Rare footage of SR-71 Blackbirds | Hacker News Reader

Rare footage of SR-71 Blackbirds

taskandpurpose.com

68 pointsQAPereo19 comments

Here’s a first-hand unverified heresay report from a grey-beard who worked for Tektronix back in the day: on assignment he drove out to China Lake for some high level troubleshooting, his vehicle came to a large gated facility and upon reaching the inner gate, he noticed a fleet of SR-71s, all with the same tail numbers. He was quickly escorted off the premesis and sent packing.

This is the same guy who personally claims we were actively experimenting with directed energy weapons using the San Onofre nuclear plant and that he personally saw the damaged tail of another YF12/SR-71 that had been hit by a Russian laser weapon.

Here is an omegataupodcast episode about flying this thing:

http://omegataupodcast.net/91-flying-the-sr-71/

Episode 091 – Flying the SR-71 Blackbird (March 31, 2012, 7:27 PM)

"In this episode we discuss the world's fastest and highest flying jet-powered aircraft ever built, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. Our guest is Col. (Ret) Richard Graham, a former SR-71 pilot. Our conversation is loosely based on his book Flying the SR-71, and we discuss the challenge of flying the SR-71. As a consequence of its unique capabilities and its engine and inlet design, the aircraft posed a number of very specific challenges on the pilot."

The original article, from July of 2017, can be found on Task and Purpose. While it still has a lot of advertising, at least there isn't a big popup telling you to disable your ad-blocker.

https://taskandpurpose.com/sr-71-blackbird-rare-video/

Mods, maybe we could update the link and throw a (2017) on this?

Sure thing, we've updated the link from http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-just-dropped-a-ton-of-ra....

This one has a big popup shouting "SIGNING UP FOR TASK & PURPOSE IS SIGNING UP TO BE A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY" right in your face though.

Screw that. Here are the direct links to the Youtube videos embedded in the "article".

Still one of the most impressive planes I know. It has to be fuelled in flight because before heat expansion closes the gaps between all metal parts, the fuel tanks would leak their contents. So you take off with just enough fuel to reach the tanker.

Every interview with an A12 or SR71 pilot on YouTube touches on this and says they did that because of tire pressure not leaks.

Do you have a source? I've checked several online sources, and they all indicate the body leaking fuel until thermal expansion took place is accurate.

Am on phone so can't go double checking, but I believe it was definitely explained in this one:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MGdxpqqsHl8

(Well worth watching the whole thing!)

The planes definitely leaked at low temp eg on the apron but not much at all; just a few drips.

The problem was the tires were gonna burst if you aborted a takeoff with a full fuel load and had to land immediately. It was a weight problem.

Murray takes about it at length and even says he has a tire at home in the garage.

He also hands around other bits of the plane so people can see the honeycomb etc.

Thank you!

Two things there:

1. leaking

2. taking off without a full load of fuel

It makes sense for the first to be thermal expansion issues, and the second to be tire pressure issues.

i have heard of the fuel leaking at takeoff thing, but it doesn't make sense to me why that would mean the plane would be fueled just enough to takeoff. if it leaks, it leaks. unless a full fuel tank caused a major increase in the leakage, seems to me you would just fill it up. (although i did see the less than full tank seems to be due to the weight and tire issue at takeoff explained in the other comments.)

I adored this plane in middle school (roughly around the time when the X-men were rolling around in one), but the body style, it's speed, everything about it just screamed mystery and power.

It doesn't have the same appeal to me now, but I still think it was such an elegant design in comparison to the stealth bomber.

I remember being in middle school and watching them bank right over the school after lifting off from Beale. Cool stuff.

Yep, me too. Did you grow up in Marysville?

My father was stationed at Beale and I went to school in Wheatland.

Pirate checking in, watched them light up playing tether ball on lone tree.

Father was U2 pilot

is it only me or is that site horribly broken? i had to scroll to videos are reload the page for them to load?

Works fine on my phone.

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