SR-71 Blackbird: A History Of The Fastest Plane Ever

19FortyFive ^ | 1/09/2020 | Peter Suicu

[Onthebrink]

The Lockheed SR-71 spy plane was – and still is – the fastest plane on the planet.

The Goal

Known unofficially as the “Blackbird” for its black paint job, which was developed to dissipate heat, the jet featured sleek lines that certainly were “futuristic” when it was flying top secret missions years before American astronauts headed to the moon.

It was developed in secret in the late 1950s to cruise to 80,000 feet above the earth, near the edge of space, and out fly any missile that was launched at it.

[Vlad0]

We really need a picture of this exquisite bird:

Altitude record: 85,069 ft-in sustained flight.
Captain Robert Helt,July 1976

Fastest speed: 2,193.2 mph (Mach 3.3) (rumored to go as fast as Mach 3.5)

The rival to the SR-71 is the X-15, which flew from 1959 until 1968.

Altitude Record: 102,100 feet
William J. Knight, Oct. 1967

Speed Record: 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7)
(same date and pilot)

The X-15 was rocket powered, the SR-71 used jet engines. The SR-17 completed point-to-point flights, which is why many people consider it a true airplane and X-15 more of a rocket.

The X-15

[Shark24]

Back then, they could not move satellites easily so a high altitude aircraft that could fly “anywhere” was valuable. Also the side look aspect of the sensors was also needed. Today? I’m old and am sure they have lots of neat toys.

[nevergore]

Missles can now reach it’s altitude and exceed it’s speed...

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Held the record for a long time, but I’m certain there is something faster now.

Pinnacle of the Engineering Art by Kelly Johnson, well yes.

[Tallguy]

“An SR-71 can appear quicker than you can camouflage something you’re attempting to relocate in mid-move.”

True. But then the SR-71 sortie rate was pretty low throughout much of it’s history. Add in the fact that they only operated from 3 bases (Bases that were undoubtedly watched for departures & arrivals). For instance, any departure from RAF Mildenhall was pretty much guaranteed to be heading up toward the Kola Peninsula of the Soviet Union. You wouldn’t need to see it leave... you’d hear it.

[HereInTheHeartland]

This airplane was designed just over 50 years after the Wright Brothers first flew.
That to me is astounding !
And it’s been now over 60 years since the SR 71, scary to think what is out there that we don’t know about .

[Paal Gulli]

The Lockheed SR-71 spy plane was – and still is – the fastest plane on the planet.

Horse hockey. The North American X-15 was TWICE AS FAST in powered flight as the SR-71, Mach 6.70.

Not only that, the STS (Space Shuttle) typically re-entered the atmosphere at ~17,500 mph, which is not quite Mach 25.

Which makes the shuttle the fastest manned "airplane" ever flown by a factor of about 3.7.

Not too shabby for a glider.

[shotgun]

I heard that the fuel tanks leaked until it got up to design speed and then heat expansion sealed them up.

[READINABLUESTATE]

“I think it became obsolete besides, and the fuel tanks leaked too.”

A friend in the USAF stationed at Grand Forks AFB was there in 1982 when a Blackbird made an emergency landing. Yes there was fuel dripping, but as he explained the titanium construction would expand when heated from the air friction the the panels and seams would tighten and stop the leaks.

[Ancesthntr]

“I’m sure that with modern engineering, a faster plane could be developed but for what purpose? Satellites can do the job better than a plane can.”

---

Planes can be re-routed a whole lot easier than satellites. Heck, you can tell a guy “make a 2nd pass, we need closer focus on X” and he’ll do it right away - that satellite may take a good while longer.

Besides, satellites fly regular, completely predictable, orbits. Planes do not - so there is the element of surprise (particularly at high Mach values).

The simple truth is that both have their advantages and disadvantages, and that is exactly why we need both. Just like the nuclear triad.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“During that flight, pilot Lt. Cols. Ed Yielding and RSO (Reconnaissance Systems Operator) Joseph Vida set a speed record flying from LA to DC (2299.7 statute miles) in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 km/h (2,124 MPH).””

It was actually faster. Ed and Joey needed to stop at a 7-11 for coffee. They parked, got coffee and Kolaches in San Antonio and took off again. The true time of the flight was 45 minutes.

[Ancesthntr]

The SR-71 (and all variants related to it) is quite simply the coolest plane ever designed. that it was designed and built in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s is about the closest thing to a miracle imaginable - it was so far ahead of its time that you could almost swear that it came out of a time machine or was made with the help of aliens...almost. Truth is that Kelly Johnson and the guys in the Skunk Works were an incredibly talented and hard-working group of people who were nothing less than a national treasure.

[Tallguy]

http://roadrunnersinternationale.com/a-12s.html

The SR-71’s predecessor — the A-12 “Archangel” — was theoretically faster and capable of higher sustained altitudes. It was lighter and consequently had a greater thrust to weight ratio. But as the single-seat A-12 was a CIA controlled aircraft there probably weren’t any recordings of what it actually did.

[Covenantor]

Ditto on the props to “Kelly” Johnson and the Lockheed Skunkworks.

And the genius extended beyond the design of the plane itself. Soviet Union pretty much had the lock on the titanium market...Skunkworks found a way ;>)

They also had to develope the machinery to fabricate the titanium components at that scale...the whole process done by the “Skunks”.

Kudos for your tagline referencing “The Weapon Shops of Isher”...reality is catching up to the premise.

[right way right]

Yeah, I saw a show where they had these huge drip pans in the hanger.
That plane is so fast. I can’t really imagine.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

If you haven’t seen “LA Speed Check”, watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg73GKm7GgI&list=LL&index=35

[T.B. Yoits]

We still use U2s because satellites can not linger.

Also you can test prototype sensors in an airframe whereas the satellite has to use tried and true technology.

[T.B. Yoits]

What do they have now that is faster?

A web search of "donuts on a rope" will pull up some good articles on hypersonic pulse jet aircraft.

[allblues]

I was based at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, ‘70-‘71. We used to see them occasionally, flying out of Kadena Air Force Base. Actually saw one take off as we were on the tarmac getting ready for the flight back to the US. An unforgettable experience.

[mabarker1]

https://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/manual/