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Constantly flying at, or above 80,000+ ft above sea level, the SR-71 Blackbird eluded us its common greatness when it achieved this without much effort! 😎😏
Just your every day pic of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier. This is what 767 mph looks like in perfect conditions.
Those were the days!
30 years ago today, a Blackbird smashed a transcontinental speed record. On Mar. 6, 1990, SR-71 Blackbird S/N 61-7972 (tail number #972) made its final flight from AF Flight Test Center Plant 42 in…
Kudos to budding filmmakers Andy and Dan for this project. Commendable effort!
Dan & Andy chronicle their journey making an action-packed aviation film about Swedish combat jets challenging the uncatchable American SR-71 Blackbird. Than...
Thanks Doc! 😎
(Via Doctrine Man)
December 22nd, 1964, The first flight of Lockheed's Skunk Works, and the brain child of Kelly Johnson, super secret Strategic Reconnaissance SR-71, was designed with a minimal radar cross section, loaded with electronic countermeasures, and a deep blue/black paint to increase its internal heat emiss...
Good assessment.
The US Military crafted a spy plane so sophisticated it could spy on Russian bases and never be shot down. The SR 71 was the perfect feat of aeronautical eng...
I'll allow it.
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's… no, it's a plane. #mondaymadness
America's secret supersonic spy drones flew over China in the 1960s
After a CIA pilot named Francis Gary Powers was shot down in a U-2 Spy Plane over the Soviet Union, the US tried something different.
🌠😎
Talk about a photo bomber. A U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bomber based out of Missouri flies 60 feet above a group of plane spotters after a training mission in Europe. https://fxn.ws/2kMsLET
Relevant.
On this day 60 years ago, the OXCART project began. In 2007, this A12-- one of only nine remaining-- was transferred to Langley by the Air Force. Today, it is a symbol of successful collaboration between the Intelligence Community, the Defense Department, and private industry.
The Plane that Dreams are Made Of: The SR-71 Blackbird
The SR-71 Blackbird is one of the most advanced aircraft ever built. And it was built over fifty years ago. The Blackbird Family: http://youtu.be/S2xgI3wQbWQ...
Good clip!
In 1966, an SR-71 "Blackbird" disintegrated at 78,000 feet. The pilot's first thought was "No one could live through what just happened. Therefore, I must be...
Untouchable.
CIA #Museum Artifact of the Week: Untouchable
Under the highly secret Project OXCART, CIA developed the A‑12 as the U-2’s successor, intended to meet our nation’s need for a very fast, very high-flying reconnaissance aircraft that could avoid Soviet air defenses.
CIA awarded the OXCART contract to Lockheed (builder of the U-2) in 1959. In meeting the A‑12’s extreme speed and altitude requirements, Lockheed—led by legendary engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson—overcame numerous technical challenges with cutting-edge innovations in titanium fabrication, lubricants, jet engines, fuel, navigation, flight control, electronic countermeasures, radar stealthiness, and pilot life-support systems. In 1965, after hundreds of hours flown at high personal risk by an elite team of CIA and Lockheed pilots, the A‑12 was declared fully operational. It subsequently attained a sustained speed of Mach 3.29 (just over 2,200 miles per hour) at 90,000 feet altitude—to this day, an unbroken record for piloted jet aircraft.
CIA’s operational use of the A-12 faced not only many technical challenges but also political sensitivity to aircraft flights over denied areas and competition from imaging satellites. After the U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union in May 1960, all overflights of the USSR were halted, thus blocking the A‑12’s original mission to monitor the Soviet Bloc. By the time of CIA’s first A-12 deployment in 1967, CORONA satellites were being launched regularly to collect thousands of images worldwide each year. Although its imagery was less timely and of poorer resolution than the A-12’s, CORONA was invulnerable to anti-aircraft missiles and much less provocative than A-12 overflights. At the same time, the US Air Force was developing the SR‑71, a modified version of the A-12. Seeing little value in maintaining both overt SR-71 and covert A-12 fleets with similar capabilities, President Johnson ordered retirement of the A‑12 by 1968.
The only A-12 reconnaissance operation, codenamed BLACK SHIELD, took place from May 1967 to May 1968. A detachment of six pilots and three A-12s based at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa flew 29 missions over East Asia. The panoramic stereo camera aboard each aircraft yielded considerable high-quality imagery that within hours of landing was processed and under the eagle eyes of photointerpreters, who provided valuable intelligence in support of US military operations during the Vietnam War. Also, A-12 imagery of North Korea enabled them to locate the intelligence ship USS Pueblo illegally seized by North Korea and to confirm no further hostilities were imminent.
To commemorate this pioneering and unsurpassed aeronautical achievement, the painting depicts the first BLACK SHEILD reconnaissance flight on 31 May 1967 over North Vietnam. Piloted by Mele Vojvodich, Article 131 took off in a torrential downpour just before 1100 local Okinawa time. The A-12 had never operated in heavy rain before, but weather over the target area was forecast as satisfactory, so the flight went ahead. Vojvodich flew the planned route at 80,000 feet and Mach 3.1, refueled immediately after taking off and during each of two loops over Thailand, and safely touched down at Kadena with a total flight time of three hours and 39 minutes. The intelligence mission was a resounding success: after detailed examination of nearly a mile of film that was collected, photointerpreters found no surface-to-surface missiles that might threaten US and allied military forces in the South and assessed the status of 70 of the 190 known surface-to-air missile sites and nine other priority targets. Contrary to some published accounts, Chinese or North Vietnamese radar did not track the aircraft, nor did North Vietnam fire any missiles at it. The A-12 had proven itself a valuable imagery collector, untouchable by hostile air defenses far below.
Interestingly, high-altitude testing of our reconnaissance aircraft like the U-2 and A-12 had an unexpected side effect — a tremendous increase in reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
Strange things in the skies in the ‘50s & ‘60s? That was us. #WorldUFODay
#HISTINT
"But, Officer! I thought this was America?! 🦅🤔"
"There's talk on the street, it sounds so familiar..."
"We never dreamt that it would be this clear, this beautiful."
Via: We Are The Mighty
https://www.facebook.com/314325338699374/posts/1578141175651111/
NASA has tested an advanced air-to-air photographic technology in flight, capturing the interaction of shockwaves from two supersonic aircraft in flight.
Incredible!!
These images are of T-38 USAF Test Pilot School aircraft flying faster than the speed of sound (767 mph). No they are not photoshopped. Using new NASA air to air schlieren photographic technology which shoots 1,400 frames per second, people are able to see how the airplanes create waves when air molecules begin to compress because they are flying faster than the speed of sound. These images were taken about 2,000 feet above the aircraft.
#SALIVATING!!
Lot of informational videos of this kind on YouTube lately. This was well made.
The Cold War locked the United States and Soviet Union into a tense struggle for global influence and control. The first purpose-built American spy plane to ...
"Air Power, Ground Power" - By page fan Jennifer Egista Artistry
Drawing realized with Watercolors Maimeri and Colored Pencils Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor Premier on Fabriano Tiepolo paper.
Dimensions: 20x27 inches.
A crippled bird operating on one engine, mind you. The Swedish Viggens escorted her to safety.
An interesting Cold War episode worth 4 medals. During the 1980s, the U.S. flew regular SR-71 Blackbird aircraft reconnaissance missions in international waters over the Barents Sea and the Baltic …
Righting the wrongs of First Man.
"I'm still goin' upstairs like a bat out of hell!"
#ChuckYeager
Walk on home boy!!
These pilots definitely gave air traffic controllers a reason to smile that day.
Doctrine Man
Today marks 71 years since @GenChuckYeager "rocketed past the sound barrier." Never a doubt he had the Right Stuff.
Totally forgot to post this earlier: Yours truly was at a McDonald's in DC the other night munching on apple pie and coffee with friends. The next table over, are kids wearing an SR-71 Blackbird t-shirt and discussing this very page. I couldn't help but overhear their conversation and chuckle within.
If only they'd known who was eavesdropping!!
Doctrine Man
If you have a grand just sitting around doing nothing... have I got a deal for you.
Best thing on YouTube? Without doubt!
Psst! Only 119 subscribers to get to that 11K count. Go destroy that 'Like' button!!
You know you want to!
Check out the cockpit on the SR-71 Blackbird....
https://www.facebook.com/AirSpaceMag/posts/1889304634445318
Via: We Are The Mighty
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was retired suddenly in 1990, but the replacement was shrouded in mystery — now, a 'Son of Blackbird' is under development.
Boeing Unveils Conceptual Hypersonic Jet Design To Replace The SR-71 Blackbird
Boeing recently unveiled a conceptual model for a new hypersonic jet that would replace the SR-71 Blackbird
NASA just dropped a ton of rare footage of SR-71 Blackbirds doing what they do best
Of all the aircraft ever conceived by the US Air Force, the Blackbird is most synonymous with speed.
Amazing fortitude to do it all over again.
"I didn't think the chances of surviving an ejection at Mach 3.18 and 78,800 ft. were very good". That's a hell of a quote from one of the original SR-71 test pilots, Bill Weaver following an "incident" on January 26, 1966.There were many harrowing mishaps during the early testing the legendary
Tragedy
One of NASA's most accomplished astronauts died Friday. He flew in space six times, including a moon landing, and later headed the office that chose crews for space shuttle missions.
Read and drool!
It wasn't always 'LA Speed Check' for Major Brian Shul.
One of our own got to sit down with the man (and managed to not drop their jaw in awe - I can imagine goosebumps at Mach 3.2! 😉) to get us this piece of... er... um... ah... SPEED!
Pilot Brian Shul discusses his unique trajectory—in life and in flight—ahead of his Hiller Museum event
Received from a follower. If anyone's interested.
PRE ORDER LISTING FOR DELIVERY BEFORE CHRISTMAS Limited Edition SR-71 Blackbird Coin set. Limited to only 71 sets worldwide, this is your chance to own a stunning collectible coin set that includes the signatures of six SR-71 Blackbird pilots! Taking centre stage is a 2.5" coin featuring the famous�...
Never gets old!!!
This may be the single greatest aviation story ever told, it's about the iconic SR-71 Blackbird whose full operating specs are still classified to this day. The story, from the now out-of-print book Sled Driver by former SR-71 jockey Brian Shul (available used on Amazon for just $700). Here’s the ...
Insert: heavy breathing cat meme!
Veteran SR-71 pilot gives a highly detailed tour of both cockpits and shares incredible recollections from his time flying the legendary jet.
Doctrine Man
“The thing was fast as a whip and built like a butterfly,” says [Frank] Murray. “And with that huge wing, the easiest plane I’ve ever landed. The brakes weren’t worth a sh*t, but we had a 40-foot drag chute, so that helped.”
Like it's 🔥🔥🔥
4,300 Likes, 20 Comments - Tactical Gunners (@tacticalgunners) on Instagram: “. ✅ Double tap the pic ✅ Tag your friends ✅ Check link in my bio for badass stuff - #usarmy…”
Here comes the (possible) successor. Decades after I hung my boots!
Meet the SR-72.
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4410 BROOKFIELD Corporate Drive PO Box 223795
