The Ultimate Ground Speed Check - Tales from the Blackbird

"Gamecat235" (Gamecat235)
08/09/2013 at 15:52 • Filed to: Planelopnik, SR-71, speed

486

I don't know of any ludicrous speeding tickets so I can't participate in today's QOTD, but it did remind me of my favorite SR-71 story.

This is an expanded excerpt from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! 's book !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (which happens to be out of print and ludicrously expensive now, I wish I had bought a copy when I could have afforded it).

There were a lot of things we couldn't do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane. Intense, maybe. Even cerebral. But there was one day in our Sled experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be the fastest guys out there, at least for a moment.

It occurred when Walt and I were flying our final training sortie. We needed 100 hours in the jet to complete our training and attain Mission Ready status. Somewhere over Colorado we had passed the century mark. We had made the turn in Arizona and the jet was performing flawlessly. My gauges were wired in the front seat and we were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves, not only because we would soon be flying real missions but because we had gained a great deal of confidence in the plane in the past ten months. Ripping across the barren deserts 80,000 feet below us, I could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet.

I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Walter in the back seat. There he was, with no really good view of the incredible sights before us, tasked with monitoring four different radios. This was good practice for him for when we began flying real missions, when a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital. It had been difficult, too, for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my entire flying career I had controlled my own transmissions. But it was part of the division of duties in this plane and I had adjusted to it. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however. Walt was so good at many things, but he couldn't match my expertise at sounding smooth on the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with years in fighter squadrons where the slightest radio miscue was grounds for beheading. He understood that and allowed me that luxury.

Just to get a sense of what Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit briefly), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally would not talk to them unless we needed to descend into their airspace.

We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot asked Center for a readout of his ground speed. Center replied: "November Charlie 175, I'm showing you at ninety knots on the ground."

Now the thing to understand about Center controllers, was that whether they were talking to a rookie pilot in a Cessna, or to Air Force One, they always spoke in the exact same, calm, deep, professional, tone that made one feel important. I referred to it as the " Houston Center voice." I have always felt that after years of seeing documentaries on this country's space program and listening to the calm and distinct voice of the Houston controllers, that all other controllers since then wanted to sound like that, and that they basically did. And it didn't matter what sector of the country we would be flying in, it always seemed like the same guy was talking. Over the years that tone of voice had become somewhat of a comforting sound to pilots everywhere. Conversely, over the years, pilots always wanted to ensure that, when transmitting, they sounded like Chuck Yeager, or at least like John Wayne. Better to die than sound bad on the radios.

Just moments after the Cessna's inquiry, a Twin Beech piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed. "I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed." Boy, I thought, the Beechcraft really must think he is dazzling his Cessna brethren. Then out of the blue, a navy F-18 pilot out of NAS Lemoore came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Navy jock because he sounded very cool on the radios. "Center, Dusty 52 ground speed check". Before Center could reply, I'm thinking to myself, hey, Dusty 52 has a ground speed indicator in that million-dollar cockpit, so why is he asking Center for a readout? Then I got it, ol' Dusty here is making sure that every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows what true speed is. He's the fastest dude in the valley today, and he just wants everyone to know how much fun he is having in his new Hornet. And the reply, always with that same, calm, voice, with more distinct alliteration than emotion: "Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground."

And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done - in mere seconds we'll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die now. I thought about all of our Sim training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn.

Somewhere, 13 miles above Arizona, there was a pilot screaming inside his space helmet. Then, I heard it. The click of the mic button from the back seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no emotion, Walter spoke: "Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?" There was no hesitation, and the replay came as if was an everyday request. "Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground."

I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that Walt and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most fighter-pilot-like voice: "Ah, Center, much thanks, we're showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money."

For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the Houston Center voice, when L.A.came back with, "Roger that Aspen, Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one."

It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable sprint across the southwest, the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of being a crew. A fine day's work. We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast.

For just one day, it truly was fun being the fastest guys out there.

DISCUSSION (100)

dinobot666 > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:00

That's a great story! There's another one out there were an SR-71 pilot talks about friendly fire. Apparently he was doing reconnaissance and the Israelis didn't know he was in the area, so they fired a SAM at him. The pilot, whose name I cannot remember said he reached some pretty scary mach numbers to outrun the missile, but he couldn't elaborate on the exact numbers.

Wish I knew where I read or saw this.

HammerheadFistpunch > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:05

Id read a shorter version of that story in the Ben Rich book: skunkworks and I loved it then as much as I love it now.

WhiskeyGolf > HammerheadFistpunch
08/09/2013 at 12:07

That's a fascinating book. So many stories of the way engineering should be done!

Dusty Ventures > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:08

Hahahaha! I've been laughing like an idiot for a good three minutes! That's awesome! If this book ever goes back into print or shows up on iBooks I'm buying the hell out of it!

On a completely unrelated note, I bought my ticket to see Nine Inch Nails a couple weeks ago. Can't wait!

HammerheadFistpunch > dinobot666
08/09/2013 at 12:08

I read it in the book I mentioned in the previous post, Ben Rich's Skunkworks. If I remember correctly it wasn't friendly fire (or maybe it was, I guess I will have to re-read it) but he was 3.3 and climbing before he calmed down enough to back off the throttles. The "official" airframe limit that has been given to the public is 3.2+

WhiskeyGolf > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:08

I love this story. I feel bad that I found this book in a digital copy instead of hardcover, but like you, I don't have $4k lying around . Time to read it!

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HammerheadFistpunch > WhiskeyGolf
08/09/2013 at 12:09

its a model study in avoiding engineering and managerial problems like communications, scope creep, and cost overruns.

doodon2whls > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:10

Fantastic Story...

Kinja'd!!!

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:11

“ Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death , I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing.”

Dunnik > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:25

"We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast."

Heh, yea, I bet that shut them up.

Great story.

McLarry > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:26

Ha! That's awesome. Thanks for sharing

Senna_ > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:38

I remember reading about them overflying Vietnam from East to West in a few minutes, turning around over most of Laos and Re-running over Vietnam in minutes.

I do not think there is a cooler aircraft (that we know about)

Other things in the various books that I remember.

The inside windshield gets so hot from friction that it cannot be touched even with gloves in flight.

The enormous engineering involved in slowing the input air in the engines to subsonic speeds- move-able inlet needles- controlled by primitive computers.

The special oil, grease and fuel needed for the heat.

Special tires needed to withstand very high temps in the wheelbays

The infamous Oldsmobile V8 engine starting carts

and the unholy shriek at takeoff under afterburner

Habu is the king of all

Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:42

Gets me every time I read this account. Laugh like a madman for a few minutes imagining the tower responding to all the upstarts and then smiling as he reads out the speed of the speedking.

Raphael Orlove > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 12:50

Hey man, great story! - if you had a bit fuller headline, though, this would be great on the front page

Gamecat235 > Raphael Orlove
08/09/2013 at 12:58

Ah... give me a minute. Busy as hell at work at the moment.

UserNotFound > HammerheadFistpunch
08/09/2013 at 13:04

I think I heard that same story on a History Channel show. They were supposed to do a recon run over Lebanon or Jordan or some place like that when somebody fired a SAM at them. He said they had the option to cancel the run and go in to evasive maneuvers, or max out the throttle, turn on the camera, and pray. They chose the latter and managed to outrun the missiles and get a successful photo run.

Tim Allardyce > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 13:05

I read some exerpts from this book a while back, but this one keeps coming up, and I love that it does...a grand 'ole tale.

I too wish I'd bought a copy, but it was $600 or something crazy! Torrent maybe ??

Tim Allardyce > dinobot666
08/09/2013 at 13:07

I remember this story...they were behind enemy lines and they had to reach over Mach 3 to get back to the baltic sea or something like that. Definitely a good story!

Tim Allardyce > WhiskeyGolf
08/09/2013 at 13:10

Got a link by chance?

Gamecat235 > Raphael Orlove
08/09/2013 at 13:17

That's as good as I'll get it (my brain is overloaded today). If you can think of something better. Go for it =)

dinobot666 > UserNotFound
08/09/2013 at 13:29

That sounds about right to me frlnesl2.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Senna_
08/09/2013 at 13:48

There are some great stories about the development. While they were trying to find a hydraulic fluid suitable for the temps they were getting samples from various suppliers. One of the potential vendors sent them some powder. Lockheed contacted them to clarify that they were looking for high temp hydraulic fluid and the vendor responded that it was. I just didn't melt until it reached a few hundred degrees.

f86sabre > HammerheadFistpunch
08/09/2013 at 15:07

Kinja'd!!!

This is my book shelf in my office. I loan Skunk Works to new engineers. It's a good read.

Gamecat235 > Raphael Orlove
08/09/2013 at 15:30

(I think I snoozed and lost. if so, no hard feelings)

WhiskeyGolf > Tim Allardyce
08/09/2013 at 16:28

A quick "sled driver download pdf" search yielded this . I would like to purchase this book someday so that it can sit on the coffee table next to books about NASA and the A380

505Turbeaux > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 19:04

great story, thanks for sharing! Damn now I want to find and read this book

turbotiny > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 19:35

"That Hornet must die." HA HA HA! Great story.

TheOnelectronic > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 19:51

Love this story.

Gamecat235 > TheOnelectronic
10/29/2013 at 21:14

Did this get reshared? I'm suddenly getting notifications on this story from months ago.

desertdog5051 > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 21:25

That was fantastic Gamecat. Thank you for that. I truly enjoyed the story.

Gamecat235 > desertdog5051
10/29/2013 at 21:30

Thanks! I posted this like three months ago, did it get reshared? I'm confused (and on mobile in NH).

desertdog5051 > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 21:33

Do not remember seeing it. But you know how many posts fly through here in a day. Once again, thanks.

Gamecat235 > desertdog5051
10/29/2013 at 21:35

How did you find it to click on it. I'm a little confused. =)

desertdog5051 > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 21:44

It was in the "Top Stories" on the left.

Kugelblitz > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 21:46

Love this every time I read it. I also recll a quote along the lines of, "There is no feeling like the feeling of being lost at Mach 3."

f86sabre > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 21:57

I'm not a bad person and would have bought a copy a while back if I could have found one, but I found this a while ago. I'm about half way through. .

http://ebookee.org/Sled-Driver-Fl…

f86sabre > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 21:58

I'm not a bad person and would have bought a copy a while back if I could have found one, but I found this a while ago. I'm about half way through. .

http://ebookee.org/Sled-Driver-Fl…

TheOnelectronic > Gamecat235
10/29/2013 at 22:37

Wat. I thought this is where I first heard this!

It's currently at the top of top stories...

Gamecat235 > TheOnelectronic
10/29/2013 at 22:39

Weird. I mean, it was pretty awesome. But I couldn't even begin to explain how it got there.

Maybe this is proof that glitches and the top stories work! (nah, that's a step too far).

leicester > Senna_
10/30/2013 at 00:21

Via pilot Richard Graham:

“When Kelly was building this airplane for the first time, he had to decide on his metal of choice. He came up with titanium,” Graham said. “It had the lightweight characteristics and the strength to build the airplane. Every SR-71 by weight is 92 percent titanium. The airplane weighs 60,000 lbs, 92 percent of that is how much titanium it contains.

“He had a lot of problems working with titanium. It is a metal that is very hard to mill and shape and get accuracy. Kelly was the first one to do that. He made some of the largest forgings for the landing gear that had ever been done before with titanium.

“When the mechanics were tightening up the titanium bolt heads, in one lot, the heads were snapping off; in another lot, they were staying nice and tight. So he asked the engineers to figure out why. The last thing they did in making these bolts was to wash them in the city’s water. It turned out that in the summer time the city of Burbank put an excessive amount of chlorine in the water, it weakened the titanium, and that is why the bolt heads were snapping off.

“They also found that if the crew or the work chief nicked or scraped the titanium anywhere, over a period of time with the metal going through heating and cooling cycles, it would develop stress fractures on the aircraft.

“It turns out that the tool box, the wrenches and things they were using were made of cadmium. Cadmium and titanium do not mix. That is where the stress fractures were coming from. So every tool box after that had to be cadmium free.”

Saracen > Gamecat235
10/30/2013 at 03:15

I never tire of re-reading this stories. I so want a copy of that book..

lonestranger > Gamecat235
10/30/2013 at 04:10

I missed this when it was posted.

Now, who says the "Top Stories" sidebar is useless?!

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > f86sabre
10/30/2013 at 09:37

How exactly does one download the pdf file? All I'm getting it links to spam sites.

pauljones > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
10/30/2013 at 09:41

If you're at Angels 80 and climbing, you're not in the valley anymore; you've left the valley of the shadow of death far behind.

Sir Halffast > Gamecat235
10/30/2013 at 11:17

Yeah, showed up on today's top Oppo Stories. From August 9. Whatever, still a good read.

f86sabre > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
10/30/2013 at 12:55

I will check when I get home to verify if that was the site.

DrivesaCorolla > Gamecat235
10/30/2013 at 16:28

I'm so glad the almost useless side bar brought me to this post, because I have always loved the SR-71, and will forever dream one day to experience it in flight in person.

I'm not even 21 yet, but it has always fascinated me, the stories told about it, the books on it, Ben Rich's Skunk Works is a favorite of mine, but good reading on the Habu is so sparing, it would seem.

Are there any other great books about it, any testimonies of the brilliance that this matte black beauty of engineering radiates?

Heck, it even inspired me to be poetic, and all determined for the Differential Equations test I've been studying for all day.

The power of the Blackbird, even to this day, is unmatched.

wkiernan > f86sabre
10/30/2013 at 21:49

That's an .exe.

f86sabre > wkiernan
10/31/2013 at 06:28

Then don't click it! It was not my intent to send anyone to virus city. You start getting into that part of the web and things get sketchy in a hurry. Sorry.

gavinski91 > Gamecat235
11/11/2013 at 15:54

It got linked here: http://imgur.com/gallery/g4ohQ8…

#3 comment on #5 image of the day, and that site gets a lot of traffic.

Gamecat235 > gavinski91
11/11/2013 at 16:30

Strange, although that accounts for the 4k+ views today, it doesn't for the 3k+ views a week ago. Oh well. Internets, how do they work?!

William Byrd > Gamecat235
11/12/2013 at 11:17

The sidebar comes through, hadn't seen this. Fantastic read. Easily my favorite plane of all time. Seeing one at the Dulles Air and Space Museum was almost a religious experience.

Gamecat235 > William Byrd
11/12/2013 at 11:20

The post recently experienced a serious resurgence . It would appear that Imgur is to blame, but this is one of those posts that seem to be welcome regardless of time.

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It is definitely one of the better SR stories. And I know that feeling, the first time I saw one, I had the same reaction.

John Ross > Kugelblitz
11/13/2013 at 05:16

IIRC that was when the powers that be decided to see if the Blackbird could be flown VFR. This proved to be a complete and utter failure. Imagine going east over the Rocky Mountains, and 15 minutes later the Mississippi River comes into view...

John Ross > Gamecat235
11/13/2013 at 05:25

There's another one, perhaps apocryphal, that involves a Controller who wasn't paying attention to his screen. Paraphrasing: "XYZ Tower, ***** requests clearance to new altitude 70,000 feet."

"How do you plan to climb to 70,000 feet?"

"I don't. I plan to DESCEND to 70,000 feet."

Kugelblitz > John Ross
11/13/2013 at 08:28

I imagine the the VFR training was taught using globe held six inches away.

"OK, turn left at Florida and you are on final for Dover AFB. Wheels down over the Outer Banks, flaps and pitch up riiight as you pass Norfolk."

Piece of cake.

Bonhomme7h > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
11/20/2013 at 22:12

If you are still interested, this link is legit.
https://mega.co.nz/#!wN53BTbJ!Toa…

stoke > HammerheadFistpunch
11/21/2013 at 16:00

That book was a really solid read. Tons of insight into how to run an effective organization, along with all the aviation engineering porn and cloak and dagger stories.

Ad_absurdum_per_aspera > UserNotFound
01/11/2014 at 22:06

That may have been the same pilot/reconnaissance systems operator team from the ground-speed-check anecdote, Shul and Watson, as related in their book The Untouchables and also reprinted in Boyne, ed., Brassey's Air Combat Reader . Long story short, they were over Libya in the era of Khadafy's "Line of Death" when a missile warning alert made them feel a little on the touchable side, so they really put the screws to it. I think this was the story:

http://www.supercub.org/forum/showthre…

Shul has apparently been coy, probably for classification reasons, on just how fast they ended up going.

Somebody else who knows a thing or two about Blackbirds, the now retired Mary Shafer from NASA-Dryden Flight Research Center, has posted about their limiting factors — the most applicable one, I think, is nose-cone shockwave impingement in mumble part of the wing, which means there are speeds you might attain in a pinch but had better not try to sustain. Turbine inlet temperature might be another limit. The ambient conditions on that day, at that altitude, also factor in.

5_cyl_freak > dinobot666
01/12/2014 at 00:00

oops, not Israelis, but interesting read including outrunning missiles.

http://gizmodo.com/5511236/the-th…

365Daytonafan > UserNotFound
01/12/2014 at 04:10

I think it was over Libya, when doing a bomb damage assessment after Operation Eldorado Canyon.

getchapopcorn > Gamecat235
01/12/2014 at 15:36

Now THAT is an anecdote!

thebigbossyboss > Gamecat235
01/12/2014 at 19:58

hahaha. Awesome.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Gamecat235
01/13/2014 at 10:53

I remember reading this when you first posted it. Not sure how I didn't star it back then. I just got back here from a post by Tiny Toy Viper which sent me to imgur which had a comment that got me back here. Hence the star on an old post.

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Gamecat235 > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
01/13/2014 at 10:58

LOL. Awesome. This is one of those stories that I re-read everytime it pops back up.

Bill Pitsker > Gamecat235
01/13/2014 at 15:39

This brings back an early Pan Am memory (1969?). We were flying empty B-707 ferry flight from south-east Asia to San Francisco, and were in the Okinawa area at 39,000 feet. As Navigator, I had recently passed a position report to the Captain, who read it over the radio. A short time later, ATC came back requesting a verification of our estimate, as it revealed a ground speed of 720 knots. I recalculated, and verified our estimate, adding that we had a tailwind component of 240 knots. We arrived at the next position two minutes early.

Storz > Gamecat235
01/15/2014 at 12:09

I really wish the book was still available, I've read snippets like this and want to read the whole thing!

Gamecat235 > Storz
01/15/2014 at 12:28

Yeah, I believe that there is a lot of money to be made by producing a high quality ebook version of Sled Driver. Or a standard edition reprint of the physical book itself.

Leadbull > Gamecat235
01/16/2014 at 17:29

It's on the top stories again.

Gamecat235 > Leadbull
01/16/2014 at 17:32

It has stayed there for the last week or so. It's had 15k views trickle in since the beginning of the year.

Leadbull > Gamecat235
01/16/2014 at 17:38

Kinja'd!!!

Sometimes, Kinja uses it's powers for good.

Gamecat235 > Leadbull
01/16/2014 at 17:40

I think that statistically speaking, eventually something good had to come from the platform. Even if only by accident. =)

MFEJAL grey because who knows... > Gamecat235
01/16/2014 at 17:46

I bet the guy at the Cessna was smiling too!

Dream Theater of the Absurd > Gamecat235
01/18/2014 at 08:46

This is not the first time I've read this, but it still makes me chuckle when I read it.

BrianRad > Gamecat235
01/18/2014 at 12:59

Epic...

Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double > Gamecat235
01/18/2014 at 15:28

"Ripping across the barren deserts 80,000 feet below us, I could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet."

DAMN

Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
01/18/2014 at 15:43

well said

JR1 > Gamecat235
01/23/2014 at 10:17

Made my day, great story!

bl000rp > Bonhomme7h
03/15/2014 at 15:03

Thanks!!

Because-Racecar > Gamecat235
03/28/2014 at 09:18

I had this book as a kid. When I shipped off to basic, my family (With my permission) donated a lot of my books, etc.

Including this one. FFUUUUUU

Went to buy it back, but copies are selling at ludicrous prices. LUCKILY I found a PDF torrent and that's just dandy. Ahh, memories...

My personal best groundspeed so far is right around 720 knots (~810 mph). We were maxxed at 0.88, pretty high, and coasting in to Prestwick. We caught the whip of a jetstream something fierce and were just HAULING it in...

I can barely imagine how cool 1,800 knots must have looked if it were at our altitude (mid-30s I believe at the time).

TLDR: Flying rocks, do it more. Earn PPL, it's only $7-10k spaced out over a year.

Because-Racecar > HammerheadFistpunch
03/28/2014 at 09:21

From "unofficial sources" (some guys I work with ;) ) It's been to 3.6 and change. Once or twice.

And the "official" service ceiling is absolute bumkiss. I can't get more detailed than that.

Gamecat235 > Because-Racecar
03/28/2014 at 11:14

It's such an amazing book, and Brian Shul is a great storyteller.

Jacques L' Autre > Gamecat235
05/06/2014 at 16:10

Read this before, but saw it recommended under the popular stories tab on Oppo so I decided to go through it again. Such a good story.

macanamera > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 12:52

I love this so much. I read this a while ago, it keeps getting reshared here and there...

MEESTALUBBA > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 12:53

too bad the space shuttle wasnt going over (15,000 knots)

Phlegminglib > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 12:55

Gawd that was a great read!

Reborn Pyrrhic > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 12:56

It's an old but excellent story that keeps getting re-shared every few months. I have read this a dozen times on a dozen different websites. An aviation classic.

SWITAWI > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 12:57

Truly one of the greatest aviation stories of all time.

Worth repeating whenever anybody feels like, no matter how soon.

Diesel > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 12:58

Looks like it's been reshared again. One of my favorite stories.

HammerheadFistpunch > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 12:59

I was thinking...hmm I remember reading about this like...a month ago. There you go.

Dunnik > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 12:59

This story never gets old.

jalop1991 > f86sabre
05/07/2014 at 13:02

The saddest part about Skunkworks is reading how the world's best and most famous aircraft engineer, Kelly Johnson, didn't believe in stealth and told Ben he thought Ben was wasting his time with it.

I guess that's just an indication to all of us to STFU when we get old and out of the loop. Accept the accolades for what we did to bring the world to where it is now, and gracefully hand it over to the young 'uns to continue taking it further.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 13:06

I've read this story several times (recently too) on this and similar blogs. The interwebs is a small place...

Autolegend86 > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 13:08

Robert R. Meyer Jr. did a speech at a collegiate flight team ceremony and talked about his SR-71 career.

Kinja'd!!!

Dream Theater of the Absurd > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 13:08

I never get tired of reading this.

MooseKnuckles > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 13:11

When the opportunity presents itself I tell this story, pretty funny. Well played by those pilots

Blondude > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 13:13

Holy crap, how many times/places has this been posted now? I feel like it's on the sidebar on a weekly basis. And now it's been FP'd.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 13:17

Back in '95 when I got my pilot's license, few planes in the rental fleet had GPS (Loran was the shit back then). So, figuring out groundspeed was either done manually with the E6B or you just called Approach and asked. It wasn't until years later I started flying turbine stuff that actually went fast (OK, not so much the Caravan) and by then pretty much everything had a Garmin onboard that would give GS. The glass panels in new GA planes are just amazing now.

Kinja'd!!!

Zeniff > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 13:17

That. Was. Awesome.

iCanHaz > Gamecat235
05/07/2014 at 13:29

Kinja'd!!!

why would anyone shop this?