"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
03/06/2015 at 12:05 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history
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"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
03/06/2015 at 12:05 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history | 11
| 9 |
On March 6, 1990, the fastest jet aircraft in history took its final flight for the US Air Force. Spanning a career of 26 years, the SR-71 was the untouchable eye in the sky for the United States.
An A-12 takes off from Groom Lake in 1962.
In 1957, Lockheed started investigating an aircraft that could take over the job of spying on the Soviet Union from the vulnerable U-2. This task became more urgent in 1960 when Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union while flying a U-2. In addition to making a plane that flew high and fast, Lockheed also experimented with technologies to reduce the aircraft’s radar signature, the precursor to what we know as Stealth technology today. The result of those studies led to the single-seat A-12, which first flew in 1962. The A-12 was followed by the SR-71, which increased the fuel and sensors load and added a second crew member to handle the reconnaissance work. While the A-12, which was lighter and faster, could outperform the SR-71, the SR-71 was a more capable aircraft. Powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney J58-1 continuous bleed afterburning turbojets, the Blackbird was capable of Mach 3.3 at 80,000 feet. It could not be shot down by the surface-to-air missiles of the day, and was faster than any Russian fighter at the time. No SR-71 was ever lost to enemy fire.
In addition to its reconnaissance work, the Blackbird was a record setter. It holds numerous records over a recognized course (such as a flight from New York to London), and in 1976 the Blackbird set the records for altitude in horizontal flight and speed over a straight course by flying at 85,068.997 feet at an average of 2,193.167 mph. It also set the record for speed over a closed course (departing and returning to the same location), flying 1000 km at an average speed of 2,092.294 mph.
Lt. Col. Yielding and Lt. Col. Vida following the final flight in 1990. (via
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For the Blackbird’s final flight, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding, pilot, and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida, reconnaissance systems officer, traveled from Palmdale, California to Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia. Along the way, and true to form for the incredible aircraft, Yielding and Vida set a record time for the flight from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, making the trip in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 20 seconds, with an average speed of 2,124 mph. The SR-71A, serial number 61-17972, was donated to the Smithsonian Institution and now resides in the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
SR-71 at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center in Virginia
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> ttyymmnn
03/06/2015 at 12:08 |
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Do we know this plane from somewhere?
Gamecat235
> ttyymmnn
03/06/2015 at 12:09 |
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*final flight in the sense of bands who are performing on their "Farewell" tours. LOL
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ttyymmnn
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/06/2015 at 12:11 |
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You know, I actually considered going with something different today since Oppo has been Blackbird overload lately. But it's such an important bit of history it has to be mentioned. I've got something planned for later today, something that will take us from the sublime to the ridiculous.
E. Julius
> ttyymmnn
03/06/2015 at 12:12 |
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What a phenomenal aircraft. Unbelievable to think that it was designed in a period closer in time to the Wright brothers' first flight than today.
I know from a strategic standpoint there's no reason to have something like this in the age of drones and satellite reconnaissance, but I wonder how much we could push the envelope if there was some reason to make a true Blackbird successor.
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ttyymmnn
> E. Julius
03/06/2015 at 12:14 |
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I think the successor to the Blackbird will be a bomber of some sort, not a recon plane. I'm not sure if the envelope could be pushed much more with a human at the controls.
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E. Julius
> ttyymmnn
03/06/2015 at 12:16 |
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That would make sense, and that's definitely a good point about the limitations of human pilots.
spanfucker retire bitch
> ttyymmnn
03/06/2015 at 12:22 |
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I had no idea my birthday was so special.
Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
> ttyymmnn
03/06/2015 at 12:26 |
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...or WAS it the final flight...
Just saying.
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ttyymmnn
> Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
03/06/2015 at 13:27 |
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We'll never really know.