This Is Pictures.

[Pantless Spency]

jeezuz.
me gusta,
didnt notice the link attached until just now lol.

[BlackbirdM3]

Note, he said pod racer(http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Podracing), not pond racer(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaled_...tes_Pond_Racer). He was refering to the large unclothed image from post #18929. LOL.

Ok, Got it. Now that I think about it, I see where he was going with that.

As for being able to out run a SAM, well, it wasn't quite like that, but sort of. The SAM couldn't track the SR due to its speed and altitude. The ground radar would see it, launch the missile, but the missile wouldn't arm till it got close enough. The trouble is, the SR would be gone by the time the SAM got to that altitude. There were over 1000 SAMs launched at it over the years, the closest one is figured to have been about 1 mile away. Even the later SA6 SAMs couldn't hit the SR unless it got REALLY lucky. At the end of the SR program, so called expert analysts were saying that the SR was vulnerable to the SA6s and therefore could not be used any longer. The pilots and the program analysts knew otherwise and tried to make it known. At one point Squadron Commander (and 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing Commander) Col Richard Graham was called into a briefing for one of SACs higher Generals (who didn't like the program) where the analysts tried to prove the vulnerability, until Col Graham corrected them and sent them packing. Col Graham had 966 hours flying the SR, the highest number of any pilot. The only other person to have higher hours was RSO (Reconisance Systems Officer, the guy in the back seat.) JT Vida who had 1400, but he was not a pilot. JT Vida was in the rear seat when he and Ed Yielding set the coast to coast record, (as well as 3 other world records) in 67 minutes 54 seconds, that's 2404 miles with an average speed of 2124mph in aircraft 972. 972 now sits in the Smithsonian Air and Space museum at Dulles International airport in Washington DC, in exactly the same form that it flew there in making it one of the small handful that could be flown if needed. (Its likely one of the best preserved as well.) It looks like you could climb in crank it up and fly away.






The SR71 B trainer had the highest number of hours on it when it was cut up to be moved, it had 1000 hours of flight time in 1982 and flew till 1999.
Here is how 956 ended her flying days.









Her wingspars were cut, meaning she will never fly again. 956 can now be seen at the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum





With the wing spars cut, the fat lady has sung, the show is over, there is nothing left to see in the air. Unless... ;)

Will

[george graves]

The SR-71 was an expensive aircraft to operate. The most significant cost was tanker support, and in 1990, confronted with budget cutbacks, the Air Force retired the SR-71. The Blackbird had outrun nearly 4,000 missiles, not once taking a scratch from enemy fire. On her final flight, the Blackbird, destined for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, sped from Los Angeles to Washington in 64 minutes, averaging 2,145 mph and setting four speed records.

My favorite sr71 story....

One day, high above Arizona , we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. 'Ninety knots,' ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. 'One-twenty on the ground,' was the reply. To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was 'Dusty 52, we show you at 620 on the ground,' ATC responded. The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter's mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ' Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.' We did not hear another transmis sion on that frequency all the way to the coast.

[Pantless Spency]

damn GG that was a pretty awesome story...
such an insane plane.

[BlackbirdM3]

My favorite sr71 story....

Your favorite story, told by Brian Shul.
He has a photo gallery in Marysville Ca. I was there on Sunday, but he wasn't. Check out www.sleddriver.com. By the way, Walt Watson was the only black aviator to fly in the SR71.
You guys might find this interesting as well. http://galleryonepublishing.com/IntrepidBirdman_02.jpg

Note the Author of the article.

Will

[slammin.e28]

I <3 SR-71s. I jizzed my pantaloons when I walked into the Air and Space museum in DC a few years back.

[KamakaziX]

Man I saw that engine and automatically jumped to "pod racer engine."

Made me think of star wars.

[KenC]

They have one at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in Oregon. It's pretty amazing. It's absolutely dwarfed by the Spruce Goose it sits next to haha.

[mrsleeve]

[u3b3rg33k]

[u3b3rg33k]

Speaking of wing spars:

The 50k ton (that's 100 000 000 pounds) press that made the jet age plausible -
at least according to this: http://boingboing.net/2012/02/13/machines.html

[Axxe]

^ 50k ton press is boss. Rumor has it China is making an 80k ton. That is going to be impressive, for all 5 presses before it falls apart

[BlackbirdM3]

They have one at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in Oregon. It's pretty amazing. It's absolutely dwarfed by the Spruce Goose it sits next to haha.

971 is no longer in the same building as the Spruce Goose.


971 is now over in the other building across the parking lot. I was there in December.





971 was the first of the 3 SRs reactivated in '95. It was under the care of NASA at the time, but NASA never flew the bird. It was kept in flyable storage. From what I gather, she was a leaker. All the SRs leaked fuel, but some leaked more than others, and from various sources, it sounds like 971 tended to be one of those that leaked more. While 971 was disassembled to be moved, it is my understanding that the wingspar was not cut when they took it apart to ship it up to McMinnville. This might be the only one to have been disassembled without having the spar cut. In talking with the docents there, it sounds like it is in flyable condition and is unrestored (as evidenced by the fuel stains on the underside)


Here is an article from one of the guys who was part of the reactivation team. http://www.blackbirds.net/sr71/sr_re.../react-04.html

His whole write up on the reactivation is pretty interesting. It was an uphill battle from the start, but they did succeed in getting the birds back in the air and for under budget. Its sad that the USAF screwed these guys over in the end (for the same political reasons the program was canceled in the first place.) Here is the link to the main page: http://www.blackbirds.net/sr71/sr_re...ion/react.html

Will

[george graves]

[slammin.e28]

They had to leak fuel as they expanded so much in flight it would seal them up. If it didn't leak, it would have just disintegrated in flight.