SR-71
The plane "grew" 11 inches in length when at operational altitudes...heat expansion
It leaked like a sieve: no fuel bladders...it only got tight when it got hot.
A one degree climb angle resulted in 3000f/m increase in altitude.
It regularly flew over the Kamchatcha Peninsula and Sakhalin
Island and would be chased by a series of Russian fighters doing ballistic climbs trying to get close enough to fire on it.
The offical top speed was just over 2,400 mph, ceiling at 80k.
Unoffical speed closer to 3k mph
Unoffical altitude closer to 120k feet
Most of the above from my brother who helped design the bird.
the pilot I heard speak mentioned this, but he pointed out that it would have been safe to drop a lit match into the leaking fuel, which he said sloshed around the pilots feet at times, since the ignition point of the fuel was so high.
Most of the above from my brother who helped design the bird.
Your brother worked with Kelly Johnson? That would have been an amazing place to work. He must be a very talented designer. I'm very jealous of the stories you must have heard.