SR-71 Facts: 29 Details That Will Surprise You
Aug 15, 2018 08:54:23 #
Aug 15, 2018 08:56:11 #
Mac wrote:
https://militarymachine.com/sr-71-facts/
Yes, my favorite plane. It must have seen like science fiction when it was introduced.
I didn't read every word, but I wonder if they mentioned the fact that the fuel tanks leaked until the skin got hot enough in flight to expand.
Toward the end of the article, they mention a problem with engine "unstart." Only the military would use a term like that.
Aug 15, 2018 09:31:57 #
Aug 15, 2018 09:43:04 #
One point that didn't get covered in the attachment: The top speed of the SR71 was based on the fact that GE wouldn't stand behind the engines if inlet air temp exceeded a particular temperature, something like 528 degrees F., if memory serves me correctly. This limited the mach number performance of the aircraft, not the air frame.
Aug 15, 2018 10:09:17 #
Aug 15, 2018 10:11:13 #
jerryc41 wrote:
Yes, my favorite plane. It must have seen like science fiction when it was introduced.
I didn't read every word, but I wonder if they mentioned the fact that the fuel tanks leaked until the skin got hot enough in flight to expand.
Toward the end of the article, they mention a problem with engine "unstart." Only the military would use a term like that.
I didn't read every word, but I wonder if they mentioned the fact that the fuel tanks leaked until the skin got hot enough in flight to expand.
Toward the end of the article, they mention a problem with engine "unstart." Only the military would use a term like that.
They did not mention the leaks - they also did not mention that, according to the Lockheed tour, most of the components were "off the shelf" with the reason being that it drew less attention than having secret components built...
21 years in the military as a flyer and I never once heard the term "unstart" - more like creative journalism...
Aug 15, 2018 19:47:26 #
Great airplane, it beyond me why that plane was retried. To me that plane still has a lot of life to it.
Aug 15, 2018 20:23:42 #
Quinn 4 wrote:
Great airplane, it beyond me why that plane was retried. To me that plane still has a lot of life to it.
While I find myself in agreement with this I read recently that skunkworks is hard at work with its replacement.
Also google x-37, a sorta semi quiet one.
Aug 15, 2018 22:50:33 #
Quinn 4 wrote:
Great airplane, it beyond me why that plane was retried. To me that plane still has a lot of life to it.
Reports on the SR-72 are interesting.
I saw the Habu, as the natives referred to it, take off and land numerous times during the year I served next to Kadena Air Base in the early 70's.
Aug 16, 2018 01:14:28 #
I just discovered that a friend of mine worked on the SR-71 for awhile, adding a component onto it.
Aug 16, 2018 07:39:21 #
jerryc41 wrote:
Yes, my favorite plane. It must have seen like science fiction when it was introduced.
I didn't read every word, but I wonder if they mentioned the fact that the fuel tanks leaked until the skin got hot enough in flight to expand.
Toward the end of the article, they mention a problem with engine "unstart." Only the military would use a term like that.
I didn't read every word, but I wonder if they mentioned the fact that the fuel tanks leaked until the skin got hot enough in flight to expand.
Toward the end of the article, they mention a problem with engine "unstart." Only the military would use a term like that.
During my time with the Apollo program we used the term “unvolt” to describe power source voltage below specs. Even more strange.
Aug 16, 2018 07:48:50 #
Aug 16, 2018 08:25:31 #
[quote=Shellback]They did not mention the leaks - they also did not mention that, according to the Lockheed tour, most of the components were "off the shelf" with the reason being that it drew less attention than having secret components built...
That's completely believable. If you look inside the cockpit, you see late 50's instrumentation...nothing digital here! Any WWII fighter pilot would feel completely at home inside the plane. "Sled Driver" is probably the best book detailing what it was like flying the plane and the "unstarts" were pretty violent, throwing the pilot against the side of the cockpit. These were caused by the supersonic airflow "blowing out" the engine flame. The aerodynamic spikes at the front of the air inlets moved forward and backward and were designed to set up turbulence that would drop the incoming air to below supersonic speeds required for smooth combustion. Today, those spikes would be controlled by a host of computers and sophisticated programming. With the SR-71, it was the pilot's skill and intuition as to the best setting.
That's completely believable. If you look inside the cockpit, you see late 50's instrumentation...nothing digital here! Any WWII fighter pilot would feel completely at home inside the plane. "Sled Driver" is probably the best book detailing what it was like flying the plane and the "unstarts" were pretty violent, throwing the pilot against the side of the cockpit. These were caused by the supersonic airflow "blowing out" the engine flame. The aerodynamic spikes at the front of the air inlets moved forward and backward and were designed to set up turbulence that would drop the incoming air to below supersonic speeds required for smooth combustion. Today, those spikes would be controlled by a host of computers and sophisticated programming. With the SR-71, it was the pilot's skill and intuition as to the best setting.
Aug 16, 2018 08:49:49 #
Aug 16, 2018 09:17:45 #
Nice link about a really sweet aircraft. I liked the bit about the slide rule. I did some teaching and sometimes I would pull out my slide rule to do some simple math and these high school kids would look at me and wonder what the hell is he doing. They have never seen or heard of one. Engineers with slide rules invented the electronic calculator.
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