of course :wink:

My favorite plane! I also heard that it flies so fast that it can actual shoot itself down!

A number of planes are theoretically capable of that, depending on the muzzle velocity and drag characteristics of the ammunition fired. It is possible to fire a burst while in a dive, then to accellerate while adopting a steeper angle of descent, then to pull up in front of the rounds just fired. The timing and trajectory management would be pretty tricky, though.

Yeah, but the 71 was the only one that could do it at straight and level flight. Well, theoretically. That's one of the things we always talked about in jaw sessions, but I've never seen any facts to back it up.

Hmm. . .might look that up.

On average, the muzzle velocity of the typical armor-piercing .50 Cal round is about 3000fps, or around 2050 mph, which translates to a shade less than mach 2.7 at sea level and a bit over mach 3.1 at an altitude of 60,000 feet. The average muzzle velocity of the M61A1 Vulcan 20MM armor-piercing cannon round is roughly 3400fps, just about 2,320 MPH, or a tad over mach 3.0 at sea level and a shade more than mach 3.5 at 60,000 feet. Draw your own conclusions.

Oh, BTW, the SR-71 was purely an unarmed recon aircraft. It was developed, however, from the YF-12A Long Range/High Altitude Interceptor Prototype, of which only 3 were built. The YF-12A was armed with 3 Hughs GAR-9 AA missiles, rated nominally at mach 6.0 with an effective range in the 100 mile class. Just thought you might be interested.

Can't argue with that math.

I'm a big fan of stuff that goes fast and makes a lot of noise.

So I take it then you go to airshows? I love it. Love seeing all the military hardware. We live out by Whiteman AFB, and get to see the B2s up close (but not too close! ) not to mention the Blue Angels or TBirds.

I love it when they show how fast the F/A-18 can get in and out, by having them buzz the airfield at Mach-Plus.