New Zealand Family React The Fastest Plane in The World | LOCKHEED SR-71 BLACKBIRD
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
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To get a great sense of the speed, listen to the "LA Speedcheck" story by an actual pilot of an SR71
ua-cam.com/video/8AyHH9G9et0/v-deo.html
This
Yeah. It's a great story
That story is hysterical!!
And it is just that a story that pilot is the only SR-71 pilot that was removed from the program for breaking many many rules.
The kids trying not to laugh at the name Dick Cheney was priceless. My sister's ex-husband worked on the camera systems. He was definitely a salty individual and if I remember correctly a former Green Beret as well.
I noticed, too. Lol.
lol i totally saw the giggles too haha
😁😆😂
Lol I hadn't noticed that. Got me giggling with them now
Mom and Dad were oblivious to their shenanigans until they played back the video.
I served as a US Navy Hospital Corpsman for 10 years. In 1989 I was stationed with the Marines on Okinawa. The day I arrived at Kadena AFB, the first thing I felt & saw was a Blackbird , take off isn't exactly what I would call it. Launch fits better. I will never forget the diamond patterns in the afterburner plumes. Little fact, in the 1960s, titanium wasn't exactly available. In fact the main producer was the soviet union. Through creative business and dummy corporations, the CIA actually bought the needed material from the one place that wouldn't knowingly sell it to them
CIA pulled the wool over CCCP eyes.
I was with "G" Co. 2/3 which was deployed to Okinawa from Hawaii in February '88. We spent a month in Korea for cold weather training, and a few weeks in the Philippines for tropical training. When catching a flight back to Hawaii at the end of our deployment I was able to catch a short glimpse through some large gaps of a brick wall of an SR71 "launching." It sounded and felt louder than even the pairs of F18s I was used to hearing taking off at KMCAS in Hawaii. Still the most impressive launch I have ever seen. It felt like it was in the clouds in shorter time than it took F18s to get off the ground.
I was there in 1989 (Marine Corps) stationed on Camp Foster, but worked K5 Right with Landing Support Battalion, I heard the rumble and looked, and it was the SR71 taking off
Technically we could say the Russians built the SR71 because of their titanium deposits!! lol lol lol
Thank you for your service from a fellow American
Hats off to Kelly Johnson, and the team at Skunk Works for this marvel❤️
Not bad for a plane built mostly by a Slide Rule. in other words for those who don't know what I mean. There were no Computers build at the time to handle the math to design this work of art.
The pilots of the blackbird said they never reached the max speed of the plane. They said if any plane came out that broke their speed record they would just go out and add a bit more throttle and retake the record. Amazing airplane and my personal all time favorite.
Maximum speed was determined by the do-not-exceed temperature on the nose. Variations in air density would allow you to go slower or faster at that limit. Thinner air allowed for more speed due to less friction/heat at a given altitude.
My uncle used to fly those. He said it leaked fuel like crazy, but when you got it up to speed, it was the finest aircraft you ever saw.
They would leak fuel until it went supersonic, when everything would heat up, expand, and seal the leaks.
Not only did it leak fuel, it used so much on takeoff that it had to be refueled within 90 minutes of takeoff.
It was designed to leak fuel. The metal needed room to expand at those high temps. It would have buckled if there was no space to expand.
@@LancerX916 ah you typed faster than I did. I was going to say the same thing!
@@CensoredByUA-cam965 They would only put enough for take off in the tanks because of the leaking. Every time an SR-71 took off, a KC-135Q was already in the air to fill the tanks.
The father (of a childhood friend of mine) retired some years ago and told us about working on the SR71 in Area51. He's past on now and even after he retired could only say 'so much' about what he did but he did say he worked on the control panel for the SR71 and knew about the outer skin being resistant to high temperatures. Supposedly only a handful of people knew the physical composition that made of the outer skin. Growing up in the San Diego area there were several companies that dealt with government contracts. General Dynamics was one that my next door neighbor worked for and (after he retired) he confessed that one of his most memorable tasks was the interior for the Mercury Spacecraft.
processed graphite
I worked on the SR-71 program from 1985 through 1994 on the avionics, probably what I consider to be my "glory days". So proud to have been part of the history, so proud to have been part of the team, so proud to have been part of this little quadrant of history......so very proud to have made a difference.
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NZ family, there was a rumour within our military that during the Vietnam war one SR71 suffered a flame out while at high altitude. It was flying so high and fast it glided back to Edwards Air Force Base! Now that flame out could have occurred somewhere over the pacific but never the less, it is an incredible feat by this legendary plane.
If it did happen, it would have had to be past Hawaii. If it was in Vietnam, they would have landed in Japan or Hawaii and not risk trying to make it to Edwards.
@@LancerX916 Agreed. I imagine it was either slightly past Hawaii for it to land at Edwards.
A friend of mine was a Russian Linguist on the RC135 in the late 80’s prior to the 71 being decommissioned. While on mission they also watched and supported the 71 fly across Russia. Tactically, the 71 would fly above Mach 1, if an SA-2 was launched, etc., the pilot was told to speed up at a certain point and the SA2 would miss. Acceleration was not immediate but was still an effective tactic.
@@louferrao2044 I think I miss read what you first said. For some reason, I was thinking you meant it flamed out over Vietnam and not on a mission to Vietnam.
I believe there was also an incident where the Blackbird lost an engine and was guarded and escorted by Swedish Viggens back to safety in Sweden. I imagine that was quite the experience for those pilots. It was kept secret until not that long ago and the Swedish pilots were given honorary medals by the USAF
My dad worked on this plane in the 60s. He was a mechanic while in the Air Force. One of the planes he worked on directly is on display at the Udvar-Hazy Museum at Dulles International Airport. The Space Shuttle Discovery is parked right behind it when you walk in. It was flown from Los Angeles cross country in about an hour.
I was here to comment that Udvar-Hazy should DEFINITELY be in the plans for the America trip. The whole area is steeped in history here. Arlington National, all of DC, all of the memorials, Mannassas battlefield, just so much history all within an hours drive.
*64 minutes 20 seconds. Averaged 2,124 mph. This was in 1990.
@@lookoutforchris Thanks! I edited my original response to reflect your info.
SR71 speed records (still unbroken): NY city to London- 1hr 54mn 56sec /. Oxnard,Ca.(coast line) to Dulles Int. Airport, Washington DC- 1hr 7mn 53sec /. LA to Washington DC- 1hr 4mn 19sec /. London to LA- 3hr 47mn 39sec. Remember, it’s first flight was April 1962. Designed and built by US engineers using slide rules,pencils, and drafting tables ! NO computers !!! Lockheed Skunk works mfg. Way ahead of anyone’s engineering. Earliy 1990’s, Skunk Works CEO Dr.Ben Rich giving a speach at UCLA was asked what can you tell us about UFO’s? His reply was”theirs or ours?” !?! 😳. He said “ WE have the ability to take ‘ET’ home.” !?!😳
After having spoken with a former SR-71 pilot, the actual top speed was above Mach 3.5. He had some interesting stories about missions and the program in general. Truly amazing considering the year it was developed. Definitely check out the LA speed check story as others have mentioned.
From what I've read, they never gave out the actual speed. Everytime I read something about it, the speed was listed as Mach 3+.
@@tattooedman42 the operations manual states Mach 3.17 as maximum cruise speed very clearly but also says Mach 3.2 is the design speed. Mach 3.3 is allowed when authorized by the Commander. Really the maximum speed is largely determined by the maximum allowable compressor inlet temperature. That’s the thing to watch, and it cannot exceed 427C without damaging the engines. The Mach number will be whatever it is based on the flight conditions. A few pilots have reported excursions above Mach 3.3 based on keeping the CIT right at maximum. The plane will fly fast enough to destroy itself if you allow it to.
@@lookoutforchris I've never read the manual, just different writings about it. Honestly, I didn't think anyone other than those involved would be permitted to even see the manual. Thanks for the insight.
@@tattooedman42 When I was a teen in the late '70's/early '80's, I worked for a sky-writing company that writes sentences in the air, with 5 planes that fly in formation (the Skytypers - they're still around): they had a "pool" of pilots that they would call from, whenever they were going to fly.
One pilot that flew with them for over 20 years, was a guy named Jim Eastham - callsign Dutch 52: he was a test pilot for Lockheed, and had flown the Blackbird. I did not know if he flew it operationally, or only on a test basis.
What I also didn't know until early this past year, was that not only did he fly it - he WROTE the flight manual!!!
I used to always bug him about how fast it could fly. He gave me a number, and I always thought he was "full of it"...until this year.
I've only ever heard 2 or 3 former Blackbird pilots say that temperature was the only limitation as to its top speed - and the number I was given is higher than anything that former pilots have ever admitted to (including Brian Shul's accelerating to Mach 3.4 over Libya)...not much higher, but higher.
After learning about Jim's career as a test pilot, maybe he wasn't so "full of it" after all...
As for MiG 25's and 31's being able to shoot one down: unless the sky was literally full of them & could anticipate the Blackbird's every move - not possible. The simple reason being the time and distance to intercept, to be able to take a shot. As I said, unless the sky is literally full of aircraft that could anticipate every move, they could never get close enough to get their missiles within range.
Mach 3.2 was the Blackbirds CRUISING speed - NOT it's top speed, and it did it all day & all night. That's why the top speed is still classified, but several pilots have mentioned that their engines were never operating at full throttle.
That said, they did suffer "engine un-starts" on occasion, caused by malfunctions of the inlet cones on the engines: those cones adjust to control the speed at which air passes into the air intakes on the engines. If the air into the intakes flows too fast, the engines stall. When this happens, the pilots have to descend to a lower altitude & reduce speed to restart the dead engine - that's when Blackbirds became vulnerable to enemy aircraft.
Remember: not only were they taking pictures, they also had early warning systems, and pilots knew when enemy aircraft were trying to intercept them. It was hilarious to hear about Soviet fighters "falling from the sky", because they would try to intercept, and their engines would flame-out when they ran out of oxygen while trying to get to the Blackbird's altitude.
@@Britcarjunkie Interesting, and thanks.
*_TRIVIA_* :
the original designator was, *_"RS-71"_* but at the announcement, then-president Johnson misspoke and called it the _"SR-71"_ and nobody dared correct him. so they just changed the official designator rather than correct a cranky president.
DARPA and Lockheed Martin have a new Blackbird called the SR-72. And the engines they're developing for the sr-72 has a scramjet component, meaning, that it can reach over 7,000 mph. Or just above Mach 9.5.
You guys need to look up DARPA and Skunk Works.
Something like the dark star in top gun maverick?
@@seanmc7128 Better
@@seanmc7128 More like the Dog Star was modeled after the SR-72. This Jet has been in development for almost 15 years.
@@dlmdee Russia does NOT have a Hypersonic Missile. Last April, Russia claimed to have fired a "Hypersonic Missile" at Ukraine. But when British and American engineers examined it, it was only a modified Cruise Missile. And if they had them, why haven't they used them?
@@spazzey0 The SR-72 is still under development, and the cited top speed by Lockheed Martin is mach 9. If they achieve Mach 9, is probable.
I don't know much on the subject, but I do know this, my husband's whole family works for and worked for The Skunkworks. Their stories about military aircraft and budgets are practically unbelievable.
Love the SR71 it was designed with slide rulers not computers. They leaked feul on the ground because of the heat expanding them up to 3 ft longer. still holds the record today..... slide rulers.
The engines on these actually grew in size by inches, as they got hotter and hotter, and it's parts had to expand and shrink without breaking. Making a U-Turn at full speed, could take 2/3 of the USA to accomplish. It set multiple Speed records on it's way to the retirement home, and I'm told they still hold today. Truly an engineering marvel.
You should look up the L.A. speed story SR-71 you might get a laugh out of it .
I grew up near Beale AFB in California in the 60's and 70's. During the Vietnam war I saw this plane all the time and heard a lot of sonic booms.
Ahh, the HABU!!! Used to watch them take off at Okinawa. Amazing aircraft
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Part of my duties as USAF military police while stationed in S. Korea way back in 1988 was to guard the SR-71. Nobody was allowed to take pictures of it and access was VERY limited. Funny thing was my last year in the Air Force I was "technically" stationed at Nellis AFB near Las Vegas, but was actually at Area 51 when they were testing the stealth bomber, which nobody knew about at the time and we would constantly get reports about UFOs over Las Vegas. Lol
I love this story. Every time someone reports a UFO I think, there does our military testing a new plane.
My Dad also served in the Korean War. I was born in California and when I was a baby he worked at McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. He was a proud Veteran 🇺🇸
I was in Korea in 81 went to Fort Buckner and watched the U2 land crazy crazy. They got the film as soon as it stopped moving. Also was taking photos for about 2 minutes before they took my 35mm roll of film. Also they informed me don't do it again. I was stationed at Camp Walker Taegu didn't know it was not allowed
Even an ordinary passenger plane can look like an UFO, given the right conditions!
Kapp
My father was crew chief on the blackbird in the 60s . It is a beautiful plane shot at over 4000 time and was never hit . My husband made my father a 8 ft model of it, the best part was when we where transporting it on the roof of our jeep, all kind of people having to take a second look. The best was to see my father's face when he saw his old friend the blackbird. Must listen to the LA speed story. That pilot was flying in and out of the base my dad was at when he worked on them.
honestly, i dont even wait for the video to start playing before i hit like. this family is so cute. just a great channel.
Btw the black bird leaks fuel on the ground do to the way they expand at altitude so in order to reduce fire hazard they made the jet fuel NON flammable to the point the pilots would put out their cigars in the leaking fuel lol
When I was in the RAF as an Aerospace Systems Operator (Air Defence Radar Operator) in the late 70s and 80s I regularly tracked SR-71 through British and NATO Europe Airspace on the way to and from surveillance missions over Eastern Europe and the Arctic North Cape. We only tracked them when they had IFF/SIF Secondary Radar squawks selected. The gaps between the Radar paints on the screen was much larger (faster)than RAF and USAF aircraft flying intercept missions with full afterburner and flying supersonic such as Lightning, Phantom, Tornado, F16, F15 and F18. The SR-71 was always easily seen when Secondary Radar selected but invisible when only raw Radar data was the only option.
In Okinawa, Japan they were called the Habu, after a venomous snake.
Other nicknames for the plane in the US were:
Queen of Speed
Lady in Black
here's an interesting fact that they left out. due to thermal expansion at high speeds the panels of the plane weren't held together very well on the ground, and would constantly leak until it got up to temp.
also if you ever visit the west coast, specifically Oregon, there's a museum that has both an SR-71 and The Spruce Goose. easily worth a stop by, even w/o mentioning the attached water park and biplane rides.
I worked on the SR-71 Blackbird program while I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall in 1982. I was an Electronic Intelligence Analyst (ELINT). I processed, analyzed, and reported Electronic Intelligence information collected during the missions. I was the first permanent ELINT Analyst assigned to the project in the UK. Prior to my assignment, ELINT analysts would rotate temporary duty (TDY) 3 months at time, from Beale AFB. This was one of my favorite assignments! 😊😊
Brian Shul was an SR-71 pilot. His story is amazing. He was told that he would never fly again before he qualified as an SR-71 pilot.
SR-71 facts. They leaked fuel when sitting on the ground because the panels had gaps that allowed the skin to grow as it heated at speed. Controls on the SR-71 were rather rudimentary as it was designed beginning in the 1950's. I believe the SR-71 was officially capable of Mach 3.3. At least one pilot reported that it's capabilities far exceeded 3.3. Under missile attack, the pilot just pushed the throttles forward. The quote as close as I can remember was, The SR-71 continued to accelerate rapidly well beyond reported capabilities. I don't think he ever reported the actual number publicly. They carried no armaments. Their only defense was speed and altitude. And they never lost that battle.
My family and I just visited the SR-71 Blackbird at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, GA, yesterday. It was a pretty incredible site to see close up.
The SR-71 is still the fastest air breathing manned aircraft and it set the record in 1976! the top recorded speed was 2,193.2 MPH (3.529.6 KPH). . .in the 70's I was stationed on Okinawa, there the blackbirds were known as the Habu (named after an Okinawan venomous snake), it was incredible to see them launch, especially at night. . .what an incredible aircraft!👍👍❤❤
The SR-71 was designed using pencil, paper, and slide rules. No computer aided design. And keep in mind the SR-71 is a big airplane. It also holds the Trans-Atlantic record from New York to London in 1 hour and 56 minutes.
I do not often comment on videos, I just wanted to say I found your families channel a while ago and have really enjoyed much of your content. I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the joy you guys have for American culture, it brings allot of pride to me especially when it’s been so crazy here at home. I appreciate your content very much and look forward to seeing what else you learn about my country and I look forward to learning more about New Zealand. Cheers and happy new year!
If stuff like this really interests you, if you're anywhere near Washington DC on your trip you'll need to check out the national aviation and space museum.
The National Air and Space Museum has two locations, one in DC proper (need a timed-entry pass to attend) and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy center in Chantilly, VA which is about 30 or so miles away, situated just south of Dulles International Airport with a great vantage point between two of the north/south runways. If you're into 'historical galleries' with lots of words, go to the downtown museum. If you just want to see some really cool planes (including the last Air France Concorde, the Enola Gay, the aforementioned SR-71 and the Space Shuttle Discovery), definitely go to the one in Chantilly...I live 20 minutes away and it's still one of my favorite places to visit.
Also if you or any one else happen to visit Washington state be sure to visit Boeing's Museum Of Flight. If may not be a major rival for The National Air and Space Museum but in it's own right is a very worthy museum to visit and experience - The Boeing Museum Of Flight has the sole surviving M-21 / D-21 modified blackbird - also there's a recovered cockpit from a SR-71 that crashed and you can sit in the cockpit.
The highest unofficial speed I have heard claimed was Mach 3.5+. This still makes this the fastest air breathing manned jet in history.
The video left out some interesting facts about the plane. (This is my favorite plane) The first fact is that this plane used so much fuel during takeoff that there had to be another plane in the sky waiting for it to refuel the Blackbird while it was still flying. Also they initially tried putting guns on the plane, but the plane was so fast that if it used it's guns, it would end up running into the bullets it just fired. Finally the plane flies so high up that the pilots of the plane had to wear suits similar to that of astronauts.
My father was one of the mechanics that took care of the SR-71s when not in flight. He has a great passion and love for them even today. He often brags about them to me and my brothers. They are still considered the fastest spy planes in the world and there was actually multiple versions of them that altered between multiple pilots, to a single pilot with additional spy gear. They used to leak a lot when on the ground, and they used up so much fuel on takeoff that they had to refuel midair shortly after takeoff.
My dad's greatest pride though, is his military cap. It is a red baseball cap with a snoopy on it that has his squad name & base on it. Few people know this, but that hat was flown on the famous NY to London flight (2 hours, world record on 9-1-1974) in the pocket of his friend the pilot, Noel Widdifield. Its an unknown piece of history that my dad is proud of, but sad that no one really knows about it.
The Honda Super Blackbird was designed to be like that plane. I have one with a turbo on it. Great video as usual!
Nice! I was always a chopper guy, but if I were to ever own a sport bike it would def be the Honda blackbird. That is one sexy piece of machinery.
One of the craziest things about the SR-71 is that the airframe was built intentionally with gaps in it so it leaked fuel like a net when on the ground. The reason was, when the plane was at speed the heat expanded the airframe so much it was self-sealing. When I was in the Navy, I once had an opportunity see watch a Blackbird take off from its home field. We could hear the engine roar from almost a mile away.
They had to meet up with a refueling tanker, as soon as possible, to get their tanks top off for their mission. Because they had leaked so much fuel while sitting on the tarmac.
One of my favorite planes along with the F-117 Nighthawk. As an 80's kid it was great when these planes and the B2 became declassified and public knowledge we got great toys and models like Micro Machines. While deployed at Okinawa, the SR-71s and their aircrew members gained the nickname Habu (as did the A-12s preceding them) after a pit viper indigenous to Japan, which the Okinawans thought the plane resembled. I also heard that the titanium use to build the planes had to be sneakily purchased from Russia(USSR) the largest source of titanium in the world. The one plane disintegrating was probably since the skin was so fragile and any damage could easily lead to failure at those temperatures and speeds. You should look up the wiki and do a follow up on the announcement of the SR-72. Checkout the new Japanese Mitsubishi F-X.
The U.S. just announced the production of the SR-72 (aka it's been in service for years).
I was stationed at Kadena AB in the early ‘70s, and we had SR71’s on our base. Awesome to watch take off and land! It was called the “Habu”. BTW: My son loved his long sleeve t-shirt from your merch I gave him for Christmas. 😍
The first flight was on December, 22, 1964. When they built the SR-71 Blackbird it was put in the process of Design, Built, Test, fast that the other country. Taking only 20 months only 1 air craft can outrun the Blackbird. X-15 reaching mach 6.70 at 354,200 feet.
Toured an air museum as a kid and got to see one right up close. It has long been my favorite aircraft. It is intimidating from any angle and just screams "catch me if you can." It is beautifully sleek, art and engineering combined. And to still hold the speed record after so many decades is a real testament to just how far out this thing was.
It is definitely one of the coolest looking planes ever built. It was featured in a couple of movies in the 80's, namely Cloak & Dagger and D. A. R. Y. L.
Also Heavily featured in the X-Men comics and movies.
@@ji3194 That was actually the fictional SR-72 Blackbird. But yes, based on the SR-72.
Even 50 years later, we ask ourselves "How can we make this better?" Always moving forward!
I was stationed at Clark AB, Republic of the Philippines in the late 1980's. An SR-71 landed there and launched several days later. I was watching from a safe distance as the tanker aircraft launched first with terrific noise and belching black smoke. By comparison the SR-71 was incredibly quiet and left hardly any smoke in its wake. It was impressive to watch as the aircraft did a turn over Angiles city to line up over the AB's runway. The pilot wagged the plane over the runway then pulled into a steep climb at a incredible speed leaving our sight seconds.
It was he fastest when it was in service, and there is nothing that cold beat it until the new sr92 comes out.
My dad was part of the service crew that worked on it from 68 to 78 when before we came back to the states.
IT WAS SO AWESOME TO WATCH IT AND SIT IN IT WHEN I WAS 15 YEARS OLD.
In Ben Rich's book Skunkworks he talks about how the Blackbird glowed white hot at speed, and that many people saw it zipping incredibly fast across the sky. The USAF came up with a cover program to explain these strange lights in the sky. It was called Project Blue Book.
Blue book was before the SR-71 and was ran for about 5 years in response to Roswell New Mexico's alien sightings.
I don't know if you ever did a react to it, but you should check out the "L.A. Speed Story"
As for retirement.... It's said the real reason the Black Bird was retired.... Was that the U.S. got something better/faster.
True. But an Air Force General came out publicly saying that that rumor was started by the Air Force to to cover for the money being spent on the then secret F 117 and B 2 stealth programs.
I remember back when the Space Shuttle was still flying it seemed like they went up on military missions a few times a year. Though what they were doing was secret it was most likely putting up Key Hole spy satellites.
For anyone that has not seen Brian Shul "From Butterflies to Blackbirds" at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, you should watch it. It is just over one hour, but well worth the watch. He keeps it entertaining even if you are not an aeronautics fan. Not just a bunch of boring statistics, he has a bit of humor in it. He was a Blackbird pilot.
There are so many great stories about the development and design of the SR-71 (the fuel was used to cool the aircraft, the majority of the titanium used to build them was sourced directly from the Soviet Union, etc.). I recommend the book "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich. Ben became Kelly Johnson's 2nd in command at the Skunk Works, and eventual successor when Kelly retired.
Honestly, I don't think they could make another plane like this today without keeping it hidden forever. The costs associated with designing and building these types of projects has skyrocketed so much, the politicians would be more upset about not "being in the loop" than the enemy would be with it flying overhead.
You guys definitely need to do the LA speedcheck story, and his other popular story, the "Buzzing the Tower" story on TAOFLEDERMAUS's channel. Personally I like the buzzing the tower story more lol
Buzzing the tower - are there any policies regarding buzzing a civilian air control tower? 😂
You should check out the SR-72, It's the son of the Blackbird known as the "Darkstar" from Top Gun Maverick. It has a scram jet and will be the fastest jet ever operating at around Mach 6. It is currently still going through testing and purported to start production by 2030.
The SR-71 Blackbird that disintegrated was during a factory test flight. There was a problem with one of the engine intakes not functioning properly that put the aircraft into unstable flight, eventually breaking the plane up. I believe that both pilots ejected safely. When you are flying at over 70K feet at Mach 3.2, anything can happen.
I work for Lockheed Martin who designed and built the SR-71. One of our employees was an SR-71 pilot who retired as a 2 star general. He still holds the world speed record accomplished in an SR-71. Fantastic airplane where practically every part of the airplane had to be invented from scratch. From the tires, to the cockpit windows, to the airframe, it was a tour de force in engineering.
The speed at which the US military technology advances will always fascinate and amaze me.
German brains only.
💯🇺🇸
From what I remember reading, it had to be intentionally built in a way that it leaked fuel from it’s hull until it got up to a certain altitude/speed which flexed the hull and sealed the leaks.
New Zealand Family in 2023 I guarantee you will get 1M and get the giant gold play button plaque as always this is a awesome video I love you sweethearts especially you Atlanta you’re my favorite!💯⭐️🤩❤️❤️❤️
An SR-71 flew from NYC to LA in 64 minutes.
I saw one at Andrews AFB During an Independence day show in 86. It came off the Runway touch and go it the afterburners and became a speck in the sky, the announcer said it was now over Charleston South Carolina four states away.
A fun fact, is that one of the lead designers of the SR-71 is quoted saying, "the engines on the SR-71 get so hot, that at every stage of acceleration, the design must compensate for temperature increases." If I remember correctly, he says the overall circumference of an engine expands something insane like 2-4in. Definitely look out for this video on UA-cam! They had to build all the components on each engine in a way that the engine was freely allowed to expand due to the temperatures. This plane is more incredible than anyone realizes.
The movie Armageddon, has two SR-71 in the hanger when filming at Edwards AFB. At the time, last two “inactive” planes that still flew.
The SR-71 is my second favorite plane, first is the A-10.
I was in the U.S. Army stationed in Okinawa, Japan in the late 1970s and watched the SR-71 take off from Kadena Air Base more than once. It was truly an awesome sight.
I LOVE the SR-71 Blackbird! I used to visit one regularly at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California. My favorite fact is that it only takes 1 hour to fly from coast to coast (US) and it would need to start slowing down over Washington DC on it's way to land in Palmdale, California!
The insane engineering of the SR-71 is a fantastic video that goes more in depth into the plane
Fun fact. It was originally the RS-71 but President Johnston unveiled it and called it the SR-71 so the defense department decided to change the name of the plane instead of having to correct the President for miss pronouncing the name of the plane.
I've had the pleasure to see several SR-71 aircraft in flight on separate occasions. Besides being unbelievably loud, I mean, no matter what you use for hearing protection it's not enough.
That day at the air show near Sacramento, California, it was 100° F. My brother and I were sitting about 450 meters adjacent to the runway. When he powered up to start his takeoff roll,
It got HOT. Then he lit the afterburners. Unbelievable, unbearable heat. It burned my skin that was covered by my shirt and shorts. IT ! WAS ! AWESOME !
Prior to flying I was a mechanic on the 135 series jets and right before I left Okinawa, I was moved to the SR71 right before it was decommissioned. My favorite part of the 71 were the engines and Spike/ cone Actuator assembly. It was hot fueled and would not light with fire, required a Bromine chemical mix to ignite the JP7.
Triethylborane (TEB). The limited number of shots they had is what ultimately limited its range and missions. Each time you go off afterburner and descend to refuel you have to use another shit to re-ignite the afterburners.
If you find yourself in Dayton, Ohio on your US trip, there are two SR-71's at the USAF museum. We just went and the one on the floor you can stand just a few feet away. It's just amazing to be able to do that. A full trip to the museum will take 5 hours or more but the amount of actual history they have on display is mind blowing and definitely worth the time. Plus all Federal museums are free.
I have been fascinated with military aircraft for as long as I can remember. As a preschool little girl, my father who was in the Army-Air Corp later to become the Air Force, and our next door neighbor who served in WWI would teach me the names of all the military planes that flew over our town. This was at that time we were involved in the Korean war and our area was perfect for training maneuvers and still is. They would quiz me and I was almost always right. At an air show at Andrews Air Force Base outside of Washington D.C. 32 years ago the SR 71 Blackbird was on display. And as fortune would have it, I was having a conversation with a very nice gentleman about the plane when he informed me that he was one of its designers. I was in such awe of this engineer and what his team was able to accomplish. As an adult I have had a Stealth fly (surprisingly low) over my house and once at dusk during the Shock and Awe phase, two F 15’s flew over with their afterburners on!! What a thrill!!!
I personally knew John E. "Zeek" Palmer (recently passed). He was supposed to fly the U-2 the day that Powers got shot down. He told me many times that the Russians did NOT have anything that could reach them. Powers had a flame-out and dropped below 70K feet in an attempt to restart the engines. Eddie would have been on that bird that day had the flight surgeon not grounded him for the sniffles. RIP, old man. You were an amazing human! Thank you for the memories, Eddie!
My grandfather was a blackbird pilot. He actually flew the M-21. I got to sit in the very cockpit he sat in before his plane went on display at the Museum of flight in Selah, WA many years ago.
I took a selfie with a SR71 about two decades ago. The thing is massive. It's one of my fav high altitude jets.
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me, too - now I am wondering where that photo is!
I had to go and find this video. Told by one of the blackbird pilots. It is Major Brian Shul. USAF (Ret.) SR-71 Blackbird "Speed Check". You all will love it. It is funny... These crews were studs!!!
I actually got to sit in the cockpit of the SR-71 when I went tona Math and Science Camp for Girls. I was in 8th Grade and 14 years old! IT WAS LIKENA DREAM COME TRUE BECAUSE AT THE TIME, THE SR-71 WAS MY FAVORITE JET EVER.. IT STILL IS MY FAVORITE!!
Great video guys. One fact not mentioned was the fact that most of the Titanium in the world came from mines in the Soviet Union. The US was actually buying Titanium through covert means from 3rd parties just to build these planes.
The black bird has always been my go to favorite plane. Used to watch them take off daily in New Mexico
Oh yeah the SR-71 “habu” as it was known in Okinawa, was so much fun to watch take off at night. What a blazing awesome blue cone is all you saw as it took off.
Kelly Johnson and the team at Skunkworks (imo) were the most phenomenal aircraft designers to ever grace the earth.
They pushed the boundaries of what was possible, treading territory that was previously unseen and completely unknown. Yet, the Skunkworks team were able to pull off some major accomplishments in a time where computer aided design was privative at best.
The SR-71 is still impressive by today's standards, and considering that aircraft took it's official maiden flight in 1964, that is absolutely incredible.
The original designation for the plane was RS-71. Curtis LeMay, the Air Force Chief of Staff, preferred the designation SR-71 (Strategic Reconnaissance) and it was changed. However at the time of the unveiling to the public in 1964, the press kits still had the RS-71 designation on their sheets, but President Lyndon Johnson called it the SR-71. Some people think Johnson flubbed the letters and numbers around, but that isn't the case. It was changed from RS-71 to SR-71 before the President even spoke.
The sr71 blackbird was so fast that prevent its tyres from bursting on landing they were filled with nitrogen gas instead of air. Additionally the fuel tanks leaked all over the hangar floors when cold and would only seal once the planes fuselage started to heat up
Love yalls content, it's the perfect way to teach kids about history and having family time at the same time. Some of the best times I had growing up was watching the OG History Channel with my dad when he wasn't working at the Tire Factory all the time.
You should check out the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas. It's the only space museum outside of NASA and the Smithonian. They have the Mercury Capsule and and an SR-71 along with a lunar lander and a mockup of a space shuttle. They also made props for the movie "Apollo 13"'.
Got to see the SR-71 fly at Oshkosh in 1997. The ultimate speed machine is an engineering marvel.
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It was briefly mentioned that an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960. The pilot was named Gary Powers. There is a great movie called Bridge of Spies (2015) directed by Steven Spielberg that chronicles the below-the-surface negotiations to get Powers released - culminating in a spy swap engineered by an American attorney who was enlisted as a liaison between the U.S. and the Soviets - because the two countries lacked a direct communication channel. Terrific movie about a period in history I'm glad is finished. Thanks for posting this one.
That's the word. That plane always looked fantastically and beautifully sinister.
The breakup mentioned happened because the people in charge tried an experiment without adequate analysis. They tried to decrease trim drag by setting the center of gravity a little aft of normal. When the plane hit a problem that raised the nose a little, it wasn't able to bring it back down, and the plane broke apart.
Few other things: It carried no weapons. Speed was its only defense. Also while on the ground at normal temps it leaked fuel. It didn't seal up properly until it was flying and was hot. It flew from New York to Los Angeles in 69 minutes. For your reference; from Perth to Brisbane in ~65 minutes.
I first encountered the SR-71 in early 1969 while in Okinawa. To answer the two main questions posed by this video: (1) The SR-71 might "disintegrate" when one of its two engines failed during high-speed runs, resulting in violent yaw which could literally tear the airplane apart; and (2) Any technology that is developed by and for Department of Defense (DOD) bids is usually classified, essentially becoming the property of the DOD, and thus may not be sold, traded, or reused in any way without the express permission of DOD. (Think about "Skunkworks," "Phantom Works," and similar business units that have evolved inside major U.S. defense contractors to contain such classified technologies secretly and separate from their parent company's other businesses.)
Always love watching these ones with my New Zealand Family, so interesting..
Fun facts, 1) the SR-71 leaked fuel while on the ground because they are fitted with expansion joints. The planes get about 10 inches longer and seal up at altitude due to the skin heating up. 2) The top speed still remains classified but it's been said that they could reach Mach 3.5 or better. 3) An SR-71 flew between London and New York so fast that due to changing time zones, it landed earlier than it took off.
The pilot of the U2 that got shot down, Francis Gary Powers, was a relative of my mom's former hairdresser!
Plus, in order to build the SR-71, the US Government had to make multiple shell companies to acquire the titanium needed to build it...because most of the global titanium production was in the Soviet Union!
8:55 to answer your question about the technology that we develop for certain proposals. I work for Lockheed Martin, same company that built this plane. Typically when we develop this type of technology, we start with internal research and development which is self funded. When we make a proposal against a government contract there are sometimes stipulations that the technology developed under that contract are either transferred to the government entity that funded it (usually referred to as a TDP [technical data package] for additional cost) or it is retained by the company, even if the contract is terminated or doesn’t proceed to the production phase.
Real Engineering's Video titled "The Insane Engineering of the SR-71 Blackbird" on the technology needed for a plane to go that fast is really good.
I lived next to an Air Force base (Beale) that was one of the main stations for the SR-71. She is a beauty, Ive seen her close enough to touch (of course, they dont let you...) and even this many years after she was retired one must wonder: what are they capable of fielding now? Sam, thats a damn good question but the USAF plays it close to the vest so.. Idonno, either. :D
I have alot of fond memories of the Blackbird, she will always be queen of the skies to me.
Love the Suns shirt! Go Suns!!
That is indeed still the fastest plane in the world, and the top speed is still highly speculated because it's classified. Rumor has it that nobody actually ever was allowed to take it above Mach 3.7 and it had more capability left. I used to work for a defense contractor here in the US that made parts for Lockheed and it was always a topic that came up when talking to the engineers. Lol. There are tons of good SR-71 videos out on UA-cam including the pilots first hand account of his plane disintegrating and a really funny one where another pilot caught some fighter pilots trolling a Cessna pilot over their airspeed, needless to say, the Blackbird pilots were traveling at double the fighters speed! Lol
One of those Blackbirds is actually right here at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins Georgia, it is a sight to behold up close & in person ✌💖☮
It is the third fastest plane in the world, in fact. The only things that can catch it are technically the space shuttle on reentry and the Aurora. The Aurora is the only aircraft in existence that can enter and exit Earth's atmosphere at will. The original Aurora was pilot controlled and satellite controlled. When the pilot took the plane as fast as he possibly could, they lost Communications with him they immediately took over with satellite control, and during that, he had lost consciousness. It turns out he went so fast that the g-force is turned his heart into what looked like a beef cutlet that you would use to make chicken fried steak and his brain had completely turned in to chunky mush his eyes had exploded from the force into the back of his head causing the bone to crack behind his eyes. Everything from his lungs down ended up in very close proximity to his rectum. In other words, he went so fast it ripped him apart on the inside, leaving him nothing more than a chunky bone-filled water balloon. Now they're working on an aircraft that has a liquid filled cockpit, and you have to breathe super oxygenated fluid. It's now in the 7th generation of Aurora aircraft. It is literally going to be our new Starfighter aircraft. It normally takes about 3 days to get to the moon using conventional technology. The Aurora can make it there in 1. If that. Due to its magnetic black Fusion Repulsor engine's. Don't ask me how and what that is because that part is still incredibly classified. It's all on DARPA's website. If you know how and where to look....🤫
You need to watch the LA speed check video to show what a beast this jet is. The pilot telling the story is great to hear.
Beale AFB, CA. The base has a static display of the SR71 in the middle of the base. I was stationed there for 7 years and deployed twice. The pilot that flew that plane the fastest ended up living just outside of Beale. He’d come on post all the time to shop and belittle low ranking airmen.
An SR-71 is on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum outside Washington DC, at the facility near Dulles Airport. An impressive plane. Not far from it on the floor of the museum is the Discovery space shuttle. The whole place is worth a trip, with so many other aircraft that it takes a good portion of a day just to walk by them. What I thought was the most amazing was that an SR-71 was in amongst all these aircraft.