
The Thrill of Flying the SR-71 Blackbird - jaxc
http://www.vfp62.com/SR-71.html
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fizx
I just wanted to chime in that the reason I'm a programmer today is that my
grandpa helped program the navigation systems on the SR-71. I found that
slightly inspirational :)

~~~
jacquesm
That's so cool. Imagine, most of us don't even have dad programmers, and you
have a granddad programmer and one working on such interesting stuff to boot.

Is he still alive today? And if so does he still work with computers?

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fizx
He passed (at 82, I believe) about seven years ago. It was both sad and not
sad, as he lived a long and amazing life.

He programmed the guidance systems of one of the Titan series rockets. He also
was in the Navy in WWII. At one point, his destroyer was sunk, and spent a few
days in the open ocean before being rescued. He was also present at the
Japanese surrender ceremony.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of learning to play chess with him
over Christmas vacation. He was a truly kind man, and an inspiration to many.

~~~
ja27
My dad passed away a few years ago. He worked in defense electronics for 30+
years. It's kind of weird that I know very little of what he actually worked
on. I know he did a lot of work on what became GPS and on Tomahawk and F/A-18
projects, but so much of what he worked on will probably always be a mystery
to me.

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lotharbot
I like the more complete version of the "ground speed check" story (which I
heard from Brian Shul directly): he says he and Walt hadn't really "clicked"
yet, that they were just kinda co-inhabitants of the same jet but not really a
team, until that moment. It was when Brian was about to ask the question, and
the radio clicked on and Walt asked the exact same question, that he felt they
finally became a team.

For those concerned with the level of "mysticism" in this: Brian Shul is a
remarkable pilot from a technical perspective. But do you really want to read
his technical descriptions of flight? He's done a good job of describing the
sensations in a way non-pilots can understand.

~~~
decode
You can read the full version of the story here:

<http://blog.johnwurth.com/?p=110>

~~~
jbyers
Definitely worth reading, more detail on that incident that the parent
article. And just awesome.

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signa11
i find this
[[http://www.sunlakesaeroclub.org/updates_web_data/050828/SR71...](http://www.sunlakesaeroclub.org/updates_web_data/050828/SR71_breakup.htm)]
to be even more amazing...

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jacquesm
Wow. That's just plain scary. It also makes me appreciate more why high jet
fighter suits look like space suits, without it the guy would have surely been
dead.

Another interesting bit: "The SR-71 had a turning radius of about 100 mi. at
that speed and altitude".

And "The ejection seat had never left the airplane; I had been ripped out of
it by the extreme forces, seat belt and shoulder harness still fastened.".
Just wow...

What a pity his buddy didn't make it.

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zandor
If anyone is interested in a bit more of the history behind the aircraft (also
the U-2 and the F-117), do check out Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir... by Ben
Rich

It's a great read!

<http://www.amazon.com/dp/0316743003>

~~~
michael_nielsen
Seconded, it's a fascinating book, both as a memoir of how to do fantastically
ambitious engineering, and also how to manage a remarkable group of engineers.
The analogue for the web would be something like reading an account of Google
written by Page or Brin.

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scdlbx
The author states that he graduated high school in 1966 and that he built a
model of the the SR-71 when he was 10, presumably 1958 if he graduated at 18.
He also states that the SR-71 was designed in 1960. Some of this doesn't quite
seem right.

~~~
jacquesm
There is a Colonel Walter L. Watson though:

<http://scafricanamerican.com/public/pdf/honorees/112004.pdf>

The story feels a little strange though, the amount of 'mystic' connection
between the plane and the pilot would make me worried if someone that prone to
it would be piloting a 747 I'm a passenger on.

The pilot would be 'Brian Shul' <http://www.sleddriver.com/>

~~~
dasil003
_The story feels a little strange though, the amount of 'mystic' connection
between the plane and the pilot would make me worried if someone that prone to
it would be piloting a 747 I'm a passenger on._

Really? "Mysticism" scares you so much that you'd rather your flight be
piloted by a clock punching union man then what the Air Force deemed to be one
of the best?

~~~
jacquesm
Strawman much ? There is a long way to go between a clock punching union man
and a person that does not let his love for the machine get in the way of
objectivity.

Personally I think that those bits are just to juice up the story, but you
really have to wonder at passages like: "Like the combat veteran she is, the
jet senses the target area and seems to prepare herself." and "There seems to
be a confirmed trust now, between me and the jet; she will not hesitate to
deliver whatever speed we need".

~~~
aristoxenus
At least two things at play there:

1) Intuition. His non-conscious brain has developed an understanding of the
machine.

2) Focus. When you're a warrior in his situation, you can't be second-guessing
your horse. That calculation was made on the ground, and now he's committed --
to be effective, he needs to be fully confident that he's well-taken care of.
The human brain seems to be wired for a euphoric reaction to complete and
utter trust (parental/social/religious bonding?), and that he was able to let
that system kick in at such a moment speaks a lot about his abilities as a
pilot and about the engineering feat embodied in that jet.

~~~
aristoxenus
Ok, and one more thing -- poetic license. The guy is a great storyteller.

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mhd
I'm not a big plane or car nut, but the SR-71 just emanated cool. Having a
modified carbon copy as the X-Men's "Blackbird" certainly helped...

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steadicat
The speeds mentioned in this article (Mach 3.5+), are significantly higher
than the official airspeed records, set by the SR-71 itself (about Mach 2.9):

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastest_aircraft>

Fascinating.

~~~
pedrocr
You're calculating it with speed of sound at sea level. At 80,000 feet the
3,530 km/h speed record is Mach 3.289 according to wolframalpha, still bellow
the 3.45 claimed in the article. Although it is understandable that this
mission wouldn't count for a speed record.

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ajtaylor
"With all inlet doors tightly shut, at 3.24 Mach, the J-58s are more like
ramjets now, gulping 100,000 cubic feet of air per second."

Wow... what an awesome job to be able to fly one of these birds!

I had a friend in Boston who first flew fighters (F-16 IIRC) and then managed
to switch over to the B-2 Stealth Bomber. Apparently it is not common to
switch between the two types of platforms. It's a shame he was retired from
the AF or I would have begged a ride. :-)

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thejake
This reads a bit like fan fiction. Anyone know its authenticity?

~~~
bittersweet
It seems to be from the book 'Sled Driver' by Brian Shul [1] according to the
following website [2], on which I found the same article of the parent link.

I'm a bit confused though, as I have read the part about the groundspeed check
before, I found it again here [3]. This version is longer and worded more
beautifully in my opinion. The poster below that is mentioning that it's from
the same book so I'm a bit confused.

[1] <https://galleryonepublishing.com/sleddriver/index.html> [2]
[http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds/2007/11/19/sr-71-now-that-
was-s...](http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds/2007/11/19/sr-71-now-that-was-some-
airplane/) [3] [http://www.expressjetpilots.com/the-
pipe/showthread.php?3197...](http://www.expressjetpilots.com/the-
pipe/showthread.php?31978-ASPEN-20-SR-71-Groundspeed-Check)

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Ben65
If you'd like to get a close look at one, there's one in the SAC museum, just
outside of Omaha, NE.

<http://www.sasmuseum.com/2008/11/21/sr-71a-blackbird/>

~~~
gvb
There is also one in the AirZoo in Kalamazoo, MI. <http://www.airzoo.org/>
<http://www.airzoo.org/page.php?menu_id=3>

Picture of the SR-71: <http://www.airzoo.org/page.php?menu_id=108>

It is a _very_ nice museum, well worth some visits.

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scharan
Reading this article was the most interesting experience I have had in a long
time. The passion and feel of the description and the imagery being described
really resonated with my geeky soul. RIP SR-71. You are a truly magnificent
creation.

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kreneskyp
I've loved this plane since I read about it in popular science as a grade
school kid. I still remember this line from the article, "after it lands it so
hot you can fry an egg on the fuselage".

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drtse4
Nice video: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1250fZuhUg>

Issues with fuel reported in the story @3:09.

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mambodog
All I can say about that page is thanks Readability for actually making it
readable/viewable! (What's going on with the massive images?)

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SpacemanSpiff
some great blackbird info on this site, including the flight manual!
<http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/>

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amichail
If this plane looked ugly, would anyone care that it is the fastest plane ever
made?

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hugh3
Possibly not. The X-15 (while arguably a rocket with wings rather than an
aeroplane) was much faster and less pretty, and you won't find so many nine-
year-olds with posters of it.

~~~
jrockway
It also never flew a real mission. The SR-71 was a real airplane that could
take off, fly a mission, and land. The X-15 had to be ferried into space by
another aircraft, then it flew around for a while, and then it could destroy
part of itself, and finally land.

Pretty or not, the SR-71 was a lot more practical.

~~~
joe_bleau
Never flew a real mission? It was an experimental _research_ tool. Or is Mach
6.72 not 'real' enough for you?

It was carried aloft, not into space, by a B-52.

~~~
jrockway
I'm just explaining why I think kids don't have posters of it on their walls.
Experimental research plane? Yawn. Real plane? Awesome.

