[clearcarbon]

"Have you ever gotten up close to a SR-71 or an early X craft?

They are all smooth as a baby’s butt. All that junk hanging off of this “aircraft” would be vaporized at Mach-5."

I recall SR-71s tended to run a little warm at high speeds. That must require a pretty rugged stealth coating.

[Ahithophel]

I recall SR-71s tended to run a little warm at high speeds. That must require a pretty rugged stealth coating.

SR-71s were made of titanium (approx. 85%) used mostly on components that were exposed to high temperatures and polymer composite materials (15%).

[AFreeBird]

You could fry an egg with the heat coming off the quartz cockpit glass.

[mad_as_he$$]

Your memory serves you well:
“Friction at high altitude and high speed heats up the airframe. Many parts of the SR-71 reached from 400-500 degrees Fahrenheit, but the airframe above the engines reached over 1,000 degrees. Overall, the average skin temperature of the SR-71 was over 600 degrees. The quartz glass in the cockpit was 1.25-inches thick, and was hot to the touch from the inside! Pilots, even with gloves on, couldn’t keep their hands by the glass for more than a few seconds without doing damage.”

https://militarymachine.com/sr-71-facts/