http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/

dont know how many people have seen this one.

im guessing not many

enjoy

this one is just nutty

http://www.wimp.com/samsungflexible/

Yea that was some cool stuff.

Thanks

Pretty good for a 55 year old plane, huh?

Gotta love the Lockheed Skunk Works. Ahead of time and under budget.

Very cool stuff thanks for sharing.
I have one question. How do they stop the plane without it falling over before the get the drop off wheels under the wings? It is very much designed like a glider but no rollers in the wingtips.

Quote:

Originally posted by rocfighter Very cool stuff thanks for sharing. I have one question. How do they stop the plane without it falling over before the get the drop off wheels under the wings? It is very much designed like a glider but no rollers in the wingtips.

They don't. The wingtips have titanium skids and one will contact the ground after it stops. Ground crews then re-inset the "pogos" - or wing wheel struts into sockets in the wings for the taxi back to the hangar.

very cool stuff... suck to get that itch tho

Thanks Angus. I figured it was something to that aspect. But wasn't sure. Always good to ask.

I love this place! thanks for sharing

omg when he said he was gettin that itch, holy crap that could drive a man mad

I know that same itch , while welding a critical joint, and right in the middle of the root pass. You get that bead of sweat on your nose that triggers some kind of bodily reflex you cannot resist stopping in mid bead..... I hate that

If you guys want a good read, check out...
# Rich, Ben; Janos, Leo. (1996) "Skunk Works". Little, Brown & Company, ISBN 0-316-74300-3

Ben Rich worked on the the U2 and SR 71 Blackbird. It was back in the day before the $8,000 hammer and the $100k Coffee machine. Things at the Skunk Works were done ahead of schedule, under budget and usually exceeded expectations. Fixes were make with scrap metal and duct tape and on-the-fly ingenuity.

The 50 year old Blackbird is still the COOLEST and FASTEST airplane ever!

I saw on Discovery that the designer witnessed two separate UFO sightings over a few decades beforehand. When they looked at his UFO reports and sketches, they noticed he, uh, borrowed a few design elements for the Blackbird! :alien:

Two funny things about the Blackbird...

It was built with Titanium imported from the USSR with a bogus cover story about its intended use. The joke was on them.

The skin of the aircraft was loose and mis-aligned at rest or when taxiing on the ground, causing fuel to pour out all over the place. When it took off and gained speed, the friction caused the airframe to heat and expand, lengthening by several inches, pulling the skin tight and stopping the leaks. Then they would re-fuel in the air before the mission.

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell Two funny things about the Blackbird... It was built with Titanium imported from the USSR with a bogus cover story about its intended use. The joke was on them. The skin of the aircraft was loose and mis-aligned at rest or when taxiing on the ground, causing fuel to pour out all over the place. When it took off and gained speed, the friction caused the airframe to heat and expand, lengthening by several inches, pulling the skin tight and stopping the leaks. Then they would re-fuel in the air before the mission.

really? thats pretty cool.... dang, aerospace engineers for ya

Definitely one of my all time favorite planes. Never could tire of watching those things take off during my years stationed at Beale, especially the ones at dusk.

I actually spent 2 hours on the phone with one of the 25 or so pilots of the SR for a high school project, and he had some incredible stories.

He said the speeds that are recorded as its maximum (2+ mach or something) are "what have been declassified". He said the engines weren't even trying!

Quote:

Originally posted by flyboy15 He said the speeds that are recorded as its maximum (2+ mach or something) are "what have been declassified". He said the engines weren't even trying!

Very true (+3 is actually the released to the public speed) Would be nice to know what it really was capable of though.

I read that at that speed a bullet fired from a 30-06 rifle couldn't keep up with it if it was fired directly behind the jet. Def my favorite plane of all time. A friend was in the USAF stationed in Japan and said they had to fly circles around the base before landing in order to slow down.

It is strange this must se Blackbird week I have had e-mails and other forums I follow bring this up. In 1966-67 I was an Air Force photographer assigned to Edwards Air Force base and we had an SR71 and YF12A ( fighter test platform). I didn't have much to do with the program but we would have photographers on the flight line during some test in case a landing or take off went bad. It was very cool as a 20 year old to see and document.

as for Beamer Bobs comment 2100 mph about mach 3 is 3080 ft/sec faster than a bullet. BTW the XB-70 which was still flying at that time would also do mach3 and it was a lot bigger.

Finaly the attached link is a briefing giving by Pat Halloran ex af piolt for both U2 and SR71

This is the first public release of a description of missions flown by the
U-2 and the SR-71. The video is about one hour long, but I was glued to my
computer for the entire time.

They certainly flew missions that nobody was aware of; like air sampling of
nuclear residue from nuclear bomb tests.

This speech is from his appearance at EAA Chapter 252's annual banquet.

http://tinyurl.com/ydl6a5d