I think it's of a design that truly is so far ahead of its time that it almost seems alien. It's crazy to think that the craziest aircraft that looks most like a spaceship capable of warp speed was designed using slide rules back in the early 1960's.
It is still to this day mind boggling to know that this magnificent piece of a enginuity was built from the mind, slide rules, calculators, and trial and error. No computer graphics design
We were smarter back then. I believe this to be true due to the fact that now a days, we rely on technology to remember things for us as to where back then, you remembered everything. For example, those old enough, think about how many phone numbers you knew as a kid. We all must have known at least 20 phone numbers. It also blows my mind how the SR71 never caught fight while waiting to take off considering it poured fuel out everywhere due to the airframe not being properly expanded due to the thermals of high speed flight
Came across this footage by chance and it brought back fond memories from long ago. That left seater is Captain Jerry Varner my aircraft commander during that Kadena deployment and I was the boomer MSgt Spike Bell. Both of us now long retired.
It’s amazing that a random UA-cam video of this beast has comments from the people actually working with it. Thanks for sharing! This must require a crazy amount of skill and concentration to pull off. How many times did you get to complete the refueling?
@@colinashby3775 when the SR is approaching half full on gas it will have to light a burner. It’s flying at a high aoa and has to stay in the flight envelope.
Can you imagine the first people who saw this in the 60’s who first saw this and what they must’ve thought- Looking at it in 2021 it still looks so far ahead of it’s time
Everything we have has been re invented. Before our time in the ancient days they had things that would shock people today. Photos from thousands of years ago are beginning to make their way onto youtube though during this reset.
71 and 22 would need to be close to stall speed to allow the 35 to be in formation with them.. But good news the 35 will be be with the other two birds no longer manufactured..
You could put any other aircraft up in the sky, anything that man has built before or after, you can even throw a UFO in there if your that way inclined, with all their alleged wizardry, but nothing will ever capture my attention like that aircraft. For me, there is just some unexplainable awe that they invoke.
I am fortunate to have seen the SR-71 refuel from inside the KC-135. I moved to the back of the aircraft, and set to the side of the boom operator. As the SR-71 closes distance, I remember thinking “Holy shite this is really happening!”
A close enough "bird's eye" view of an incredible and iconic machine. The SR-71 Blackbird is probably the most beautiful airplane ever created and people would rather see it in flight like this. I'm just absolutely floored by the magnificence of this wonderful creation by man.
Advance satellites, drones, and an active intelligence agency. While the SR-71 is one of my favorite planes, there isn’t too much of a need for these types of planes.
I saw the SR-71 at an airshow in Europe. It was something I can never forget. It was the clearest day you can imagine, and you could see the snow capped Carpathians from Bucharest, as well as the Black Sea, and watching him go out until you couldnt see anything, then a dot, then a silently growing silhouette, low fly by and Mach...only he knows (and ATC lol). The benefit of air shows in a former communist bloc country, right after 89. No FAA or any kinds of regs so these guys knew they could do stupid cool stunts. Did windows break? Yes. Did your ears ring? Yes. Did some people feel their guts rumble so much they puked? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes. What happened to you America? XB-70, SR-71, 747, F-14...Younger kids will never know this growing up.
Still remains the KING of SPEED. So ahead of it's time...even in Sep, 2022. I got to see one in the Boneyard Museum in Arizona and physically touch it. It is like seeing a UFO from Omicron Seti 5 or some other Sci-Fi dreamed up world. It is one sexy machine -- out of this world looking air/spacecraft. It doesn't belong on the ground aging away...it belongs in the sky breaking it's own records. I know the economics and technological advances killed it off...but, the KING of SPEED deserves better IMHO.
What also killed it off was the advent of satellites. Remember: SR 71 had no offensive or defensive capabilities. It was there to take pictures at a high altitude for reconaissance purposes.
Same, I am from Australia and visited the states many years ago, and stopped by the museum in Houston Texas and they have or had one out the front. It was the most beautiful aircraft I have ever seen, I remember reaching out and touching it like in a dream. Just amazing.
My stepfather was a Skunkworks engineer. He was so brilliant that he was just bizarre. He had a triple Doctorate; Physics, Philosophy, Religions. That alone seemed off the wall to me. He had several Patents that paid him well, and Lockheed kept him on Retainer when he retired. Interesting character!
I was fortunate to be part of ground support for the SR-71 at Beale AFB Ca in 1965/66. Biggest thrill was when I did an engine start on the run up pad for the first SR-71 delivered to Beale. On the run up pad we trimmed each engine in afterburner. What a thrill.....
@@DavidEVogel i worked in airfield management and was around the u2 a lot. Loud as fk. I used to hate when they would depart at 5am waking the whole damn base up 😂
I spent 4 years as a kid at Beale, from 88-92. My step dad was ground crew for the SR. I feel so fortunate to have spent that time at Beale. I think about it all the time. It was a magical place for me.
God I love this video. I work at Tinker AFB in Okc, Oklahoma. I've always loved planes and the best one to be 100 yards away from on takeoff on a roof 80ft up is the B1B lancer, its deafening.
Everything about the Blackbird was just awesome. I have always been fascinated with this aircraft. I had the opportunity to to listen to actual pilots and techs talk about their experiences in the SR program a few years ago at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum in Mcminnville OR. I hung on every word these guys said.
Lived at Beale as a kid and marveled on a daily basis as the SR would fly around with the T38 chase plane right behind. Early 70's to the early 80's. We'd go to the Beale airshow every year. Incredible flybys and one on display with canopy covered of course. Never saw them when I was active duty but, was flying over Sydney, NE, in 93 and heard a Blackbird call sign radio that he was entering SLC and calling out an outrageous time to over Sydney. I was in a Huey so, could not get any altitude to see him. Never saw him but his radio traffic was indicative of the incredible speed he was moving at. Great video!
I once worked with a boom operator on KC135 tankers. He said you would be laying on your belly at the boom controls and aircraft would appear out of nowhere like humming birds coming to a feeder...
Airforce- What's the MPG on that model? KellyJohnson- Not sure...but it gets better the faster you go?! God bless all the test pilots and engineers at Skunkworks.
From the incedible Skunk Works. Questions: Does anyone know how soon after takeoff the SR needed to refuel? Also, how long after refueling did it take to seal the tanks? Thanks, DB
They take off light (~45 k lbs fuel) so need first fueling around 30 minutes after take off. After that, if they fuel up to full 80 k lb capacity, they can go much longer between refuelings.
KC-135 “Q” Model. With the itty bitty J-57 water injection engines. Round dials with the old APN-59 Radar. 2nd generation fuel panel with the “little switches” (for the boost pumps, override pumps and A/R pumps). Digital FSAS display next to the radar scope. Glad I flew the A model briefly, but I’ll never miss it. The R model was a whole lot more fun (and safer) to fly! Got to see several SR-71 launches out of Mildenhall RAFB back in the late 80s. Magnificent aircraft.
Im sure most of you know, this bird had ductwork that bypasses the compressor stages of the engines at high enough speeds, this "ram air" was fed directly into the combustion section for mix with fuel and burning, this increased engine power, all the while reducing fuel consumption! GENIUS, ... eFFing GENIUS!!
This is a slight misnomer. In actuality compressed air was bled out from the 4th stage of the compressor into bypass tubes which led to the afterburner
The SR-71 was the aircraft that made me want to join the Air Force and become a pilot to actually fly one. Being nearly impossible to become a pilot of one by the time I would have become eligible they decommissioned it sadly. Thank modern satellite photography for its retirement.
@@danielbunger6201 yes, exactly. Satellite imagery as i said. But it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s sad that such a fantastic airplane was mothballed.
@@danielbunger6201 oh I know, I wasn’t trying to sound snide or anything. I’m in total agreement with you why it was decommissioned. The ironic part is that it’s still the fastest aircraft in history but being it has no other function than taking pictures is a shame.
While refueling it became fairly unstable. The weight increased significantly to the end of sometimes 15 minutes of refueling. The crew had to use one afterburner to keep up with the tanker.
Remember those planes had two types of engines built into one it doesn't engage the part of the engine that makes it really fast until it hits a very high altitude where the air is really thin requiring them. That's where it goes really fast.
@Big truck The giant No, it can't even do low earth orbit. Very high altitude hypersonic heights. Most aircraft would stall and crash the air is too thin.
4:58 What he's talking about here is the fact that as the SR-71 gets close to full it starts to have trouble maintaining adequate airspeed at maximum throttle without afterburners ("military power"), so the pilot would have to light one afterburner and for the last minutes of refueling fly with one engine at minimum afterburner, carefully controlling the other engine's thrust to maintain the desired airspeed, and using the rudder to compensate for the skewed thrust. I'm not sure why they can't just refuel at a lower speed, but my guess would be they're already uncomfortably slow for the SR-71 and slowing down even further would just be unsafe (and more unsafe than having to light an afterburner during this nerve-wracking procedure). Another thing that puzzled me for a bit is why increased fuel would cause it to slow down in the first place. -The only plausible explanation I could come up with is that refueling causes the centre of gravity to shift in a way that changes its pitch and increases drag as a result. I know it can move fuel between fore and aft tanks to adjust its centre of gravity but the range of adjustment would obviously decrease as the tanks fill up completely and the centre of gravity when completely filled up has no reason to be optimzied for efficiency at subsonic speeds.- (EDIT: that was silly in retrospect. more fuel means more weight, hence more lift required, which means airspeed and/or angle of attack would need to increase, and more thrust would be required either way.)
I think part of the reason is the engines don’t really work below a speed. Also the speed they refuel at was as you’ve said close to the threshold for control of the 71
My now 84 y.o. father was in the AF Security Service on TDY to SAC during Linebacker II from McConnell AFB. According to his records he flew onboard a special equipment "Aerial Radio Relay" aircraft a KC-135Q orbiting high over Hanoi, North Vietnam with the "D" models at lower altitudes & SR-71 much higher above. I ask him did he mean to say a EC-135 or a RC-135 no a "KC-135Q" we had JP7 onboard for Blackbird ops and some regular JP fuel in case someone else needed it. However they were not part of the primary "Young Tiger" refueling aircraft... his "135Q" served as a huge communication relay platform of some type for the Blackbirds.
We had 57's stationed at Eielson AFB when an SR landed and went straight way into a shed near the end of the runway, just across from the F4 shacks. It was funny, there were 2 F4s at the end of the runway that were about to take off when the SR came out of its hiding. It must have excited them because they took off at max power and did their version of a vertical take off. The SR did nearly a true vertical ascent right past them and then disappeared for about 1/2 hr before "cruising" by. I think I counted 10 rings flaming out behind it. Then our 57's took off. Not sure if they got permission because of the strain on the wings, but they did their own version of a vertical take off. Much more elegant though also much slower. NASA still uses one or two of the 57's as well.
SR-71 is an amazing combination of mathematical metallurgy, aviation, chemistry, and engineering marvel . I put it up there with the Luftfwaffe Horten's Ho 229 Bomber flying wing as being so far advanced and game changing in their respective Era. Alien and majestic both. Just imagine the jaws dropping of common people and adversaries watching these aviation miracles fly upon the blue yonder.
Gee, when the Blackbird entered the view and got closer, for a second I felt like watching some science-fiction movie, or one of those fake alien craft sighting video, so out of this world plane was. And heck, even the footage was similar, with all that shaking.
@@anthonygarrett6896 well that is a lot of fuel that goes to waste....I hope that expansion time doesn't take that long....but thanks for the explanation Anthony:-)
@@anthonygarrett6896 that leakage occurs around the wings of the craft. He's commenting on the massive plume of fuel running out of the intake port as it is being filled. It does seem like a bad connection until later in the video when they reconnected
So I hear the reason they declassified and retired the -71 is because they developed a better version, the SR-72 (no joke) and so that's been our high altitude, high speed recon plane since then. And apparently it's going to appear in the new Top Gun: Maverick film , to be flown by Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell himself, Tom Cruise. Now I'm sure they didnt let Tiny Tom Cruise anywhere near this allegedly newly declassified, hypercruising beast of a jet, but I do know theres a photo from the production of the new film, showing Tom wearing a high pressure, all black flight suit, totally different than the standard fighter pilot flight gear, with scuff marks on his face like he had ejected at high altitude, barely escaping an exploding aircraft. Seems on par with the usual Tom Cruise action scenes, and it could very well be a fake construct jet used to hype ticket sales of Top Gun 2, but then again if it's real and we're revealing it to public eye, that just means we already have something way better.
It's really amazing that the engine inlet cones, at maximum speed, take 2,000mph air & slow it down to less than 700mph air so the engines can use it to push the plane past 2,000mph.
2020 and this is still the strangest, yet most beautiful machine that mankind has ever conceived.
That we know of so far.
no, my coffee machine it is😂😂
I would argue B2 looks a bit stranger than sr-71😂 that thing looks just like an 🛸 if we are not told
I have to agree.
I think it's of a design that truly is so far ahead of its time that it almost seems alien. It's crazy to think that the craziest aircraft that looks most like a spaceship capable of warp speed was designed using slide rules back in the early 1960's.
It is still to this day mind boggling to know that this magnificent piece of a enginuity was built from the mind, slide rules, calculators, and trial and error. No computer graphics design
That and no one had ever built anything out of titanium before.
Thank Kelly Johnson for that!! One hell of a math guy!!
and done in record time. something like 6 months.
We were smarter back then. I believe this to be true due to the fact that now a days, we rely on technology to remember things for us as to where back then, you remembered everything.
For example, those old enough, think about how many phone numbers you knew as a kid. We all must have known at least 20 phone numbers.
It also blows my mind how the SR71 never caught fight while waiting to take off considering it poured fuel out everywhere due to the airframe not being properly expanded due to the thermals of high speed flight
@@DrMurdercock most of the JPs IE 5 and 7 do not light up very easy.
Came across this footage by chance and it brought back fond memories from long ago. That left seater is Captain Jerry Varner my aircraft commander during that Kadena deployment and I was the boomer MSgt Spike Bell. Both of us now long retired.
It’s amazing that a random UA-cam video of this beast has comments from the people actually working with it. Thanks for sharing! This must require a crazy amount of skill and concentration to pull off. How many times did you get to complete the refueling?
So you were actually the one operating the boom in this video?
What a great mission. I’ve flown with both of these characters and they’re both top notch. Ed Jarrett, Beale alumni.
Amazing that the tracker is going flat out and the sr71 has to almost idle and juggle power as it gets heavier.
@@colinashby3775 when the SR is approaching half full on gas it will have to light a burner. It’s flying at a high aoa and has to stay in the flight envelope.
One of the most almost magically engineered projects of the period. The half - century? No matter, forever incredible.
Can you imagine the first people who saw this in the 60’s who first saw this and what they must’ve thought- Looking at it in 2021 it still looks so far ahead of it’s time
Everything we have has been re invented. Before our time in the ancient days they had things that would shock people today. Photos from thousands of years ago are beginning to make their way onto youtube though during this reset.
The introduction of the SR 71 could almost be compared to that of the Jaguar E type.
The SR-71 looks relevant as 5th-gen jets today; was decades ahead of its time.
Just imagine an airshow flyby of a SR-71 flanked by a F-22 and F-35.
Imagine what they have today we don't know about.
Yes, please!!!
@@suunto61 Yes but drone type A/C aren't near as exciting compared to the Habu.
@@suunto61 Nah, all you gotta realize is the kinds of people that go to college today. They can hardly design paper airplanes
71 and 22 would need to be close to stall speed to allow the 35 to be in formation with them..
But good news the 35 will be be with the other two birds no longer manufactured..
You could put any other aircraft up in the sky, anything that man has built before or after, you can even throw a UFO in there if your that way inclined, with all their alleged wizardry, but nothing will ever capture my attention like that aircraft.
For me, there is just some unexplainable awe that they invoke.
It was beauty and power. They will never make its equal.
I agree Dave. Like a classy lady, brandishing an M16.
UFOs went back home and reported seeing the SR-71. Got reassigned to mental institution.
Me too
It was a thrill to watch it take off and land at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. Unforgettable.
I am fortunate to have seen the SR-71 refuel from inside the KC-135. I moved to the back of the aircraft, and set to the side of the boom operator. As the SR-71 closes distance, I remember thinking “Holy shite this is really happening!”
Still the most beautiful aircraft ever built. Great video.
The pilots are so blessed
A close enough "bird's eye" view of an incredible and iconic machine. The SR-71 Blackbird is probably the most beautiful airplane ever created and people would rather see it in flight like this. I'm just absolutely floored by the magnificence of this wonderful creation by man.
@@Dan.d649 👍👍👍
I agree!👍👍
If we had technology in the 50s/60s to make that, imagine what we have now....
Aurora
SR-72
We can reach tripple the speed now, but we can't have it manned due to the g-forces. Check out the Nasa x-43. Also the new stealth fighter F-35 :)
corona
Advance satellites, drones, and an active intelligence agency. While the SR-71 is one of my favorite planes, there isn’t too much of a need for these types of planes.
That boys and girls, is how baby-blackbirds are made.
@@danielrunyon8534 ikr 🤣😁
Yeah...a fledgling D-21 drone piggybacks momma.
@Lis wtf
😂😂😂😂👊
Lmao
I saw the SR-71 at an airshow in Europe. It was something I can never forget. It was the clearest day you can imagine, and you could see the snow capped Carpathians from Bucharest, as well as the Black Sea, and watching him go out until you couldnt see anything, then a dot, then a silently growing silhouette, low fly by and Mach...only he knows (and ATC lol).
The benefit of air shows in a former communist bloc country, right after 89. No FAA or any kinds of regs so these guys knew they could do stupid cool stunts. Did windows break? Yes. Did your ears ring? Yes. Did some people feel their guts rumble so much they puked? Yes.
Was it worth it? Yes.
What happened to you America? XB-70, SR-71, 747, F-14...Younger kids will never know this growing up.
Still remains the KING of SPEED. So ahead of it's time...even in Sep, 2022. I got to see one in the Boneyard Museum in Arizona and physically touch it. It is like seeing a UFO from Omicron Seti 5 or some other Sci-Fi dreamed up world. It is one sexy machine -- out of this world looking air/spacecraft. It doesn't belong on the ground aging away...it belongs in the sky breaking it's own records. I know the economics and technological advances killed it off...but, the KING of SPEED deserves better IMHO.
What also killed it off was the advent of satellites. Remember: SR 71 had no offensive or defensive capabilities. It was there to take pictures at a high altitude for reconaissance purposes.
Same, I am from Australia and visited the states many years ago, and stopped by the museum in Houston Texas and they have or had one out the front. It was the most beautiful aircraft I have ever seen, I remember reaching out and touching it like in a dream. Just amazing.
My dad was an engineer on the SR71 and Skunkworks Projects. Including X15 and the Bell aircraft. He also was involved with the F-111.
Yes sure he was.
My dad too!
@@chrissmith1360 stfu your just mad your dad didn't do anything cool like that
@@xandercage2293 go back to playing fortnite kid.
@@The300ZXGuru It was meant to, moron.
My stepfather was a Skunkworks engineer. He was so brilliant that he was just bizarre. He had a triple Doctorate; Physics, Philosophy, Religions. That alone seemed off the wall to me. He had several Patents that paid him well, and Lockheed kept him on Retainer when he retired. Interesting character!
Awesome skills from pilots and crews, thanks for making such a fascinating video and for sharing it!!!
Nice video. I like how the camera zooms in on the various parts of the aircraft. The SR-71 was such a beast.
Just think, they designed those beauties with a slide rules and pencils..
1989 and the quality is pretty good.
Simply breathtaking. Thank you sir!
This is the coolest aircraft ever made.
Agreed. The KC-135 is the coolest airplane ever made! (But I'm biased as a former Cold War SAC crew chief)
Actually I think it’s the hottest just look at leading edge temperatures and even fuel temperatures in the tanks but it’s a sweet ride
The 135 is balls to the wall and the SR driver is using all his tricks to keep from stalling
And it was designed by hand - not with computers.
And the fastest.
KC 135 MUSTVE BEEN FULL THROTTLE!!!!!
No doubt
It was, the throttles were full forward when they showed the cockpit view. God knows what altitude they were at also.
theaviationgeekclub.com/former-sr-71-pilot-explains-why-the-blackbird-had-to-light-one-afterburner-during-aerial-refueling/
Check this out!
Yeah, and the Blackbird was on the verge of stalling.
400 mph is standard for most refueling..SR71 pretty stable at 400 MPH..
I was fortunate to be part of ground support for the SR-71 at Beale AFB Ca in 1965/66. Biggest thrill was when I did an engine start on the run up pad for the first SR-71 delivered to Beale. On the run up pad we trimmed each engine in afterburner. What a thrill.....
I was also stationed a Beale AFB, but not until 1976. I moved with the U-2 aircraft from Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ to Beale AFB.
@@DavidEVogel i worked in airfield management and was around the u2 a lot. Loud as fk. I used to hate when they would depart at 5am waking the whole damn base up 😂
was a crew chief on the 135s at beale from 66 to 70 remember the sound of the buick wild cat engine used to start the 71 great times
I spent 4 years as a kid at Beale, from 88-92. My step dad was ground crew for the SR. I feel so fortunate to have spent that time at Beale. I think about it all the time. It was a magical place for me.
I wish I could have seen that. Maybe a little jealous. Lol. Tell your step dad I said thank you for the service. He was truly apart of history!
God I love this video. I work at Tinker AFB in Okc, Oklahoma. I've always loved planes and the best one to be 100 yards away from on takeoff on a roof 80ft up is the B1B lancer, its deafening.
I bet those TANKER BOYS, wish they were piloting that SR-71!!!
I bet EVERYONE wishes they were piloting that SR-71!
Pros and cons. They both fly 18hr+ missions, but at least the tanker's got a bunk and a chemical toilet.
Do you want to stand on an open deck that high in the air trying to guide that that shit into that black beauty? My answer no.
I bet everyone in that tanker was licking the windows trying to get a look at that absolute legend of a plane
Everything about the Blackbird was just awesome. I have always been fascinated with this aircraft.
I had the opportunity to to listen to actual pilots and techs talk about their experiences in the SR program a few years ago at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum in Mcminnville OR. I hung on every word these guys said.
Even the way it leaks fuel if it was grounded?
Huge respect to both pilots, and mad props to the cameraperson
Wicked engineering marvel , and it was made in the USA ! 🇺🇸
Right here in L.A.! For decades Southern California was the epicenter of America's aerospace industry.
Before computers with slide rules and such.
With Russian titanium....🤣
@@matthewwindisch9449 That the Russians unwittingly sold to their enemies
NCZIOOX I know.. Kinda funny.. They must have been steaming when they found out..
The Blackbird is still the most elegant aircraft ever to grace the sky. The F-22 runs a close second, but the SR-71 can't be beat.
I agree 100percent!
Concorde?
Lived at Beale as a kid and marveled on a daily basis as the SR would fly around with the T38 chase plane right behind. Early 70's to the early 80's. We'd go to the Beale airshow every year. Incredible flybys and one on display with canopy covered of course. Never saw them when I was active duty but, was flying over Sydney, NE, in 93 and heard a Blackbird call sign radio that he was entering SLC and calling out an outrageous time to over Sydney. I was in a Huey so, could not get any altitude to see him. Never saw him but his radio traffic was indicative of the incredible speed he was moving at. Great video!
Thank you to the servicemen for the dedication and skill it takes to do this. Nerves of steel, no distractions doing what exactly has to be done.
There just no words ,this is from the 50’s sometimes I can’t get my head round that...👍
Perhaps, but at the end of the day it's just metallurgy.
@@octaviusdelmonte9019 --- and Technology and Engineering!
No wonder there were UFO sightings. I doubt this was the only miraculous thing in the sky.
I bought a $5000. Watch made of Titanium just so I could have something this amazing creation was made of.
@@robertsullivan4773 ur cringe
Best part about the Blackbird? Russia unknowingly sold us the titanium to make them.
With thanks to the Soviet Union for supplying the materials to make the A-12 and SR-71 possible. :)
Awesome. No wonder people saw UFOs with that other-worldly thing around.
I once worked with a boom operator on KC135 tankers. He said you would be laying on your belly at the boom controls and aircraft would appear out of nowhere like humming birds coming to a feeder...
- Nude Selena Gomez or SR-71Inflight Refueling?
- Hmmmm... Let me think...
Selena, no doubt...
@@kiloechocharlie1342 Blasphemy
Airforce- What's the MPG on that model?
KellyJohnson- Not sure...but it gets better the faster you go?!
God bless all the test pilots and engineers at Skunkworks.
On that beast it was game not mpg but she was worth every bit of it
Just wondering, how those pilot do this from the visibility of a pressurized suit... damn they are good!
Now THIS was AWESOME to watch ...
Boeing 707 with big kerosene tanks?😅
SR-71 is amazing plane!👍
Awesome Black Bird!👍
I LIKE❤❤ BOTH PLANES!!!👍
The blackbird is actually *huge*... doesn't really sink in without another aircraft for scale
Its like seeing the rarest Animal in the wild.... and you know that nobody would belive you if you told em.
There's a beautiful SR-71 at the Air and Space Museum in Dulles Virginia
From the incedible Skunk Works. Questions: Does anyone know how soon after takeoff the SR needed to refuel? Also, how long after refueling did it take to seal the tanks?
Thanks,
DB
Every 2-3 hrs.
They take off light (~45 k lbs fuel) so need first fueling around 30 minutes after take off. After that, if they fuel up to full 80 k lb capacity, they can go much longer between refuelings.
My ex Husband was a Boomer at Beale AFB for 10 years. Got to refuel the SR71 almost weekly.
KC-135 “Q” Model. With the itty bitty J-57 water injection engines. Round dials with the old APN-59 Radar. 2nd generation fuel panel with the “little switches” (for the boost pumps, override pumps and A/R pumps). Digital FSAS display next to the radar scope. Glad I flew the A model briefly, but I’ll never miss it. The R model was a whole lot more fun (and safer) to fly! Got to see several SR-71 launches out of Mildenhall RAFB back in the late 80s. Magnificent aircraft.
Im sure most of you know, this bird had ductwork that bypasses the compressor stages of the engines at high enough speeds, this "ram air" was fed directly into the combustion section for mix with fuel and burning, this increased engine power, all the while reducing fuel consumption! GENIUS, ... eFFing GENIUS!!
The most impressive feature of the aircraft IMO.
This is a slight misnomer. In actuality compressed air was bled out from the 4th stage of the compressor into bypass tubes which led to the afterburner
@@richardmillhousenixon Thanks for the correction!
I saw an engine at the Air Zoo in Michigan. It was quite impressive.
80.000 pounds in 15 minutes.... and of you go !
What an amazing bird !
Absolutely amazing.
That black beauty coming out of the clouds
Having participated in F-18 and French [Rafael] air to air refueling first hand. This SR is thirsty as F.
JP 7 was the fuel used on the blackbird , i believe
Coolest thing I ever filmed was inflight refueling when I was in the USAF, best thing i ever did with my life was join.
This has better quality than CCTV cameras during a crime
O COMENTÁRIO EM PORTUGUÊS QUE VOCÊ PROCURA 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷
Rare footage of alien craft making a connection to the mothership
The SR-71 was the aircraft that made me want to join the Air Force and become a pilot to actually fly one. Being nearly impossible to become a pilot of one by the time I would have become eligible they decommissioned it sadly. Thank modern satellite photography for its retirement.
It couldn't do what it was designed for. That's why it was retired, as it had no real use except recon.
@@danielbunger6201 yes, exactly. Satellite imagery as i said. But it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s sad that such a fantastic airplane was mothballed.
@@alteregos8949 it's unfortunate that it was retired. I'm only stating the reason why.
@@danielbunger6201 oh I know, I wasn’t trying to sound snide or anything. I’m in total agreement with you why it was decommissioned. The ironic part is that it’s still the fastest aircraft in history but being it has no other function than taking pictures is a shame.
Blackbird required a week of maintenance after each mission. Mach 3 is hard on the airframe.
Amazing skills; no idea how you keep an SR-71 that stable at refueling speeds.
I do belive you can actually steer the airplane :)
Well,...for starters, t's NOT an unstable platform,....from all the accounts I've read, handled very nicely at all speeds.
While refueling it became fairly unstable. The weight increased significantly to the end of sometimes 15 minutes of refueling. The crew had to use one afterburner to keep up with the tanker.
Remember those planes had two types of engines built into one it doesn't engage the part of the engine that makes it really fast until it hits a very high altitude where the air is really thin requiring them. That's where it goes really fast.
@@Enzoxvx i highly doubt they had to use one afterburner, the yaw would have been huge
I an alien spacecraft ever visited us then it would probably look like this plane.
Incredible aircraft. Looks like it could fly into space.
@Big truck The giant
No, it can't even do low earth orbit. Very high altitude hypersonic heights. Most aircraft would stall and crash the air is too thin.
SR-71: A wonderful testament of the American mind!
Sadly, Donald, the con is the new kind of stable genius people admire. Could not even get profit from casinos.
Still a beauty !!! One of the most exciting birds .....
That's a beauty admirer of USA. hope I will visit America once.
Wow! On the ground it looks like a fancy concept plane but in the air it looks almost surreal in it's design.
That is probably the thirstiest bird in the history of mankind!
4:58 What he's talking about here is the fact that as the SR-71 gets close to full it starts to have trouble maintaining adequate airspeed at maximum throttle without afterburners ("military power"), so the pilot would have to light one afterburner and for the last minutes of refueling fly with one engine at minimum afterburner, carefully controlling the other engine's thrust to maintain the desired airspeed, and using the rudder to compensate for the skewed thrust.
I'm not sure why they can't just refuel at a lower speed, but my guess would be they're already uncomfortably slow for the SR-71 and slowing down even further would just be unsafe (and more unsafe than having to light an afterburner during this nerve-wracking procedure).
Another thing that puzzled me for a bit is why increased fuel would cause it to slow down in the first place. -The only plausible explanation I could come up with is that refueling causes the centre of gravity to shift in a way that changes its pitch and increases drag as a result. I know it can move fuel between fore and aft tanks to adjust its centre of gravity but the range of adjustment would obviously decrease as the tanks fill up completely and the centre of gravity when completely filled up has no reason to be optimzied for efficiency at subsonic speeds.- (EDIT: that was silly in retrospect. more fuel means more weight, hence more lift required, which means airspeed and/or angle of attack would need to increase, and more thrust would be required either way.)
i appreciate your explanation...
Thanks dude
What?
I think part of the reason is the engines don’t really work below a speed. Also the speed they refuel at was as you’ve said close to the threshold for control of the 71
Damn you are smart about air to air refuiling
@@lp11thewolf79 this bit of trivia is straight from Brain Shul's "Sled Driver", it's a great read
As beautiful this footage may be, a stabilized version would be awesomer!
Nah, VHS is so in right now.
What a magnificent aircraft.
มันมาได้ถึง 50%คือแนวทางนี้มันใช่เลยก็คงเป็นUFO
For some fun type in LA Speed Check in your UA-cam search, then just say thank you.
“Umm sir, the gauge says we delivered 70,000lbs of gas, but I just washed off the back half of the fuselage with 69,000lbs”.
My now 84 y.o. father was in the AF Security Service on TDY to SAC during Linebacker II from McConnell AFB. According to his records he flew onboard a special equipment "Aerial Radio Relay" aircraft a KC-135Q orbiting high over Hanoi, North Vietnam with the "D" models at lower altitudes & SR-71 much higher above. I ask him did he mean to say a EC-135 or a RC-135 no a "KC-135Q" we had JP7 onboard for Blackbird ops and some regular JP fuel in case someone else needed it. However they were not part of the primary "Young Tiger" refueling aircraft... his "135Q" served as a huge communication relay platform of some type for the Blackbirds.
I can't even imagine
It's hard to still look at that plane as an obsolete aircraft that is a museum price now.
KC-135 Q , Did many refuels with the blackbird
They were only refueling Blackbirds when they had JP7 loaded
When, during this lockdown, i decided to get back into model making. Guess what i made!!!!!
A pocket pussy😄..jk
The most bad ass Plane ever created
Yet
If you were a sled driver...you can fly anything tbh
That’s history right there. Such an outstanding airplane.
Does the leaked JP7 fuel damage the skin of the aircraft? Or was the SR71 designed to withstand the solvent nature of the fuel?
The skin of the SR-71 is made of titanium. It is not adversely effected by JP7.
Considering this was 1989, the film was pretty steady, we are so pampered today with image stabilization lol.
We had 57's stationed at Eielson AFB when an SR landed and went straight way into a shed near the end of the runway, just across from the F4 shacks. It was funny, there were 2 F4s at the end of the runway that were about to take off when the SR came out of its hiding. It must have excited them because they took off at max power and did their version of a vertical take off. The SR did nearly a true vertical ascent right past them and then disappeared for about 1/2 hr before "cruising" by. I think I counted 10 rings flaming out behind it. Then our 57's took off. Not sure if they got permission because of the strain on the wings, but they did their own version of a vertical take off. Much more elegant though also much slower. NASA still uses one or two of the 57's as well.
B57, F57, what the heck is a 57? J57 was a 135 engine.
@@jerryturner252 WB-57. Now NASA is flying them. Also 50+yr old birds.
Thanks, my bad.
SR-71 is an amazing combination of mathematical metallurgy, aviation, chemistry, and engineering marvel . I put it up there with the Luftfwaffe Horten's Ho 229 Bomber flying wing as being so far advanced and game changing in their respective Era. Alien and majestic both. Just imagine the jaws dropping of common people and adversaries watching these aviation miracles fly upon the blue yonder.
The HO-229 didn't change anything and had little to no influence in aviation technology
@@lucastekkanExactly. The SR-71 was on another level.
I’d love to see an SR-71 before I die. I’ve been battling Lyme disease for a long time and I got Covid-19 in October 2021 which set me back more.
Incredible that humans have come so far and we have the knowledge and technology to do this.
I’m surprised an aircraft optimized for Mach 3 is stable within a KC-135’s flight envelope
Look at all of the fuel weeping out of the seems and expansion joints in the skin!!
Made in the USA baby, like finally finding the hole!
Gee, when the Blackbird entered the view and got closer, for a second I felt like watching some science-fiction movie, or one of those fake alien craft sighting video, so out of this world plane was.
And heck, even the footage was similar, with all that shaking.
Якби не Sr 71 ❤ ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ no wards . Good love❤2 Patriot champion . Help UKRAINE
The untouchable...
Did they not have a good connection because there’s a lot of fuel leaking during refueling....
The planes fuel tanks are made to leak until there 'warmed' up. The plane stretches about a foot when it expands from friction heat.
@@anthonygarrett6896 well that is a lot of fuel that goes to waste....I hope that expansion time doesn't take that long....but thanks for the explanation Anthony:-)
@@anthonygarrett6896 that leakage occurs around the wings of the craft. He's commenting on the massive plume of fuel running out of the intake port as it is being filled. It does seem like a bad connection until later in the video when they reconnected
@@anthonygarrett6896 5 inches no more.
Every blackbird on display has been cut up so as not able to ever fly again
except one. I'm not sure which.
@@u2mister17 www.sr-71.org/blackbird/locations.php
Remember, the tanker is flying as fast as he can go and the Blackbird is flying as slow as it can without stalling out.
The airframe alone is worth more than the fuel and the plane refueling it. They will never be such a awesome jet like sr71. Just awesome
Amazing machine on record was NEVER shot down !
The SR-71 has got to be the coolest-looking object ever created by humans.
Wonder how much fuel was lost during that spray?...Seriously, now THAT takes several pairs of balls!
Not much really. A little leakage is common when the nozzle is not straight in.
SR-71 world fastest blackbody camera. Add two KC-135 Q's you have a moving pitstop before the polar dash and return.
So I hear the reason they declassified and retired the -71 is because they developed a better version, the SR-72 (no joke) and so that's been our high altitude, high speed recon plane since then. And apparently it's going to appear in the new Top Gun: Maverick film , to be flown by Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell himself, Tom Cruise. Now I'm sure they didnt let Tiny Tom Cruise anywhere near this allegedly newly declassified, hypercruising beast of a jet, but I do know theres a photo from the production of the new film, showing Tom wearing a high pressure, all black flight suit, totally different than the standard fighter pilot flight gear, with scuff marks on his face like he had ejected at high altitude, barely escaping an exploding aircraft. Seems on par with the usual Tom Cruise action scenes, and it could very well be a fake construct jet used to hype ticket sales of Top Gun 2, but then again if it's real and we're revealing it to public eye, that just means we already have something way better.
Yeah seems like Hollywood B.S. to me
They retired it because satellites and drones can do the job cheaper and easier now.
It's really amazing that the engine inlet cones, at maximum speed, take 2,000mph air & slow it down to less than 700mph air so the engines can use it to push the plane past 2,000mph.