YF-12 - Some of the best footage I've seen.

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 02/07/2017 at 12:44 • Filed to: Blackbird

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I’ve seen lots and lots of Youtube on the YF-12/SR-71 but this one is new to me, its got lots of good YF-12 flight footage and some really cool footage about the construction methods and techniques

You have 26 minutes in your life for this.

For Sweden > HammerheadFistpunch 02/07/2017 at 12:48

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Best thing to ever come out of Burbank

HammerheadFistpunch > HammerheadFistpunch 02/07/2017 at 12:53

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This kinda puts the nail in the coffin of the old “designed with just a slide rule” quote. Since its pretty clear they used computer aided design and computer monitoring.

Jcarr > HammerheadFistpunch 02/07/2017 at 12:57

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Anyone who is interested in this should read Skunk Works by Ben Rich (I know many of you have).

HammerheadFistpunch > Jcarr 02/07/2017 at 13:00

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Yup, I own and read it from time to time. Even still, there is stuff in this video I didn’t know. Good stuff. One thing I’ve never gotten a clear answer on: was it really RS-71 not SR-71 until the Nixon misquoted the model designation? He mentions it in the book but I’ve never seen it anywhere else.

Aremmes > HammerheadFistpunch 02/07/2017 at 13:47

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It was supposed to be RS-71, but General LeMay forced a change in LBJ’s speech so that it read SR-71.

HammerheadFistpunch > Aremmes 02/07/2017 at 13:47

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Thats the story (I guess i need to re-read the book)

user314 > HammerheadFistpunch 02/07/2017 at 14:37

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LBJ, not Nixon, but yes. Basically, the XB-70 was at one point going to enter service as the RS-70, RS for Recon/Strike. The USAF version of the Blackbird was next in line, and Lockheed pitched a strike version based off the YF-12's missile bays & a land-attack version of the AIM-47, so it would have been the RS-71. The USAF dropped the strike requirement, and LeMay, who prefered the connotations of “Strategic Reconnaisance” over Recon/Strike, lobbied to have the designation changed. LBJ approved, but the change wasn’t made to the copies of his spech given to the media.

knowonelse > HammerheadFistpunch 02/07/2017 at 23:05

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That was fabuluous! Thanks for that video. Titanium is a very tough material to deal with. I worked on the development of the F-22 fuselage structural assembly components.

HammerheadFistpunch > knowonelse 02/07/2017 at 23:11

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Very cool. My only experience with it is ruining several drill bits trying to get through a very thin plate of it

ttyymmnn > HammerheadFistpunch 02/10/2017 at 09:16

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That was terrific. Thanks for posting.