Think about this for a moment -- the Blackbird is over 40 years old, over 40 years old. It boggles the mind what nifty toys are lurking in hangers somewhere today over 40 years later....
In 1958 the Lockheed Advanced Development Projects 'Skunk Works' began work on a successor to the U-2 spy plane...The result was the Blackbird which made its maiden flight in 1962.
SR-71A
B-52D
3 comments:
don't tell anybody, but i have actual photos of the sr-71 inflight fueling - a gift from the days when people were still smitten with one another...
it is my fave! thanx.
Have you ever been up close to one of these? They're really spectacular in real life. There's one at the National Air and Space museum in Chantilly. When they reach full speed, they actually contort a little. Has anything faster even been invented yet?
Yea, heat expansion was a big deal with it. The frame grows several inches in length when its up to speed and the fuel tanks are designed to leak like a seive until its up to speed at which point everything expands enough to seal up properly.
I had a professor as an undergrad (back in the late 70's) who worked for Lockheed at the skunkworks computer operations. He never talked much about it other than to say he was there. Best prof I ever had as an undergrad or grad student too.
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