Interview with an SR-71 Pilot
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The was an awesome video, would have liked to see the business end of the engines - the "cans".
Fantastic video! Engine grows 6 inches during flight!
Don't be deceived, there are two war machines on display in this video - the aircraft and the pilot!
Interesting and very impressive!
Scott
Interesting and very impressive!
Scott
My grandpa worked on the SR-71 project way back in the day- the engines weren't the only thing that grew during flight. All of the hydraulics suffered similar "growing" pains- he said when the plane was sitting on the runway or in a hanger they leaked fluid pretty badly until they figured some things out on how to better keep them sealed up. When the plane was in flight, the skin of the craft was hot enough that a hydraulic leak could spontaneously combust. It was amazing to hear some of these stories and to find out he had worked closely with Kelly Johnson after they had initially retired the planes and did the televised cross-country flight. We had all known my grandpa had worked for Moog during the time, and had weird travel schedules back in the late 50s and early 60s, but nobody in the family, not even my grandma, had known he had worked on the SR-71 project. Was very cool to find out!
Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
My grandpa worked on the SR-71 project way back in the day- the engines weren't the only thing that grew during flight. All of the hydraulics suffered similar "growing" pains- he said when the plane was sitting on the runway or in a hanger they leaked fluid pretty badly until they figured some things out on how to better keep them sealed up. When the plane was in flight, the skin of the craft was hot enough that a hydraulic leak could spontaneously combust. It was amazing to hear some of these stories and to find out he had worked closely with Kelly Johnson after they had initially retired the planes and did the televised cross-country flight. We had all known my grandpa had worked for Moog during the time, and had weird travel schedules back in the late 50s and early 60s, but nobody in the family, not even my grandma, had known he had worked on the SR-71 project. Was very cool to find out!
They never figured out how to seal them up. They had to refuel in air once they got warm before they could execute long range missions because they leaked so much fuel on the ground. They always dripped on the runway before takeoff.
My grandpa worked on the SR-71 project way back in the day- the engines weren't the only thing that grew during flight. All of the hydraulics suffered similar "growing" pains- he said when the plane was sitting on the runway or in a hanger they leaked fluid pretty badly until they figured some things out on how to better keep them sealed up. When the plane was in flight, the skin of the craft was hot enough that a hydraulic leak could spontaneously combust. It was amazing to hear some of these stories and to find out he had worked closely with Kelly Johnson after they had initially retired the planes and did the televised cross-country flight. We had all known my grandpa had worked for Moog during the time, and had weird travel schedules back in the late 50s and early 60s, but nobody in the family, not even my grandma, had known he had worked on the SR-71 project. Was very cool to find out!
They never figured out how to seal them up. They had to refuel in air once they got warm before they could execute long range missions because they leaked so much fuel on the ground. They always dripped on the runway before takeoff.
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That interview was done at the Boeing Aircraft museum in Seattle.
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I saw the A12 on the carrier museum in NY back in 2010...
to think that the 1957 Chev was state of the art amazes me.
Here's an audio only lecture...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT4uwr_eJnY
(and a site to turn it into an MP3 so you can listen on your phone https://ytmp3.cc/ )
to think that the 1957 Chev was state of the art amazes me.
Here's an audio only lecture...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT4uwr_eJnY
(and a site to turn it into an MP3 so you can listen on your phone https://ytmp3.cc/ )
Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
My grandpa worked on the SR-71 project way back in the day- the engines weren't the only thing that grew during flight. All of the hydraulics suffered similar "growing" pains- he said when the plane was sitting on the runway or in a hanger they leaked fluid pretty badly until they figured some things out on how to better keep them sealed up. When the plane was in flight, the skin of the craft was hot enough that a hydraulic leak could spontaneously combust. It was amazing to hear some of these stories and to find out he had worked closely with Kelly Johnson after they had initially retired the planes and did the televised cross-country flight. We had all known my grandpa had worked for Moog during the time, and had weird travel schedules back in the late 50s and early 60s, but nobody in the family, not even my grandma, had known he had worked on the SR-71 project. Was very cool to find out!
Pretty darn cool !!
My grandpa worked on the SR-71 project way back in the day- the engines weren't the only thing that grew during flight. All of the hydraulics suffered similar "growing" pains- he said when the plane was sitting on the runway or in a hanger they leaked fluid pretty badly until they figured some things out on how to better keep them sealed up. When the plane was in flight, the skin of the craft was hot enough that a hydraulic leak could spontaneously combust. It was amazing to hear some of these stories and to find out he had worked closely with Kelly Johnson after they had initially retired the planes and did the televised cross-country flight. We had all known my grandpa had worked for Moog during the time, and had weird travel schedules back in the late 50s and early 60s, but nobody in the family, not even my grandma, had known he had worked on the SR-71 project. Was very cool to find out!
Pretty darn cool !!
I think this has been posted here before, but it's worthy of a repeat.
Another interview with an SR-71 Pilot.
Love that plane and the pilots for essentially defecating on enemy nations in full view and impunity for decades. Even if they had never gathered a single speck of data, the message was clear: The United States is way better than you are.
Amazing technological achievement, especially for the time.
Amazing technological achievement, especially for the time.
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