# Flying the SR-71 Blackbird



## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

First hand account of flying 500 hours in this marvel of technology

http://www.vfp62.com/SR-71.html

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## peck1234 (Aug 27, 2008)

very cool, thanks for the share...


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

That site has many other nice pics of military aircraft.

You are welcome.

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## techkid (Sep 2, 2004)

That was a pretty fascinating read. That would be unlike anything else on this planet.


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

Flight Manual for the SR-71

http://www.sr-71.org/

Link to the manual on that page seems to be broken right now.

: -(

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## paisanol69 (Sep 7, 2005)

Thank you for that Link Mumbo,

She was a great plane !!!


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

I did not realize there were different models of the SR.

Emailed the site about the broken link, here was the reply



> The web site is getting hammered by another site and it had to be taken
> down temporarily.
> 
> Paul


Should be back up in a day or two.

you can donate $12 to get the manual on CD, this helps support the site, or wait and download it for free when it is back up.

http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/yf-12a-1/

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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

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> Heavy referral traffic has taken down our database and the SR-71 Flight Manual with it. It should be back up and running by 5/17/2010.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

If you can't afford the real thing, maybe you might like the model?

SR-71 Blackbird Model Flies


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

JohnWill said:


> If you can't afford the real thing, maybe you might like the model?
> 
> SR-71 Blackbird Model Flies


Thanks John, nice video. Pricey looking pet project.

I wonder when they will be for sale at the Wal Mart stores


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I can only imagine what that model cost!  It's sure a cool thing to take to the flying field!


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

You know, if that thing flew over my house at the right altitude, I doubt I could tell its a model...but then I am near blind these days.

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## paisanol69 (Sep 7, 2005)

Jeeze JW !


What a fantastic bird. It's definately not for the beginner. I wonder how much time he had invested, with trial and error, and actually building the plane! 

I am soooo jealous, I got to have one of those!


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Just imagine if you crashed it how sick you'd feel! 

My brother is really big into models, he has a new setup with video, autopilot, and GPS navigation! You stick your goggles on and fly it just like you're inside the plane. That would be a cool addition to this one.


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## paisanol69 (Sep 7, 2005)

JohnWill said:


> Just imagine if you crashed it how sick you'd feel!
> 
> My brother is really big into models, he has a new setup with video, autopilot, and GPS navigation! You stick your goggles on and fly it just like you're inside the plane. That would be a cool addition to this one.


...if you crashed that one, you're talking months, if not a year or 2, to get it back to flying condition

I wonder just how long, including the trial and error phase, it took that gent to build the one in the video. I noticed that as he re-installed the access cover, once he had it purring/whistling ( did you notice the man that started backing up, as if he wasn't sure what was going to happen ?) that the access cover fit tightly, and he seemed to twist/rotate some sort of locking device to keep it secured. *That was some craftmanship, the way the jet was built!* And judging by the way he was controlling/flying it, he aint no rookie either!


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Yep, he obviously had a few hours flying, that's not a beginner's model!

My brother has been flying models for around 30 years, he's the guy at their field that people bring their new builds to for a test flight. Many times a model has some surprises in store with their handling, so you want a guy that has the most experience and skill to make the first flight.

He's rapidly getting rid of all his gas models and going electric, some of those have amazing performance, and it's much less messy. His twin with the video and autopilot is an electric airplane.


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## win2kpro (Jul 19, 2005)

Here's a great 6 part documentary on the Blackbird. Kelly Johnson was a true genius.


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

win2kpro said:


> Here's a great 6 part documentary on the Blackbird. Kelly Johnson was a true genius.


Does anyone know which Documentary this is? There are several on the SR71.

Thanks for the link.


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## win2kpro (Jul 19, 2005)

I don't quite understand your question, but just follow the link to part 1, then on to part 2, etc.


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

Let me re phrase, who is the author of this documentary. Was it made for TV, ect.


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

Reflections of a Former U-2 Pilot

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/opinion/07Espinoza.html



> I flew the U-2 during the 1990s, and I received this news as if I had learned that an old friend was dying. It may seem odd to grieve for a machine. But the U-2 is no ordinary vehicle. Some in my world call flying the plane a religion, others a calling. For me it was a gift.
> 
> The U-2 is nicknamed the Dragon Lady for good reason. You never knew what to expect when you took it into the air, no matter how seasoned a pilot you were. This was an unfortunate consequence of its design. The trade-off of a plane built light enough to fly above 70,000 feet is that it is almost impossible to control. And 13 miles above the ground, the atmosphere is so thin that the "envelope" between stalling and "overspeed" - going so fast you lose control of the plane, resulting in an unrecoverable nose dive - is razor-thin, making minor disruptions, even turbulence, as deadly as a missile. The challenge is even greater near the ground, since to save weight, the plane doesn't have normal landing gear.
> 
> As I was told before one of my tryout flights, "Landing the U-2 is a lot like playing pool. It's not so much how you shoot as how you set up your shot." Or, as my former wing commander said, "We've all had moments when we could just as easily have made one tiny move the other way and ended up dead."


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