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BLACKBIRD |
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by Dan Birch
Blackbird History: Lockheed's SR-71 Blackbird was ahead of its time. The history of the SR-71 can be traced back to 1957, the year that Lockheed's Advanced Development Project (better known as "Skunk Works") began exploring the feasibility of a higher-flying, faster, and less radar-visible alternative to the U-2. "Skunk Works" was originally called "Skonk Works," which was the name of a secret moonshine distillery in Al Capp's "Li'l Abner" comic strip. The name was changed slightly after Mr. Capp's editor threatened legal action for copyright infringement. The SR-71 was designed without the aid of modern computers, but rather using slide rules and the "primitive" drafting techniques of the time. Its planning and construction were undertaken in total secrecy. The Blackbird program began as a project called "Archangel" eventually resulting in the single-seat A-11 (which evolved into the more stealthy A-12, code named OXCART) flown by civilian CIA pilots, an interceptor version called the YF-12A, and finally the two-seat SR-71 (code named SENIOR CROWN) flown by the U.S. Air Force. "SR" referred to its planned role as a strike/reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft was originally designated the RS-71, but the letters were reversed after President Lyndon B. Johnson's now-infamous flub when he misread the name while announcing the program's existence to the world during a press conference on 24 July 1964. The first flight of the SR-71 was on 22 December 1964, with Lockheed test pilot Bob Gilliland in the driver's seat. Now, at the outset of the 21st century, the Blackbird is still the most unique, fastest, highest-flying "air-breathing" aircraft in the world. The Blackbird, or "habu" as it is known by Air Force insiders, is capable of sustained speeds in excess of Mach 3 and has an altitude ceiling of over 80,000 feet. It was the first generation of "stealth" aircraft, utilizing Radar Absorbing Material to give it a radar cross-section of less than ten square meters. Blackbird Specifications:
A Record-shattering AircraftBelow are just a few official blackbird records. As impressive as these are, the habu is unofficially rumored to have flown higher and faster! For example, in his book "Conquer the Sky" (Metro Books, 1996), Harold Rabinowitz states: "The SR-71 began its life as theYF-12, a high-speed interceptor fighter--fromcertain angles, in fact, an SR-71 looks to betwo aircraft melded together down the middle.The plane has been modified and improved manytimes since its introduction in 1964--newmaterials, new systems, and most importantly,new fuels have allowed the aircraft to reach itspotential speed of Mach 7-plus. However, theworld's airplane speed record is held by WilliamJ. "Pete" Knight, who flew an X-15-2A overEdwards Air Force Base at 4,535 miles per hour(7,297 kph), or Mach 6.72--a record set onOctober 3, 1967. Aviation observers point outthat several U.S. military aircraft (even somelater models of the SR-71) may be capable ofgreater speeds and that the USAF may well have established new records in secret since." For another viewpoint on just how high and how fast the Blackbird can go, consider the following, from John Stone's " Blackbird Myth & Fact":The fastest published speed of the SR is Mach 3.5. There are several factors that limit the speed of the SR, one is the shock waves generated by various parts of the plane, at around Mach 3.6-3.8 the shock wave off the nose of the aircraft narrows enough to go into the engine, while there is the inlet spike (which slows the air to subsonic before it enters the engine), the shock wave bypasses the spike and causes the engine to unstart. Second is the heat generated by the plane moving through the atmosphere, even titanium has its limits, and the heat generated by the SR brings the fuselage to the brink. Just recently I found out that during a Lockheed Skunk Works study to see how much money and development it would take to get the SR to go faster than its designed top speed 3.2-3.5, the designers discovered (among other things) that the metal divider between the windshield was heating up so much above mach 3.5 that it was affecting the integrity of the windshield, and at that point they had stretched the glass technology to the max! So Mach 3.2 to a max of 3.5. Now according to Richard Graham: "The design Mach number of the SR-71 is 3.2 Mach. When authorized by the Commander, speeds up to Mach 3.3 may be flown if the CIT limit of 427 degrees C. is not exceeded. I have heard of crews reaching 3.5 Mach inadvertently, but that is the absolute maximum I am aware of." How high does the SR really fly, and do the Pilot and RSO get astronaut wings after flying the SR? The SR doesn't fly quite that high, the highest altitude I've heard attributed to the SR was 100,000 ft (18.93 miles), all the Air Force and Lockheed admit to is above 80,000 ft. To get astronaut wings you have to fly at least 264,000 ft (50 miles). Which the SR (even though it's a fantastic aircraft) doesn't get close to that altitude! Richard Graham contributes: "The SR-71s engines require a sufficient quantity of air in order to operate. The maximum altitude limit is 85,000 feet unless a higher altitude is specifically authorized. Again, I have heard of crews inadvertently reaching 87,000 feet, but no higher."
Farewell to the Blackbird?This page is my tribute to these sleek, black planes and their pilots and crews. As of 1998, the habu is no longer on active military duty, having been offered up by U.S. Air Force top brass to President Clinton's line item veto, effectively "re-retiring" the aircraft. As of July 1999, four Blackbirds (original Air Force serial numbers < a href="http://www.habu.org/sr-71/17956.html">17956, 17967, 17971, and 17980 are now being flown by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. Serial numbers 17956 and 17980 were given tail numbers 831 and 844 by NASA. All four planes are being used for high-speed, high-altitude research.The SR-71 is unparalleled in its ability to make high-speed passes over sensitive, high-threat areas. It can photograph, in great detail, 100,000 square miles of terrain in an hour. The Blackbird's cameras are said to be able to resolve an object the size of a golf ball from an altitude of more than 80,000 feet. Its speed makes it superior to the U-2 when surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles are a threat; its unpredictability makes it superior to satellite reconnaissance when sensitive intelligence of enemy territory is required. According to Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, former head of Skunk Works, over 1000 enemy SAMs (surface-to-air missiles) were fired at the SR-71. Not a single one hit its target.
Unfortunately, a campaign of misinformation mounted by the U.S. Air Force and the Federal Government has put the final nail in the coffin of the SR-71 program. Perhaps the low profile of the program has worked against it, as many government and military officials who worked so hard to kill the program didn't even know what the SR-71 did!
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