Flightline: 23/TBD

"user314" (user314) 08/10/2020 at 11:00 • Filed to: flightline, Lockheed, Blackbird, Oxcart

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TA-12 60-6927

Back to Dreamland/Groom Lake/Area 51, some time in the mid-1960s.

Under the CIA’s Project Oxcart, Lockheed’s Skunk Works produced eighteen A-12 aircraft. Two were converted into M-12 launch aircraft (more on them tomorrow!), three more into the YF-12s (Tuesday...) and one as a trainer.

Article 124, s/n 60-6927 (referred to variously as the A-12B and the TA-12) was modified on the production line, with a second cockpit added in the Q-bay (the M-12s and YF-12s were similarly modified).

Taking off for the first time on January 7, 1963, the TA-12, nicknamed the “Titanium Goose”, quickly racked up an astounding 1076 flight hours, more than double those of her stablemates, though, since her J75 engines were never replaced by the J58s used by operational A-12s, 927 was limited to Mach 2. For that reason, she was never painted with the black “Iron Ball” paint, nor was she fitted with the black composite filets.

The Goose holds the distinction of being one of two Oxcart/Blackbird aircraft in which Clarence “Kelly” Johnson was to have flown, the other being a YF-12.

The A-12 program was canceled in 1966, though they did fly operational missions in 1967 and 1968. The Titanium Goose was the last Oxcart retired, but in the end she was flown to Palmdale and stored with the rest until 2001, when she was moved to the California Science Center (formerly the California Museum of Science and Industry) and placed on display:

The only Oxcart/Cygnus displayed in glorious unpainted titanium.

jminer > user314 08/10/2020 at 11:23

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Man that last one is beautiful!

user314 > jminer 08/10/2020 at 11:32

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I’d argue that they have the wrong rudders on the Goose though. The Oxcarts rarely used the black composite rudders on operational missions:

and there’s ample photographic proof 927 with metal rudders only. Still, that’s a nit-pick, and it’s a good looking bird either way .

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > user314 08/10/2020 at 11:35

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Badass aircraft. This photo is tagged as a landing but the positioning (angling inward?) of  the  gear indicates to me they just took off and are retracting, no? Seems a little late to be dropping the landing gear.

ttyymmnn > user314 08/10/2020 at 11:39

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user314 > PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 08/10/2020 at 11:46

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Blah. I’d blame my editor, but

user314 > ttyymmnn 08/10/2020 at 11:48

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And some poor schlub (or rather several poor schlubs) had to go pick all those pie-wedges up after the first flight.