It Is The 50th Anniversary Of The First Flight Of The SR-71 Blackbird

"Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready" (hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready) 12/22/2014 at 08:34 • Filed to: Lockheed sr 71 blackbird, blackbird, anniversaries

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So now we celebrate one of the greatest planes humankind has ever made.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 12/22/2014 at 08:38

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http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/favorite-sr-71…

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 12/22/2014 at 08:51

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Now if only the sidebar would ever feature some SR-71 content...

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 12/22/2014 at 08:58

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you did well there

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 12/22/2014 at 09:11

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Yeah, it's really tiresome, there's never anything written about it, or what is is never popular.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 12/22/2014 at 11:31

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Oh well. Guess you and I are the only two people interested.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 12/22/2014 at 11:51

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Yes, I'm afraid that it really isn't that well known, probably one of the least famous planes that have ever been made. But I suppose that makes sense considering that it was really quite slow and had a fairly low service ceiling.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 12/22/2014 at 13:15

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Well exactly...pretty mundane really.

And even if it could get up to a decent speed, how would the pilot know? Or be able to compare it to the speed of other aircraft?

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 12/22/2014 at 13:22

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I don't know, sometimes they are able to contact ATC/"Center" and request speed readings? I think? That may not be done in America, I'm not really sure.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 12/22/2014 at 13:35

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Wow, to do that they'd have to have some sort of...wireless communication technology. What are the odds they'd put that kind of science fiction into a cheap plane like that?

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 12/22/2014 at 16:09

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Not a chance. The Blackbird was designed to a very strict budget and sold at low prices—there's no way that they would put something that advanced in it.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 12/22/2014 at 18:05

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You're right. And to be fair, it was always intended to be sort of an entry-level "beginner's" airplane. Fancy additions like wireless communications or retractable landing gear were probably just out of the question.

p.s. How will we know when to stop?

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 12/22/2014 at 18:44

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Yeah, from what I'd heard flying it was really easy, it's not like you would have needed anything like that anyhow.

(when the mods tell us to)

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 12/23/2014 at 22:22

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True, but the combination of inexperienced pilots, low cruising speed, and no way to communicate except morse code on a flashlight stuck out the window could really try the patience of "real" pilots in something fast like Cessna 152s.

(Well we're not hurting anyone and it's given me real laughs.)

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 12/24/2014 at 07:09

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Though it's not like "real" pilots would be flying it anyway, it's kind of a joke among aviation enthusiasts. I don't think anybody who had something like a 152 would ever want to downgrade to something as pitiful as an SR-71. Unless they lost a lot of money, but even then most would probably rather simply not having a plane over flying something as shameful as a Blackbird.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 01/02/2015 at 16:18

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Yeah, I've heard only a couple hundred people even bothered to fly them.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 01/02/2015 at 17:43

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I think it was higher, might have even been in the thousands, but that was really because they were so cheap and easy to fly. Also, from what I remember they made 15-20,000, but many went unused because nobody wanted them.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 01/02/2015 at 20:33

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Could be, it's not like it required any kind of special certification to fly. Did you even need a pilot's license?