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SR - 71, A Pilot's Memories from about 40 years ago
Col. Buzz Carpenter recounts the power and majesty of the Blackbird (www.chonday.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Here is another story about an SR-71 "problem". http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/X-Press/SR-71_spotlight.html In the middle of the page, in 1997 this NASA SR-71B made an appearance at EAA's AirVenture Oshkosh. They came by so fast I didn't realize it was a B Model until I looked at the pictures I took. After a couple of passes they headed east to refuel over Lake Michigan before their flight back to California. I saw them come back at high altitude but then turned south and landed at Milwaukee. I had a friend at the 128th Air Refueling who took me out to the runway in a golf cart to watch them take off after the repairs. I was told it cost $12 million to fix it. I never knew about the problems they had over Nebraska. I had the good fortune to work with the film from the SR-71 from SE Asia when I was in the Air Force.
Thanks. I learn a little something new after each new to me articcle. I can't say this airplane was responsible for me gooing after my first ticket, but I can certainly say it helped move me off my wallet for flying lessons. 37 ours later was just the begining. I wonder how many other pilots Kelly Johnson made.
What a great aeroplane I saw one at Duxford museum, I would loved to have seen one in flight.
Okay, I get it. It was a fast flying machine with lots of git-up-and-go that required a full pressure suit be worn to operate it at it's normal mission altitude. Because of its speed capability, faster than a speeding bullet, a unique metallurgical and aerodynamic design was required which was far ahead of its time thanks to the genius of Clarence Kelly and the folks at the Lockheed skunk works and the research gained via the X-series test vehicles. It's mission was photo recon which it obviously accomplished with an unprecedented capability. Piloting it was doubtless a demanding task that I would guess relied heavily on a high fidelity stability augmentation system to include an auto-pilot to control it with precision when traveling at mach 3 plus. But time marches on and it's technology is unfortunately as old as that of the Apollo Moon Landing program or 40 years plus. Technology for the sake of space exploration seems to have stagnated with a dependence still on vertical rocket launches and ocean splashdown recoveries now that the space shuttle like the Blackbird has been retired. High flying spy planes like the Blackbird have been replaced by spy in the sky satellites which have thus far mapped with incredible accuracy much of the earth's surface as evidenced by google earth/maps. Strangers now know as much about the layout of my ranch property and what's on it as I do. They have only to fire up their computer, PC or handheld device and look it all its many details without ever setting foot on the property. That was made abundantly apparent to me not so long ago when a total stranger came to my door to inquire about a couple of junk piles I had at the back of my property that he requested permission to sift through for the purpose of collecting all the scrap metal for sale. He described it all with total accuracy much to my amazement. And today as I was chatting with a customer service rep about switching to their high speed internet service via wireless tower relay (AtLinkServices) she said "just a moment while I look to see if you're within the coverage area of this one particular tower" whereupon she went to google earth and zeroed in on my property and began to describe it with accuracy for the sake of confirming it and its location. If anyone dares think we're not being watched and recorded they're kidding themselves and that includes from the surface as well as from space. Give me your address and I can probably within a few minutes zero in on a photo of the front and/or rear entrance to your home.
Have been "Boomed" several times. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Top of the day to everyone. Go Air Force!