SR-71 Blackbird | Cold War icon
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is the fastest and highest-flying jet aircraft in history and Duxford’s SR-71 Blackbird has flown higher than any other when it set the world record for sustained altitude flight in 1976, flying at 85,000 feet. Blackbird was developed in the 1960s during the Cold War as a high-flying reconnaissance jet. It is still considered by many as the most advanced aircraft of its type, flying at three times the speed of sound, faster than any weapon that could be fired at it. So why was Blackbird grounded? Why were so few made? And what was it like to fly? We talk to curator Emily Charles and hear from two pilots who flew the Blackbird to learn all about this space-age icon.
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Image credits:
Gary Powers: RIA Novosti archive
Powers’ U2 plane: Alan Wilson
U2 at Duxford: Gobbolino the witch's cat, paulsolecki, David Merrett
Adelbert Carpenter: Photo by: Daryl Mayer, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center
Crew signatures: Chad Kainz, Flickr
#history #aircraft #sr71blackbird
The Sopwith Camel first flew on December 22nd 1916. The SR 71 Blackbird first flew in January 1966.
Just 50 years separated those two aircraft. Unbelievable.
3 years after, we landed on the moon...
And the Sopwith was probably more fun to fly.
And 10 years later we had supersonic passenger aircraft.
And then 50 years after 1966, Boeing introduced the Boeing 737 Max.
@@spiritofthetime lmao
The SR71 is like the McLaren F1 and other machines which were near perfect designed. Even decades after their creation, they still look modern looking, almost futuristic
Comparing the SR-71 to a McLaren F1 is mind boggling but I get what you’re saying. Two designs that will never get old.
Let's get real, a McLaren is a kiddie toy compare to an XR-71. It's more akin to an engineering equivalent of Beethoven's 9th.
Wow, I love this comparison, well said IMO as the F1 is my favorite car and is a legendary vehicle itself
@@theccpisaparasite8813 when comparing them to their competitors at the time. Yes the F1 is that advanced
all the aerodynamics and design on a machine like the SR71 is designed to be the very best
the mclaren must balance aerodynamics with looking cool, it's not really even near the same level of innovation in my mind that was just like marketting and top gear stuff
*“SR-71 ready for deployment”*
*“Our SR-71 is in the air”*
Haha 😂
BO 1 ?
“Sr 71 online “
@@yungwaves1 I read this in the Viet Cong soldiers accent haha
Jetfire. I really love the look of this jet and being a transformer made it more cooler
yeah add the fact at how impressive this thing is, and jetfire becomes even cooler
And it flew around the x men!
i immediately thought of jetfire when i saw the thumbnail ahhahah
How about the fact that it is also the Cobra Night Raven in GI JOE? My favorite toy as a kid.
Glad someone knows who this jet is
DO YOU EVEN READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST!
As a retired Aerospace Engineer who has dealt directly or indirectly with pretty much everything that flies, this, in my humble opinion, is by far the most aesthetically beautiful aircraft ever designed.
It’s definitely number 2 for me. Absolutely magnificent aircraft. I would love to be an Aeronautical Engineer someday and hopefully design some beautiful aircraft.
@@shastamite2 Out of curiosity, whats #1 in yor opinion?
@@simpleman8883 Maybe the B2 Spirit?
It’s got to be Concorde!
I agree. The B1 Lancer is beautiful as well!
I love how blunt the answer to U-2's being shot down was. "Fly faster than the missiles."
Enjoy that shot down lol > en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident
Work faster not harder?
Depends on which direction the missile is coming from.
Spend millions on plane that isn’t stealthy, only causes diplomatic incidents and then lie about what it found because it couldn’t find the missiles they were looking for
@@greyguy.960 i don’t think they can go as high
Unfortunately, I never got a chance to ask my uncle, RIP.
He was one of the lead test pilots. There's a picture of him flying it in a book that was released in the 90s called "Warbirds". The photo of the pilot looking out the window is my uncle. His name was LeRoy Schroeder.
That's cool...
I went looking for the book, thinking I may have had that one... good lord there are a ton of books with "Warbirds" in the title, that's annoying.
Wicked 😋
…
German roots?
It's insane how fast planes developed through the 20th century. From the bi-planes of WW1 to this in half a century.
And then for another half century, we lost the capability to fly that fast, we sacrificed speed in favour of efficiency.
The alien 👽 tech at Area 51 makes many things possible..🤫😉
It's absolutely incredible that this jet was entirely designed and built WITHOUT the aid of computers. That fact alone is a testament to the absolute genius of the designers and builders. Light years ahead of their time!
But what about since then? Where are the successors?!!
A true testament to math nerds
Just goes to show you what can be done with a slide rule. I still have my dad's.
You don't need computers when you have a slide rule, a wind tunnel, schlieren mirror and just lots of money to revisit changes with good engineering manners.
People really should learn to use a slide rule, as it is so credibly fast and allows to make complex things easily. Similar thing is that people should learn to use a abakus as well, because it makes so easy to make common big math.
Well... technically they did have computers, but not as we know them today. They used Calculus tables & Slide Rules :D
This was so cool to watch. Hard to believe something this futuristic is over 50 years old!! Great presentation Emily!! Thank you.
Ikr it's crazy still no modern air craft to this day has beaten its speed and its design is timeless
@@nameless5678 that's surprising seeing that there's been so many advances in technology since then.
Aliens
@@nameless5678 … that we know of …. :-/
Same story with the Concorde no orther travel plane has been able to beat it
Back in my day all you needed was 9 kills for one of these bad boys.
Hell yeah brother
Greatest streak of all time
Huh???
Brilliant! I had no idea there was an SR71 in the U.K.! I’ll be coming down to see it!
Yeah I didn’t until I went to iwm and walked into the American hanger and saw her what a beautiful aircraft
It’s the only one on display outside the US. Great to see in person!
Great to know . Been 25 years since I've been to the museum .
@@LoochMindReader eme
My thoughts exactly,had no idea we could see one here.
"The Lockheed SR-71 black bird. An advanced long range strategic reconnaissance aircraft, capable of mach 3 and an altitude of 85,000 ft."
"You sure to know a lot about it"
"DO YOU EVEN READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST"
(Haven't seen any reference to Hellsing abridged yet so I'm going to drop it in)
one of the best quotes
Being stationed at Edwards AFB in the early 80's, still to this day there is nothing more impressive than standing at the edge of the runway as the SR-71 went into full afterburner. The sound pressure and the vibration in your chest is something that can't be experienced very often. Great video!!!
The engineering is absolutely impressive, a special fuel was developed to be used as both, as coolant and lubricant while providing the plane with thrust.
Mind-blowing
Old models
Most gas is a coolant.
Bomb Allahhhh! Cool!
Use it!
Clean the terrror!
@@lucasrem1870 😒
So its a big 2 stroke. Nice.
I have a friend that used to program the navigation systems for SR-71s on Okinawa in the 70s. This didn’t involve computer disks or magnetic tape this was done on punched tape, a continuous version of punch cards. Due to the tremendous heat generated during flight the tape had to be made out of Mylar instead of paper as paper might have spontaneously ignited.
That story always impressed me on how amazing the aircraft performed with what seemed such primitive equipment.
@Hamish Osborne Less. I am in the aerospace industry here in the US. The government customer is completely broken and without passion. Half of the government doesn’t even like the US.
@Hamish Osborne Not much. It’s been a long March through the institutions by the Left. It also occurs naturally with large organizations. Without reform or continuous improvement, the organization becomes inept, corrupt or both. The public sector is never threatened with competition and poor performance is accepted. Government run schools in the US urban areas are the worst in the Western world. This will never change. They are too big, their funding never threatened and the unions are the most powerful political actors in urban areas.
Exactly the same with the Apollo missions (and others). The technology now looks primitive in so many respects, but their feats of engineering were absolutely incredible.
@@jamesdellaneve9005 all of the government loves the US. Only their version of the US.
It's like flying a dead bird simple lol > en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident
The fact that this iconic piece of engineering sits in a British museum is a testament to Anglo-American relations and I'm glad of such.
When in the US Navy in the early 80s I was told the Blackbird used so much of its fuel on takeoff it needed to be refueled right away. She was so fast the tanker had to take off an hour before the SR-71 did.
I remember one took off on the east coast in America and arrived on the west coast "earlier" than it left because of the time zones. Just an amazing aircraft. Still futuristic looking even though the design is almost as old as I am.
If I remember right from everything I read (and she mentioned) The gaps in the aircraft that sealed shut from the heat of the plane's operation applied to everything, including the fuel tanks; had to, otherwise the tanks and such would have ripped from the strain. Once she was up in the air and operating, the gaps sealed themselves and she was good to go. the gaps meant the Blackbird leaked like a sieve; I totally believe they had to have a plane up in the air to refuel her after takeoff.
I was wrong about the fuel. On another video I was informed that the plane leaked so much fuel from the inability to seal the tanks she would take off nearly empty & needed to be refueled right away.
Yep, it's just like the British & French Concorde, it used to take off in London at 9am and arrived in New York at 8am!
They both flew faster than the world could turn!
I always imagine telling someone that, from the 1860s, just to gauge their reaction that in 100 years there would be machines carrying people that could fly faster than sound could travel, and faster than the bullet from a gun, and travel around the world faster than the world could rotate, arriving an hour before you left!
All while eating smoked salmon, caviar, and drinking chilled Champagne. The look of wonder on his face while weaving this fantastical yarn, would be a real photograph to behold.
The SR-71 (and Concorde) is indeed beautiful, and technologically marvellous, and to think that we got there just 55 years after man learned to fly, is quite honestly, awe-inspiring.
There were multiple tankers per mission (KC-135Q-a dedicated variant).
Fact is, most of the time SR-71 launched with a low fuel load as a safety factor to keep the weight down off the air-frame and off the tires and landing gear in case it had a tire blow out. It also made the tires and brakes last longer.
Of course, the fuel tanks did not have fuel bladders because the fuel worked as a coolant on the aircraft and other systems that needed cooling like the environmental system and sensor bays, this action also help to preheat the fuel prior to injection to the propulsion system.
The fuel leakage was basically measured by drips per minute in various areas. If it was beyond the limits, more sealant was put in the seams. All in all it really didn't matter that much, the amount of leakage was nothing compared to how much the aircraft used.
The concern was primarily to help prevent a lot of fuel spilling on the ground. If you watch a video of the Blackbird launch from behind, you can see gallons of fuel pouring out the rear of the aircraft as the G-forces push it out of all the areas within the structure where it had collected. The aircraft flew "wet", it always leaked. Of course at cruise speed you could not see the fuel as it would immediately vaporize. The amount of leakage was discernible. The critical thing was range. Since it could refuel in flight, range at cruise temperature was limited by the amount of nitrogen that it could carry in order to create a positive pressure in the fuel tanks so as to purge out the oxygen and prevent combustion.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. An advanced, long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft, capable of Mach 3 and an altitude of eighty-five thousand feet!
You sure do seem to know a lot about it…
DO YOU EVEN READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST?
Was so hoping someone would have commented this. Glad I'm not the only one who watched Helsing Abridged
I was looking for this comment
Came here looking for this comment.
I was wondering how long it would take for me to find a hellsing abridged reference
not very long it turns out (not that im complaining)
I was looking for this lol.
Still the coolest plane ever built
That we know of.......hard to believe its over 50 years old
That J58 engine was an absolute masterpiece of engineering...
I've heard the J58 when angry and the word 'Loud' is a total understatement!
Is.... it still IS
Lol!
@@JDMc2.0 I love those F4 hats.
“J79s: Louder than your mom last night”
😂
The intake design wasn't brilliant... unstarts led to the loss of several aircraft, one fix was to unstart the other engine to prevent loss of control
My father was an electrician for the SR-71 and the U2. I have many childhood memories of watching the SR- 71 taking off and landing. Was then and still is the coolest plane ever built.
"The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird; a long range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Capable of Mach 3 speeds at an altitude of 85,000 feet."
"You sure do seem to know alot about it."
"DO YOU EVEN READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST?!?!"
-Hellsing Abridged.
"You STOLE the Blackbird????"
"Do you even read my Christmas list?!"
My grandad was a raf jet pilot from early 50s to late 90s, and the only “secret” story hes ever told me is how him and the squadron he was leading at time on training came accross one of these flying hi alt over north sea , had never seen anything like before , they tried to intercept but it was gone and they were called back to base , taken into a room, signed the secrets act and was then told what it was ….black bird on its way into europe
had to be a awsome erie sight.....
didn't he break the law telling you this?
He was an RAF pilot into his sixties? Hmm...
I'm surprised the "higher ups" didn't tell them that they saw a UFO or that is was just their imagination.
Must have been quite an experience. I love the irony of the story resulting in the signing of the official secrets act, is in the comments section of UA-cam!
I absolutely love the SR-71 and have touched this one while walking around it at Duxford recently. It is still amazing today, 50 years on
U know the a-10 in the American hangar at duxford? I wanted to touch that so bad.but I touched the blackbird and b-52
I also touched the one at Duxford. It feels so good to have connected with what’s in my opinion the best aircraft ever built.
@@wooddp73 I am amazed at the age of the plane and how advanced it still looks. Even today.
I was lucky to see it fly at mildenhall air show in the 80s a few times ,
@@laverdajota8089 I bet that was amazing to see👍
God it’s still so amazing to look at. It’s insane thinking this 50yo piece of metal can get along so fast and was designed on paper with a slide rule. This, and the A10 are my 2 favourite military planes.
One is a plane that could outrun anything and everything yeeted at it and one is a gun with a plane built around it. What's not to love? Lol. Brrrrtttt
I grew up near Dover air force base and had a massive field behind my house. A10s and F16s flew over all the time and when they were low they'd tip their wings to us when we were out in the field.
IT'S THE XMEN JET!!
Fun story, my grandfather was in the military in the far east of the ussr and was helping research this plane. So fast forward ~40 years, my family moved to the US and I went to an aircraft museum in CA where one of these planes was. So I technically completed his mission lol
This aircraft has always been one of my all time favorites. When I finally got to see one in person, at the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, I'm not gonna lie, I got misty eyed. I had waited most of my life to see one and when I did, my emotions got the best of me. Pure, incredible marvel of engineering and a masterpiece in design.
I remember an airshow featuring the SR-71 some time ago at the (now decommissioned) Norton AFB. First time I saw the aircraft "for real" it was on final for Norton, and the thing that struck me was how BIG it was. For a two person aircraft it's just enormous.
At the end of the airshow, it returned to Beale AFB. We watched it take off and ascend on afterburner, looking like it was going straight up, and they timed it. It took 17 minutes from the time it started its takeoff run to the time it was on final approach to Beale. Total time from wheels off ground to wheels on ground was just shy of 24 minutes. Beale AFB and Norton AFB are separated by about 425 miles. You do the math.
In 1983, I attended an airshow at nearby Offutt AFB in Nebraska which had an SR on display. I was amazed at how difficult it was to get a clear in person understanding of it's profiles, probably due to the flat black paint. The next day, I was in the back yard of my then home of Ralston, Ne which is just a few miles north of the base and heard a gigantic roar from the region of the base and caught a glimpse of the SR climbing into the clouds nearly over my home. A rare sighting indeed.
Quality of life in San Bernadino sure took a major nosedive when they shut down March, Norton, and George Air Force Bases...🙁
I was likely at that very air show. In fact, we were pulling in in our 1987 Ford Aerostar mini van to park pulling in on the western entrance off of Tippicanoe... and it came down practically on top of us on its way to land... it was deafening... an amazing memory for an 8 year old! The take off was friggen amazing! A real human flown rocket ship!
With living just a few miles from mildenhall, it was a common site watching the blackbird take off or flying overhead but everytime it did, everyone would stop and watch it in amazement. It still such on awesome plane.
I envy everyone that was able to see it fly. I've touched one a few times at Pima but would love to see one airborne.
Unfortunately evening living a few miles from mildenhall myself I am too young to remember, however my dad often talks about seeing them take off and land. Must of been an incredible bird to see fly.
@@roberthall1080 Hi CB!!!!!
@@islandcatsmith CB?
@@roberthall1080 Ooops wrong Robert Hall...I was saying hi to Cousin Bob.
I was an air traffic controller stationed at Kaden's AFB in Okinawa from 1982 until 1985. Had the privilege of working many of the HABU missions from the RAPCON . The most spectacular site was watching the SR-71 take off at sunset.
My friend and Godfather, Col. Ed Yeilding (on right in photo at time 6:27 ), set a coast to coast aircraft speed record of 67 minutes 54 seconds in this plane flying from Los Angeles, California, to Washington, DC,. The plane he flew is now at the Smithsonian and was the last flight of the Blackbird. We have one sitting in front of the Space and Rocket Center here in Huntsville, AL.
Been there seen that one
The Blackbird is still a engineering masterpiece after all these years, love it!
It really was an amazing leap forward in technology. If it was produced out the box today, it would still be considered a very impressive machine..
It's a beautiful plane but have you seen what an f22 raptor does now a days ?
They're calling the greatest jet to have ever been created a cold war icon. Imagine what they're flying now.
Sattelites.
Vertical thrusts
@@rexmundi3108 ^^^ He nailed it
Still flying (upgraded) U2s
Things as absurd as the SR-71 just aren't necessary anymore. Between satellites, the internet, and drones, things are mostly covered now.
Agreed! The Lockheed SR71 Blackbird was & still is one of the most iconic Spyplane the USA has ever produced so far!
I heard that it was the only aircraft ever that actually used less fuel the faster it went. It also stretched significantly from the high speeds. A true marvel.
It was due to the ramjet design, getting the most efficiency at about Mach 3.
It is a true “marvel” cuz its….its in….X…..men😕…bad joke hu?
Yep. every time it took off, it took off with an almost empty fuel tank and had to be refilled to full in mid-air. Because the skin would stretch over 12 inches and the gas would leak out if it took off full
This was due to the J58's remarkable design, and something called KAP, which means kinetically acquired pressure differential.
To a lesser extent, the Anglo-French Concorde used something similar. Whereas their aircraft used digitally controlled ramps, which would alter their profile as it moved through the transonic zone into supersonic speeds, creating a much higher pressure differential at the first stage, giving the aircraft the ability to use 25% of the thrust with no fuel..
..the J58 used a more sophisticated system, where the front cone on the nacelle would slide back, moving the pressure wave, this had the advantage of allowing the engine to use some of this induced pressure to ignite the fuel, bypassing the turbine altogether, saving enormous amounts of fuel, and generating huge amounts of thrust in the process.
By the time it reached Mach 3.08, the aircraft's engines were only using 16% of their fuel burn, with more than 80% of the thrust generated by it's velocity alone!
So yes, the faster it went the less fuel it used. It is a remarkable engine, and the designers at Pratt and Whitney were very clever indeed.
@@kerbodynamicx472 And not only that, taking into account time and distance.
I live near a largely mothballed USAF airbase here in the UK which back in the 1980's was one of the biggest in the UK. My next door neighbour was an A10 pilot and over the road, a technician who worked on TR1s (as U2s were known then) I used to go to the RAF Mildenhall airshow every summer and the SR71 was my favourite plane. They would have one on the ground you could walk around and another that would be flown during the show. It was an incredibly loud and beautiful plane to watch. My USAF friends used to say though, that if civilians were allowed to see that now, it was because there was something better we didn't see. I've never known what though, even over thirty years later.
If you say A10, then I'm going to guess Bentwaters/Woodbridge.
We would have them flying over us occasionally where I lived near Haverhill in the 70s/80s.
The Mildenhall Air Fete was a properly brilliant day out and it would seem totally normal to end up in the base, barbecues going, planes and helicopters plus gift stalls everywhere.
We got VIP treatment around the static SR-71A because my Father was in the Addenbrookes old site Eye ward (Trumpington St) with a technician called Jesse from the base. He was having surgery for his eye after a baseball had hit him. Weeks later he met us and showed us around the plane, sitting in the cockpits and allsorts. That was the 1983 MAF. We also went in 84 as we didn't live all that far away across Suffolk.
It's still in a class of its own and I think myself lucky to have seen both this and the Vulcan actually in service at that time (Vulcan had hit Stanley airfield a year or two previously).....
The something better was the improvements to satellite imagery making the sr-71 largely obsolete and hideously expensive.
Incredibly price of brilliant engineering though.
If they had been able to make one adaptable for a small nuclear bomb there would have been nothing done that could have stopped them flying right over Moscow.
I think that was the unions biggest worry...
Alconbury ?
Your friend ment by " if civilians were allowed to see this now....."
He meant like if its allowed to see now there must be something better than this maybe still in working because most of these military products are secret hidden from the general public.. so there's gotta be a better version of the black bird...
Btw I've seen reports for the successor of black bird as the SR-72 capable of mach 6 and prolly would be non maned as mach would be a lot for human body who knows lol...
Bentwaters Rendlesham
My neighbor ( died about 10years ago) was one of the engineers that built the original SR71. “Chappie “ Chapman. He told me that the top speed would never be reached because the plane could not handle it. I think he said that the metal that they used for the plane would melt.
The top speed was based on compressor inlet temperature. The extreme cold temperatures at the edge of space varied and the fact that the air was so thin and the compressed air is what created the heat. It would be difficult to know. Titanium is flammable under certain conditions.
Melting temperature of titanium is about 3034 °F. The heat shields that protected the titanium parts of the exhaust nozzles from the afterburner flame are composed of RENE 41 (same as used on Mercury Space Capsule) and Hastelloy X, exotic high temperature resistant, nickle based super alloys have a lower melting point, like 1800 °F . But the exhaust nozzle parts have a built-in cooling system in the nacelle.
Its a X-Men Plane 🤣
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. An advanced, long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft, capable of Mach 3 and an altitude of eighty-five thousand feet!
Found it!
You sure do seem to know a lot about it.
Integra: YOU sure know a lot about it...
Alucard: DO YOU EVEN READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST?!
"You sure seem to know a lot about it."
….you sure do seem to know a lot about it
Was at Duxford with my Grandson in August, fantastic place to visit,
I first saw the SR-71 featured in the movie D.A.R.Y.L as a kid in the 80's. It's been my favourite aircraft ever since.
From what I remember, the top speed of the Blackbird was never released, that’s why the patch said 3+. Also a great book on this plane is Sled Driver, has some amazing photos in it as well.
I asked one of the pilots at the Farnborough Air Show one year actually how fast could the SR71 fly and his response was "There's not much time for an on-board meal between New York and London" 😊
The only thing I wanted from my Great Uncle's estate, was an odd looking windchime. It was made from about two dozen used blades from the Blackbirds engines. Unfortunately, for me, his daughter also wanted it, I didn't argue.
(My Uncle Gene was one of the chief SR-71 mechanics at Skunkworks)
Over 50 years remained the highest and fastest flying aircraft.....that the public knows of
Truly amazing achievement. Something for the US aerospace industry to be proud of, rather than shouting about all the other stuff they knock out. Ben Rick's book Skunkworks is well worth a read.
I see this thing on the edge of the Interpid Aircraft Carrier (NYC) everyday. Still an awesome sight and just a huge projection of power. Never get tired of looking at it.
I saw the SR-71 at an open house at my duty station,Barksdale AFB,La. The B-52’s were there as was the British Avro Vulcan. Great air show the Vulcan was so impressive with how maneuverable it was at slow speed but the Blackbird stable the show wit it’s high speed passes with full afterburner on. Amazing aircraft. Retired because satellites can do the job cheaper,but the enemy knows when the satellites are coming over their site,the Blackbird is not predictable. In reality,the bean counters in the Pentagon killed the Blackbird..😡
Well done to Duxford for this and other great videos. Very well presented and highly informative.
RAF Fairford still has USAF aircraft coming in and out, so far this year i've seen a B1 and a U2 flying around the area. Always a welcome sight.
“Fulfill your Destiny”
- Jetfire
The reference that i was looking for.
Still one of the most sinister looking airplanes ever built,so cool!👍
My dad was a pilot, flying out of Plant 42, Palmdale, CA. He would tell my sister's and I when he was going to fly. We would cut school and head to the end of the runway to watch. OR we would cut school and lay out by the pool, and see the SR fly over. My dad said he knew we cut school, because he could see us. Fun times. RIP Colonel!
Walked round this around three times in my visit in 2020. What a machine.
Design in the 50's and 60's was amazing. From aircrafts, to cars, to musical instruments, there are so many things that still look fresh and exciting from that era.
I implore anyone to go and see this incredible thing. When you enter the space and see it before you, it literally takes your breath away. It felt like seeing a real life space craft. Incredible. Duxford is amazing
It’s absolutely astonishing that this masterpiece came out of the 60’s!!
I’ve got no doubt that there is a faster spy plane we don’t know exists yet cause it’s still classified but dam this thing is a beast.
Satellites replaced spy planes. There's most likely no such plane and probably never will be again.
You’re probably right, but I think nowadays they’re simply called “satellites”.
No, there isn't a faster supply plane, but they're also doesn't need to be. What replaced this, was satellites. Satellites can take all the photos you want cheaper.
Designed in 1958-59 believe it or not. The offical contract to run with the project was signed in February 1960. Part of the legislation which funded the project stipulated all of the specialised tooling created to build the planes had to be destroyed after the project was complete.
Even if theres a faster plane.. i doubt it looks that damn good
Love how they said never been over Russia or China US 🇺🇸 caps alot. That's a we been 100% over those two countries.
I know. I’m Scottish and there are recently been Russian planes probing our borders. And I can’t help but think the British have done the same to them a million times before.
The SR-71 is definitely my favourite (or maybe that should be 'favorite' out of respect to our US cousins!) military aircraft. It is iconic and utterly beautiful from any angle you view it at. I think I remember reading in a book that an SR-71 flew from New York to London in two hours which is still an unbeaten record. The only aircraft which can come close is the Concorde which we all know and love but although it cruised at Mach 2.2 and created its own aviation records in comparison to the SR-71 it is slow!
I remember one flying at a Mildenhall airshow. The pilot opened the throttles and there was a fireball followed by the aircraft accelerating from one end of the airfield to the other in seconds. Just awesome
Yeah, we must have been there the same time - ('83-87). That 'fireball' of disorganized hell that belched out of those engines, quickly organized into that awesome iconic conical shaped go-fast juice, as it sped away.
Just remember… 85,000ft was only the official released altitude. Also… the A12 was faster and flew higher.
X15 flew even faster .
@@greyguy.960 and the space shuttle more so
Hope to visit this beautiful machine one day. Thanks for the video.
The engines are actually hybrid ram jets. The majority of thrust is produced by the bypass air burnt in the afterburner at wot. The nassel design is complex and took much development. It has many air ducts controlled by mechanical computers.
Because the engines are so far apart the plane had a nasty sting in it’s tail. Occasionally one engine would unstart mid flight out of the blue. This created massive instability. The pilots need nerves of steel.
Much of the titanium use to build these was bought from Russia through fake companies.
There is an awesome drone that used the same engine and was piggy backed by the sr and released mid air. Unfortunately their was a mishap where the drone hit the mother plane and killed the pilots.
Founded by William Gregor and Kroll process in US 🇺🇸
I really miss this one & the F-14 tomcat. These two were a work of art. Just beautiful. I wished I could see a blackbird just once take off in the air. I bet it's amazing.
Bomb Allahhhhh!!!
Why Russians????
Freaks, Nixon skum here!!!!!!
I remember seeing one at an air show at Edwards AFB when I was a kid. The show had ended and we were sitting in traffic leaving the base. Then an SR-71 came flying in low and slow. Everyone got out of their cars and just watched and cheered as it did several passes and turns. After a few minutes, it left. It was the highlight of the day.
@@TP-kr5dp The legendary SR-71 didn’t pass at supersonic speed and give the people at the air show a taste of its magnificent power?
@@TP-kr5dp @ an RAF Mildenhall airshow, the highlight was the SR71. It also did several slow passes over the crowd, and in one pass, the pilot (just over the crowd) was showing it off by cutting one engine. It listed to one side, then cut the other engine and listed the other way. The next pass (nice and low over crowd) the pilot went FULL AFTERBURNER and a shockwave ensued very shortly, as the SR71 sped out of view. The entire crowd hooted and applauded, thinking that this was the apex of the show display. We were all wrong.
About 30 seconds had transpired as the crowd was looking for another demonstration to take off, when someone near me pointed behind us and shouted "LOOK OVER THERE!!!!"
A black darting object zipped overhead going in the same direction from 30 seconds previously......and perhaps 5 seconds later - An amazing sonic "BOOOOOOOM" was both felt and heard.
That pilot managed to jet away out of visual, fly half a circle out and return over us at such a speed, it boggles the mind.
One of the greatest high-lights of my life was to visit Duxford Imperial Air-Museum in August 2022. I went alone and took hundreds of photos. I had two photos taken of me with the SR71. One standing on the walk-way slightly above it, the other reaching up and touching it's pitot tube. Both photos are framed and hang in my living-room. This moment was a dream come true for me. I am a 63 years old Cornishman. I used to hear the faintest double booms of the SR71 as it flew over Lands End in the 70's and 80's. This is my favourite air-craft of all time. Unique. Power and speed un-touched to this day in an air-breathing air-craft.. FAR OUT....literally.
As a assembly quality control and test inspector for P & W in the late 60s early 70s l remember this engine . One came thru the line with a gold coated oil tank and tubes for heat displacement . We had catastrophic failure in the test house and were writing reports on damaged engine parts for a week.
Richard Graham is such a badass. I never knew you guys had an SR 71
Its at Duxford man! Go see it! Great place
It a shame they don't advertise it more especially with Duxford being close to RAF Mildenhall and Lakenheath. Plus it's the only SR-71 outside of the States.
Your intro says it was the "highest and fastest flying aircraft in history." This is wrong. It is the fastest manned airbreathing jet aircraft. The X-15 flew both faster and higher but obviously is a manned rocket plane, and unmanned hypersonic vehicles are airbreathing and go much faster
A-12 was faster I believe......
@@samgarrod4781 no it wasn’t , X-15 fastest and highest flown aerial vehicle piloted
@@daddyaero9382 apologies. I'm Easily confused. I was referring to the SR71 in comparison to the A12. It was a weird dream.
Was about to say the same
So what no it all
Wow this video kicked up a memory that I had forgotten. I was stationed in Okinawa with the US Navy Seabees in 1990 and saw the final flight of this Blackbird. I really never thought much more about it till seeing this video. Pretty cool.
Definitely a moment to live for. Mad jealous.
I was stationed in Okinawa in 1990 and saw this bird fly. I'll never forget it.
Whilst they flew round the edges of countries the distance a blackbird could take photos into the country they are flying around is staggering. It's not like they only took pics of the 5 mile deep borders. I'd have to check the reference but it's much more like 75 miles they can see into a country or greater whilst still not crossing the airspace boundary/border. Lovely technology.
Okinawa isn’t in the “south” pacific, and Kelly Johnson was a brilliant aeronautics engineer, but I’ve never heard him referred to as a scientist. Guess I’m feeling nit picky today.
Wouldn't you call an engineer a scientist? Engineers are essentially physicists who apply their science to real world applications
That's alright, the SR71 isn't the fastest and highest flying aircraft in history anyways, everyone gets this one wrong.
It's predecessor the CIA flown A12 Oxcart is.
I remember seeing a Blackbird at Dayton museum a while ago. There was a small piece of titanium alloy underneath the wing of the plane that had fell off, I could have stole it but I knew it would be a crime considering that the plane costs 30 million, even a small piece of it would be worth a lot. I still regret not taking it. It would be better then every souvenir in there combined.
thats how much respect this beast of a machine instills
50+ years , still too badass . Made of titanium. Won't rust.
"DO YOU EVEN *READ* MY CHRISTMAS LIST!?!?"
Alucard - Hellsing Ultimate: Abridged
7:37 It's doesn't just look advanced, it IS advanced, and that's more engineering and more advanced than any modern engineering guy with an user-friendly CAD/CAE/CAM/CFD software can come up with.
Still the best to this day!!! Even the X-men had one lol
I was just thinking that myself!!!
Kelly Johnson was not just one of the scientists. He was the chief designer.
I just wanted to add. The day we were at Duxford many of the WWII airplanes were flying. My father in law met his Brit bride very near there and served at RAF Burtonwood during the war. The sounds of the aircrafts are something one just can’t hear anyplace else. They maneuvered and really put on quite a show. It really took them back to the day. Duxford is a must visit kind of place!!
[Insert Hellsing Abridged joke here]
An excellent video but I feel it's only fair to point out the age of this phenomenal aircraft as being closer to SIXTYyears old! The A10 Oxcart flew in 1964. The Oxcart was the earlier, smaller, lighter AND potentially FASTER predecessor of the Habu. With so many interesting facts and stories out there about the SR71, it's difficult deciding what should be included in such a video. One story I enjoy hearing over again is from Major Brian Shul, USAF (Ret.), his "LA Speed Check "ua-cam.com/video/8AyHH9G9et0/v-deo.html is classic!
Being stationed at Beale in 1968, there was no greater thrill than to watch the SR-71 fly week in and week out. Still the most beautiful machine I've ever seen.
Such an iconic aircraft, with that instantly recognisable form, I think this will always be the machine that epitomises the ingenuity, skill and courage of the people that designed, built, maintained and flew them in an era when the "Can Do" spirit was at it's height.
Fastest and highest flying JET. The X-15 has everything else beat.
The space shuttle has the X-15 beat.
@@RzogL Is that flying or just upward thrust?
@@nigelbenn4642 Well it would re-enter the atmosphere and glide to a landing on a runway. I call that flying. To get back to Gromit801's comment, while there were faster manned vehicles than the SR-71 (the Apollo capsule was even faster than the Shuttle, and a lifting body), they don't qualify for the records the SR-71 still holds because they couldn't take off under their own power. Apparently the A-12 also flew higher and faster than the SR-71, but due to the secrecy of its existence it never set any official records and one could argue the A-12 and the SR-71 are fundamentally the same plane.
@07:30 SR-71 did not get "developed in the mid-60s" -- it was developed from 1957-1958 and was released in 1964.
DO YOU EVEN READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST !!!!! - helsing abridged series
We have been to Duxford and it is an amazing place.
Got a photo taken with the SR-71 on the USS Intrepid in New York City. Such an amazing aircraft
WTF how did it get on a carrier? and why?
The a12 version is on the intrepid
@@grlmgor the USS Intrepid is basically used as a museum, it's deck is actually full of super cool aircrafts and if I remember correctly from my last visit there's even a Concorde parked near her and a bunch of debris from the twin towers
@@grlmgor It was converted to a museum sometime in the 80's after being retired. You can go on it too for a small ticket fee. :)
I had the privilege of sharing the dais with the US Air Force General who broke the speed record in the Blackbird. I was the featured preacher and he was a special guest speaker at our Independence Day celebration. He was quite a nice man.
His name??
The program that eventually lead to the SR71 (Project Oxcart) was actually started in 1959 - before Powers was shot down.
I am a BlackBird Fan forever and ever. I am lucky enough to live a little south of Seattle , WA home base to the Boeing Museum Of Flight , which has the sole surviving M-21 / D-21 set and what a sight they are :)
I find such a plane should have an hangar for its own with walkways all around to be admired properly.
Great video; great aircraft. Unfortunately I'm old enough to remember that we DID have computing in the 1960s (Apollo programme!). You get to an age when you're constantly noticing inaccuracies in representations of history and develop an annoying compulsion to correct them.
Yes seen it in Florida. Extremely basic computing power albeit!
@@channi58 the AGC was actually quite a marvel of advanced tech. The S/360 machines NASA had were also quite spiffy. Even the Minuteman missiles from the 50’s had surprisingly sophisticated guidance computers.
My father was on the team to re-certify these airframes for recon flights before the Gulf War.
I’m jealous, I’ve never been near a Blackbird outside of a museum.
"DO YOU EVEN READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST"
I was stationed a few times at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma a short distance (12 miles?) from Kadena Air Force Base. In the evenings when operations were light or no one was flying at our base. We could hear when the SR-71 take off from Kadena, because it was very loud. Occasionally at twilight or at night we could also see it head out over the East China Sea because the afterburners were very bright. Futenma base sat up on a hill and the views were pretty good in most directions. About the SR-71 being called the "Habu". Everyone knew that nickname, and of course we all had been warned to watch out for and avoid at all costs the actual Habu snake. Because they are flat out deadly poisonous. I had the privilege and shocking moment to see one not far enough away from me (40 feet). It was sunning itself out on a road near the perimeter of the base. It was dull black, huge (about 8 feet long) and thicker in the middle than my arm. I was both fascinated by it and not a small amount shocked to actually be seeing one in person. And then it took off slithering away off into the tall grass out side the outer fence. That snake moved faster than any snake I have ever seen, and I have seen many. I decided right at that moment was a very good time to go the other way, away from it, quickly. I spent a bit more than a year during two tours on Okinawa, and that was the only time I was a Habu snake, but I can tell you its reputation as a very fast and all business looking killer is well deserved.
Love IWM Duxford. I took an American college there years ago. He couldn't believe he was able to get up and close to the exhibits in the USAF building. He had a big smile on his face when he saw the Huey, he flew in one many times during his tour in Vietnam.
A whole college? How was that?
@@nigelbenn4642 LOL Autocorrect fail! ......colleague.....😀