The J 58’s could put out power than the SR-71 airframe could handle.
If I remember correctly, there is one at the air museum at March Air Reserve Base near Perris, CA and east of Riverside, CA. The museum is on the east side of Hwy 215.
Was just watching a vid on Youtube about the SR71. I comeback to F and here is this thread.
From “Skunk Works” by Ben Rich there is a whole chapter on the SR71(Habu) this is one of my favorites...
Lt. Colonel William Burk Jr. (Air Force pilot) In the fall of ’82, I flew from Mildenhall on a mission over Lebanon in response to the Marine barracks bombing. President Reagan ordered photo coverage of all the terrorist bases in the region. The French refused to allow us to overfly, so our mission profile was to refuel off the south coast of England, a Mach 3 cruise leg down the coast of Portugal and Spain, left turn through the Straits of Gibraltar, refuel in the western Mediterranean, pull a supersonic leg along the coast of Greece and Turkey, right turn into Lebanon and fly right down main street Beirut, exit along the southern Mediterranean with another refueling over Malta, supersonic back out the straits, and return to England. Because Syria had a Soviet SA-5 missile system just west of Damascus that we would be penetrating (we were unsure of Syria’s intentions in this conflict), we programmed to fly above eighty thousand feet and at Mach 3 plus to be on the safe side, knowing that this advanced missile had the range and speed to nail us. And as we entered Lebanon’s airspace my Recon Systems Officer in the rear cockpit informed me that our defensive systems display showed we were being tracked by that SA-5. About fifteen seconds later we got a warning of active guidance signals from the SA-5 site. We couldn’t tell whether there was an actual launch or the missile was still on the rails, but they were actively tracking us. We didn’t waste any time wondering, but climbed and pushed that throttle, and said a couple of “Hail Kellys.” We completed our pass over Beirut and turned toward Malta, when I got a warning low-oil-pressure light on my right engine. Even though the engine was running fine I slowed down and lowered our altitude and made a direct line for England. We decided to cross France without clearance instead of going the roundabout way. We made it almost across, when I looked out the left window and saw a French Mirage III sitting ten feet off my left wing. He came up on our frequency and asked us for our Diplomatic Clearance Number. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I told him to stand by. I asked my backseater, who said, “Don’t worry about it. I just gave it to him.” What he had given him was “the bird” with his middle finger. I lit the afterburners and left that Mirage standing still. Two minutes later, we were crossing the Channel.
I made the mistake, with a buddy, of taking a shortcut through their hanger once.
Only one sighting of one in flight at a Pt Mugu airshow when one did a flyby. Not supersonic, dammit. Still unearthly with that dull black paint and shape. Looked more like a space plane than an aircraft. Seeing a static display at Miramar years later, was shocked at how huge the thing was.
* * *
Gawd, what an awesome story. Thanks for sharing it!
I’ve had my run-ins with Naval Aviators over the years, but I do love them and it was my job to keep them airborne.....But damn it...You just can’t argue with a 71 jock! This story is awesome, and my sides now ache!!
bfl
It reminded me of a dragster someone was trying to drive legal speed through a school zone.
Later
That was a fun read, put a smile on my face. Love the SR-71 Blackbird. Thanks for posting.
Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground.
Great thinks only come around once in a life time.
There used to be a Blackbird jock here on Free Republic, can’t remember his handle.
Worth repeating!
Worked for Hughes Aircraft at NAS Lemoore operating and maintaining the F/A-18 flight simulators and weapons trainers. There was some snickering and scuttle butt on base among the pilots relating this story when it occurred so I can authenticate it did happen and other Hornet jockeys were aware. We compounded the fun by being able to manually program and fly simulated AML (Aircraft Maneuvering Logic)targets they had radar lock on and would have them accelerate beyond Mach 3 and climb above angles 80, to which the nugget fighter pilot would respond and ask ,”where did the SR71 come from?”
Outstanding post! Thank you, from a former F-4/111 WSO.
Truly awesome. Enough to make any red-blooded American cry tears of pride.
Definitely not BS, for anyone to suggest that is a sign of someone who has no experience in how these things happen.
I’ve worked with sled drivers, a very unique bunch.
My favorite ATC story:
I was a primary student... still needed solo hours to get my ticket. I had just departed PAO (Palo Alto, CA) and turned East to head off for my solo cross-country. At PAO, we were boxed in by the SFO airspace, but usually tried to get the max altitude without entering it. I was most of the way across the bay, on flight-following with “Bay approach” RADAR guys in Oakland.
“Tomahawk Six-Niner-Foxtrot, traffic ahead five miles, right-to-left, a Concord.
Sure enough there was a Concord headed for Oakland right in front of me. Very cool.