Got To Sit In An SR-71 Blackbird

[glane21]

Had a relative who works at an Airforce museum get special permission to open the 400lb canopy and let me climb in. Pretty cool but cramped.

Each of the rear tires on the landing gear are $8k to replace. They jacked up the plane and filled them with foam to keep them from deflating. The engines have been removed as well. Out by the front of the plane they had the starter cart that was used to crank the engines, it had two 400-something ci Buick engines in it.

Also got a pic of a U2 that was on display.

Edited May 11, 2005 by glane21

[VF-19]

Please please please tell me you got a forward view picture, and a picture that shows what the panel looks like!

PS.

Lucky you... Grr...

[fulcy]

Nice - I'm very jealous...

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

glane...i think u needa re-upload the picture...it's not showing up completely on my side

[Dangaioh]

glane...i think u needa re-upload the picture...it's not showing up completely on my side

That's the top secret portion of the picture.

[Knight26]

I've sat in several SR-71's over the years, the Pima Air And Space Museum opens theres up every year or two and you can sit in it. Most museum Blackbirds have all the classified and top secret bits removed from the cockpit for just that reason. As for the 'pit being cramped, not really, in the suit yes, but in civvies or standard flight suit not at all, unless you were in an A-12, which was suppossed to have a more cramped pit.

[Myriad]

I've sat in several SR-71's over the years, the Pima Air And Space Museum opens theres up every year or two and you can sit in it. Most museum Blackbirds have all the classified and top secret bits removed from the cockpit for just that reason. As for the 'pit being cramped, not really, in the suit yes, but in civvies or standard flight suit not at all, unless you were in an A-12, which was suppossed to have a more cramped pit.

The good ole Pima Air museum...... Right down the road from my house.

[Commander McBride]

I sat in one at Blackbird Park when I was a kid, don't remember too much, though. They had a panel blocking all the instruments, so nothing was visible.

[David Hingtgen]

Gotta ask--which one, where? The majority of "SR-71's" on display are actually A-12's. (Even to the point that the plaque says SR-71, when it's not).

I know the one at Offut is actually an SR-71, as is the one at Dulles.

[Knight26]

I think Glane's is an A-12 from looking at the picture, as I cannot see the seam for the rear cockpit. The Blackbird at Pima is an SR-71, I checked the serial number, I did a project for them my senior year so got to stick my head many places. The Blackbird I worked with at SProcket (space camp), was an A-12. So Myriad you live in Tucson, cool, I am trying to get back there, need to get out of california, too expensive to live out here.

[Apollo Leader]

Gotta ask--which one, where? The majority of "SR-71's" on display are actually A-12's. (Even to the point that the plaque says SR-71, when it's not).

I know the one at Offut is actually an SR-71, as is the one at Dulles.

http://www.sacmuseum.org/

Actually it now sits about 30 miles away from Offutt right inside the entrance to the Strategic Air and Space Museum these days.

As for the A-12, here's some pics I took of the one that is at the Minnesota Air National Guard Museum in Minneapolis (took these almost two years ago).

[Apollo Leader]

Note the single cockpit. "We don't need no stinkin' RSO's!"

[Apollo Leader]

One of the other notable features of the A-12 was that the chines (otherwise the "hood") of the A-12 wasn't as flared out as on the later SR-71.

[Apollo Leader]

On the boarding ladder right near the A-12, aviation writer and former Minnesota Air Guard member James Goodall (who has written many a book on Lockheed's aircraft) has himself as the crew chief! While he was still a part of the MANG during the early 1990's, Mr. Goodall was the man responsible for getting this A-12 for this museum's collection. At the time, this A-12 was the biggest item ever carried on a C-5!

Edited May 10, 2005 by Apollo Leader

[Zentrandude]

glane...i think u needa re-upload the picture...it's not showing up completely on my side

That's the top secret portion of the picture.

might be for me it stops loading just under his chin.

pretty cool.

[JB0]

Mmmm... so beautiful...

I love Blackbirds.

[Solscud007]

what is an A12? is it the dual cockpit sr-71?

[Akilae]

Huh, this is interesting, just found out that we still have three operational Blackbirds around... anybody know if they're just there for NASA to perform fancy speed tests or for those "just in case" scenarios that Congress seems to think about all the time (a la keeping two Iowas in the Navy ship registry...)?

[Knight26]

what is an A12? is it the dual cockpit sr-71?

The A-12 predates the Blackbird, and is a single seater. It was commissioned by the CIA as a spy-plane, the term A-12 is actually short of Archangel-12, as the A-12 was the 12th design of the archangel program. THere are some excellent books and websites that explain the whole history.

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

Pretty cool but cramped. I pity the pilot who had to sit in that space for 12 hours in a space suit.

I envy the guys who got to fly that beauty, cramped cockpit or not.

[glane21]

Sorry about the picture, I will resize it and add more. This is a real Blackbird, it has the rear seat and all that. It's at the Airforce Aviation Museum at Robbins AFB south of Atlanta. It's still leaking fuel from the rear belly from where the panels are not completely sealed to allow heat expansion during flight. I have a shot of the instrument panel too. There are several missing components which I assume were the secret bits.

I was told the guy who was shot down over Russia in the U2 had flown this 71 at some point.

Edited May 11, 2005 by glane21

[Solscud007]

U2 PLANES ARE CRAZY!!!! I was flying my long x-country solo preflight with ym instructor. we were flying the flight plan that I woudl go over during my actual solo. We wer flying into mohave desert area via palmdale. we got clearance to enter Palmdale Airports airspace and then a few minutes later the tower says a U2 will me taking off. At first my instructor and I didnt understand what he meant as the little 152 is noisy and our head sets arent that clear. Then it dawnes on me "Holy sh!t!!! the U2 spy plane?"

and right as i said thah WHOOOSSHHH this thing rose at an alarming rate of climb that seemed alien. (the plane was not vertical nor had its nose pitched for climb. it was a flat climb) also it made no noise which was eerie. it was only about 1-2 miles away from me.

[Zentrandude]

also the documentary of the u2 is pretty cool. I like how the this one guy talked about the skin being so thin that its insanely easy to dent it while building it.

[HWR MKII]

There is another good SR-71C out at the Air museum at Hill AFB in salt lake city. The museum is free to get into. They had an extra motor on display outside the acft last time i was there. There is also another Cmodel at Duxford air museum here in the UK.

[F-ZeroOne]

There is also another Cmodel at Duxford air museum here in the UK.

I've seen that one, but unfortunately couldn't get as close as I would have liked as they were refurbishing the USAF section at the time. Would have liked to be there on the day it was bought into the UK, though:

Her Majestys Customs Officials: "Anything to declare, sir?"

[Fort Max]

There is also another Cmodel at Duxford air museum here in the UK.

I've seen that one, but unfortunately couldn't get as close as I would have liked as they were refurbishing the USAF section at the time. Would have liked to be there on the day it was bought into the UK, though:

Her Majestys Customs Officials: "Anything to declare, sir?"

Yeah, I've been up there twice in recent years just to see that Plane. I'm not really a massive aircraft fan but that thing just fills me with awe and I feel kinda proud to actually be able to see one here anytime.

It's an absolute ho to take nice pics of though as it's stored in really cramped hangers.

[JB0]

what is an A12? is it the dual cockpit sr-71?

The A-12 predates the Blackbird, and is a single seater. It was commissioned by the CIA as a spy-plane, the term A-12 is actually short of Archangel-12, as the A-12 was the 12th design of the archangel program. THere are some excellent books and websites that explain the whole history.

Short version:

CIA commissioned A-12 for a high-speed, high-flight U2 replacement.

While the A-12 was being developed, we signed a treaty with the USSR to ban overflights. As the A-12's cameras all looked straight down, it was virtually useless when it was ready.

So the Air Force got the SR-71, which has side-view cameras.

[Fatalist]

If you do a search on Google Images for A-12, you'll come up with a site that actually has cockpit images for both the A-12 as well as the SR-71. Some look as if they didnt take out any secret bits. Others look like they did.

Try this out. http://tinyurl.com/8u6xs

[David Hingtgen]

Seems the one that started the thread is 61-17958. It is an SR-71. Huh, there's 3 A-12's in Alabama, while Georgia has a single SR-71.

"What the Hell's an A-12, Anyway, and Why Are They So Cool?"

http://www.serve.com/mahood/a-12/a-12s.htm

Quite interesting to read the rest of the links on that site, the guy went out to Area 51 and found the crash site of 60-6928 (no one else ever had). And brought home some titanium.

List of where all the Blacknbirds are (though I like calling the A-12 the Cygnus):

http://www.blackbirds.net/sr71/srloc.html

Edited May 11, 2005 by David Hingtgen

[glane21]

**Updated pictures in first post**

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

I always wonder, 40 odd years after the A-12, how many aerospace industries/countries out there can build an aircraft with similar performance parameters?

And how much would it cost the US to build another bird with similar performance in 2005 dollars?

[David Hingtgen]

It's not so much the structure, as the systems. Even something as "simple" as a fuel pump has to be totally designed from scratch. Early Blackbirds had problems with the wiring becoming unsoldered in flight as it heated up, then resoldering itself in different places as it cooled again. THAT can really mess up the electrical systems... Most equipment and liquids used in jets just will not take the heat of continuous Mach 3 operation.

[JB0]

It's not so much the structure, as the systems. Even something as "simple" as a fuel pump has to be totally designed from scratch.

Can't even use normal oils and fuels, for that matter.

Early Blackbirds had problems with the wiring becoming unsoldered in flight as it heated up, then resoldering itself in different places as it cooled again.  THAT can really mess up the electrical systems... 

Understatement of the year award.

  Most equipment and liquids used in jets just will not take the heat of continuous Mach 3 operation.

Along with conventional alloys.

As I recall, part of the Blackbird's cost WAS the abnormaly high % of titanium they had to use to make it not fold up in flight(and even then they had to add some... unconventional... features like corrugated wing surfaces to stop them from curling in-flight), though it was, relatively speaking, a minor issue in the development.

Note that I'm sure you already knew this stuff.

Just bringing it up for those that don't.

I'm always amazed by how much went into the Blackbird.

[David Hingtgen]

Ironically, one of the reasons there's so little titanium in the XB-70 is because had it gone into production, it would have required over 1/4 of the USA's titanium at the time, at the rate and numbers the USAF wanted. The SR-71 was "allowed" to have so much titanium in its structure as it was supposed to be such a limited production aircraft (and it was). They could have a few dozen medium-large spy planes, but hundreds of gigantic B-70's would have required new titanium mines to be opened...

[Hiriyu]

Speaking of irony, I've heard that much of the titanium used in the construction of the SR-71s had to be purchased direct from the USSR, as the US' supply was so limited.