Air Shows

[Co Pilot]

Not an air show thing, but an air plane thing. Hope I'm not too far off topic. Pretty funny...

Pumpkin image by arenee49 on Photobucket

[Joe G]

You surprised me with that one co-pilot!



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[Johnny Dangerously]

Originally Posted by Co Pilot

Not an air show thing, but an air plane thing. Hope I'm not too far off topic. Pretty funny...

Pumpkin image by arenee49 on Photobucket

Off topic? Here? That NEVER happens.





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[Johnny Dangerously]

Here's some shots from Palmdale, CA. Palmdale is located in the Mojave Desert at ~2600' above sea level. It does occasionally snow there, once every year or two.

[Joe G]

Hopefully the B2 skin doesn't mind a little snow.





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[SpeedRacer]

Originally Posted by Joe G

Hopefully the B2 skin doesn't mind a little snow.





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You see an airplane, I must have missed it....

[SpeedRacer]

Stealth Fighters Deploy during Gulf War I

[SpeedRacer]

Have Blue--Stealth Fighter Prototype

[SpeedRacer]

SR-71

[HSURB]

SpeedRacer - those are awesome photos.

HSURB®

[Joe G]

The Blackbird is still one of my favorite planes of all time.


The thing about it - it's still unmatched by anything (that we know of) out there.


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[SpeedRacer]

Originally Posted by HSURB

SpeedRacer - those are awesome photos.

HSURB®

HSURB,

Thanks, I've led a sorted life!

Stuart

[SpeedRacer]

Originally Posted by Joe G

The Blackbird is still one of my favorite planes of all time.


The thing about it - it's still unmatched by anything (that we know of) out there.


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Yeah, it's sad we had to retire them. Too expensive to maintain. Couple that with, low cost of "Overhead" surveillance and they never had a chance....

[twobjshelbys]

One day when we were living in Colorado Springs - our house was north of Peterson Field - I was mowing the grass. All of a sudden there was a sonic boom, which was very rare. I looked up and saw a very fast plane.

The next morning there was a picture of the Blackbird on the tarmac at Pete Field.

This was one of the last flights before they decommissioned them. I think it was 84 or 85.

If you want the history find "More Than My Share Of It All" by Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. It's the story of the Skunkworks. Kelly pulled the project in under budget and early and apologized. Lockheed gave them 2 or 3 more planes as a bonus.

When they decomissioned the blackbirds Lockheed asked the gummint if they wanted the the original drawings (no computer aided stuff - all drafting on paper and stuff. The gummint said they were not interested.

Then they brought them back.

The Blackbird in the Smithsonian is the template for replacement parts.

Smart eh?

Edit #2: One of the spooky things about the Blackbird was that it didn't do well until it was airborne. It leaked like a sieve on the ground. It sealed up when it warmed up after being airborne.

We drive by Kelly Johnson Blvd. in Vegas by the old rental care return area. Not many people know what it is.

[SpeedRacer]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

One day when we were living in Colorado Springs - our house was north of Peterson Field - I was mowing the grass. All of a sudden there was a sonic boom, which was very rare. I looked up and saw a very fast plane.

The next morning there was a picture of the Blackbird on the tarmac at Pete Field.

This was one of the last flights before they decommissioned them. I think it was 84 or 85.

If you want the history find "More Than My Share Of It All" by Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. It's the story of the Skunkworks.

When they decomissioned the blackbirds Lockheed asked the gummint if they wanted the the original drawings (no computer aided stuff - all drafting on paper and stuff. The gummint said they were not interested.

Then they brought them back.

The Blackbird in the Smithsonian is the template for replacement parts.

Smart eh?

I actually worked in the SR-71 Program Office from 1982 - 1985. I was there at Dullus when the last World Record run was made. BTW, we do have all the drawings....

[Joe G]

Originally Posted by SpeedRacer

I actually worked in the SR-71 Program Office from 1982 - 1985. I was there at Dullus when the last World Record run was made. BTW, we do have all the drawings....

I have GOT to meet you soon!


I bet you have stories that would blow our minds!


Drinks are on me for sure.





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[Johnny Dangerously]

Originally Posted by SpeedRacer

I actually worked in the SR-71 Program Office from 1982 - 1985. I was there at Dullus when the last World Record run was made. BTW, we do have all the drawings....

In Palmdale, CA there is 'Blackbird Park', near the FAA site. They have an SR-71 & an A-12 (they've added a lot more since I left in 1999) right next to each other & you can see the differences between the 2. There is a seam on the SR that the A-12 doesn't have. It is located a couple feet aft of the point where the leading edge of the wing joins the fuselage. This seem is the expansion joint for the aircraft when it heats up. It lengthens by almost 12" during high speed flight. The control cables go through a cam system (can't remember exactly) that keeps the cable tension constant throughout the flight.

There is a flight control mixing mechanism that was on display there too. It mantained the unison between all of the trailing edge flight controls. I had a boss who was 'responsible' for this mechanism when he was on the Blackbird program. His instructions were not to with it. They guy that designed it had long since passed away & no one else knows exactly how it works, but it does & they had NEVER had any of them fail.

If you are ever able to walk underneath one of these planes, look in the landing gear bays & you will see tubing that runs from the wheel axle, up the landing gear, makes a 3 or 4" coil with 10+ coils (think a spring) & the runs along the top of the landing gear bay. They didn't have any high pressure high temperature hoses when they designed this, so they used titanium tubing & coiled it like a spring where the tubing needed to bend.

Considering these were designed in the early 60s, Kelly Johnson & his crew were nothing short of geniuses when it came to overcoming the hurdles associated with high speed flight.


Lockhead used an SR-71 for the early stages of the X-33 program as part of the proof of concept testing for the Aerospike engine.

I don't know what, if anything replaced the SR-71 whenit comes to another aircraft, but I can tell you that when you live in the Mojave Desert, you do hear unique engine sounds flying overhead at night.



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[SpeedRacer]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

Edit #2: One of the spooky things about the Blackbird was that it didn't do well until it was airborne. It leaked like a sieve on the ground. It sealed up when it warmed up after being airborne.

They actually had wing drip pans that collected the fuel while it was on the ground...

[SpeedRacer]

Originally Posted by Joe G

I have GOT to meet you soon!


I bet you have stories that would blow our minds!


Drinks are on me for sure.





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Orfapolooza!!!

[Joe G]

Originally Posted by SpeedRacer

Orfapolooza!!!

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