Posted on 12/23/2015 5:37:07 AM PST by PIF
I touched that bird myself.
As far as the public knows.
Thats it. Awesome story - thanks!
One quick technicallity note: the SR-71 was the third and last Blackbird variant to fly. The CIA’s single-seat A-12 (which reached operational status) and the USAF’s YF-12 interceptor prototype took to the air before the SR did.
The A-12 being slightly faster than the SR.
Kadena vet, 84-88. Saw the habu many times. Incredible.
So was my brother, support. Told me stories about how the
“lead sled” would cruise down the Kamchatka peninsula and bait
the soviet fighters to a chase. Was told that the soviets
would burn out their engines in minutes trying to climb
a ballistic arch to fire missiles. Trivia: At speed, the
plane climbed at 3k feet a minute at one degree of climb.
The plane was flying a mile every 1.6 seconds, well above our Mach 3.2 limit. It was the fastest we would ever fly.
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/5511236/the-thrill-of-flying-the-sr-71-blackbird
1.6 x 60 x 60 = 5,760mph
I have heard a number of people dispute/ridicule any thing above mach 3 for the SR-71 no matter what some article claims. 5760 mph (1.6sec/mile X 60seconds X 60minutes) is something like mach 7.5, which would have made the plane hypersonic.
7.5 is not simply above the 3.2 limit, but astronomically above it.
Maybe that pilot who wrote the article may have made up the number or accidentally revealed the real number.
In the article: I heard the click of Walter’s mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ‘ Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.
1,982 knots = 2280.85 still a bit faster then official numbers.
If my memory is right, immediately after it first flew, LBJ spilled the beans to the public (and the Russians) as part of his Presidential campaign.
Aren’t politicians wonderful? The love to either offhandedly mention in public something secret or sell the secret for campaign cash ...
Prepper equipment for the engineers!
1 mile per 1.6 second equals .625 miles second.
1/1.6 x60x60 = 2,250 mph
Stall speed at altitude is pretty high. Un-starts aren’t pretty.
I need a slide rule : )
JP-58 turbo ramjet engine video with charts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3ao5SCedIk
3:13 into video see diagram for various power settings and altitude curves, with mach figure on bottom scale. Maximum efficiency at a bit above M 3.2 as indicted by fuel burn factor on left margin.
would have loved seeing the V8’s spooling up the J58’s
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