Guy visits all SR-71 Blackbird planes - photos

[Toolmaker51]

I knew that not lookin' in that crate was the right thing to do.

And I had my pointy index finger at the ready; case you did. . .

[Duke_of_URL]

Very interesting explanation of cockpit operation by a former SR-71 pilot.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/fli...orks-17441312/

[MIGuy]

To be around those aircraft or to know anyone who flew, built or maintained them is pretty damn cool. The SR-71 is without a doubt the most amazing example of American aircraft ingenuity. I've read several books on Kelly Johnson and the Skunkworks team. To be able to design and build that beautiful, high-speed bird without the aid of any kind of modern computer is simply mind-boggling! What those engineers accomplished using slide rules and 'smarts' is truly incredible. There will be successors that will fly higher and faster, but I don't believe that their accomplishment can ever equal what went into the Blackbird!

[mklotz]

It's important to note that the U2 and SR-71 were the product of a skunkworks development atmosphere. This work climate was characterized by a high degree of autonomy and unhampered by bureaucracy. Briefly, the engineers were "set loose" and allowed to develop not what management wanted but rather what would work for the problem to hand.

It's even more important to note how seldom the lesson of the success of the skunkworks has been adopted in other businesses.

[Jon]

Assembly line of the SR-71 Blackbird at Skunk Works.

Fullsize image: https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/h...s_fullsize.jpg

[Crusty]

And I had my pointy index finger at the ready; case you did. . .

Reminds me of the story about the guy walking past the looney bin and he could hear people in the yard shouting "Twelve, twelve, twelve ..." over and over. Curious, he looked into a knothole in the fence to see what was going on and someone immediately poked him in the eye with a finger and all the people in the yard began chanting "Thirteen, thirteen, thirteen ...".

[bruce.desertrat]

Well, to be fair, by the time the skunkworks was established, Kelly Johnson had a very well established track record https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_..._contributions

Famously 3M lets (or used to, at least) engineers have unsupervised 'play time' to work on projects; and it's paid off for them, too, witness the Post-It.

A co-worker (ex Air Force Master Sgt) worked in the field with the SR-71s in the Vietnam era, they used to fly in and out of the base he was stationed at (IIRC it was the Phillipines, or it may have been Thailand.) They were too hot to work on for about for hours after landing.

[greyhoundollie]

SR 71 lived at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa in Vietnam days. Interesting that the local Okinawa residents called the SR 71 "The Habu" (snake) There was a point off the base that looked down on part of the runway. Locals would park there to take pictures of the SR71. Someone posted a sign there that said "Habu lookout point"

[bruce.desertrat]

Then it was Okinawa where my friend was. He's got some old video from the hangar area and flight line that he;s shown me, I see if I can snag a copy...

[greyhoundollie]

I would be interested in seeing his picks. I haven't been to Okinawa in 35-40 years. My wife is Thai and seems Thailand is only place I go to overseas now. ....That isn't a complaint though