I got a chance to view the SR-71 Blackbird at the Abbottsford BC (Canada) airshow years ago. I talked to the pilot, an Air Force major. He said the plane had no internal engine starter. They wheeled out a trailer to fire it up. It contained a Buick V-8 with a vertical spline to insert into the engines from below. The V-8 spun up the engines on the ramp.
The airplane was made out of titanium as standard aircraft aluminum would melt from its high-speed friction. When the plane was first built, the Soviet Union was the only source of titanium. The U.S. government secretly created fake civilian corporations to buy the material from the Soviets without divulging its purpose.
Over its entire service life, more than 4,000 missiles were launched to shoot down the Blackbird but none were successful. At full speed, the plane was faster than the muzzle velocity of a 30.06 bullet. At high speed, the aircraft could not do a U-turn within the borders of the state of Ohio.
Because of friction, the plane would literally swell in size in high-speed flight. Fuel would leak like crazy from its fuel tanks until the speed-produced friction expanded the fuel tanks which then sealed themselves.
The airplane was way too hot to touch upon landing. Ground crewmen had to wear gloves.
The aircraft still holds many speed records to this day.
Actually the one I saw had two Buick Wildcat V-8 running in tandem driving the shaft.
Cool info. It probably wouldn’t need dogfight maneuverability. The part of mussel velocity of a 30.06 is amazing.
Some cool stuff!
I keep saying we should take a trip to Dayton O.
A friend says that is the closed one to visit???
Any day now?
My cousin was involved with the moving of one from an air force base to a museum at a distance of approximately 25 miles. The local paper wrote a story about how it took longer for the 25 mile transport drive then it took the SR-71 to fly across the United States.