Guy visits all SR-71 Blackbird planes - photos

[Duke_of_URL]

I got to support some "activities" at Edwards AFB many years back and met the last SR-71 pilots (retired USAF) who by then were working for NASA flying the last two SR's. They were rated in both U-2 and SR-71... talk about both ends of the spectrum! I also got to know one of the last Skunkworks Electricians who traveled all over the world supporting the aircraft during its active life. He said that NASA cherry picked the two best tails that were ever built, and he knew them all. He went on to say that if there was any reason the aircraft couldn't fly its mission it would be because of an electrical problem. The mechanical systems, including the fuel transfer system, were elegantly simple and nearly failure proof. A big part of electrical problems was damage from the intense heat experienced in flight. It would bake the wires making them extremely brittle. Touching a bundle would break some. Fixing one would break 3 more, and on it went. He said it was so bad that the Electricians had to fuel the aircraft and de-fuel it to fix the almost certain electrical problems. Mechanical techs were never needed for launch. The U.S. base in England was cold, wet, and getting JP-7 fuel all over yourself wasn't pleasant either.
I've studied the SR-71 for the Engineering marvel that it was. There's not a bump or crease on that aircraft without some purpose. There's only one "Off The Shelf" component on that aircraft, but everything else was developed from scratch, from the tires to the windshields. Of course the Inlet Spikes to prevent supersonic shockwaves causing "unstarts" did have to be developed. It is the only aircraft to fly its entire mission in afterburner. It leaked fuel on the ground, due to its expansion joints never having a sealant developed that could stand the heat. The windshield is solid quartz. The techniques for working Titanium had to be pioneered by the Skunkworks, as it broke every drill bit or tool used on it. Each piece of fuselage of each aircraft was kept on 3x5 cards in the event a replacement part was ever needed - no two were ever the same. The Titanium used throughout the airframe had to be obtained from the one place with copious amounts of the stuff and no ready market at the time... the Soviet Union (Russia), using various CIA "front companies" all around the world. The space suits worn by the crew were used on the early Shuttle Missions. There are so many amazing things about that aircraft and it's capabilities are still shrouded in secrecy after all these years. What was the OTS component? The Pratt J-58 engines developed for a never finished Navy P6M SeaMaster.

[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!