For SR-71 Enthusiasts

[VulcanB2]

Hi,

Thought you might find this resource interesting: http://www.sr-71.org

The only competition Concorde ever had for looks!

Best regards,
Robin.

[Frank N. O.]

Mmmm, Blackbird, one truly beautiful thoroughbred aircraft, and like the Concorde, way ahead of it's time. I was wondering, do you know of any SSTSim-quality FS9 model of this? (by SSTSim quality I mean that the flight-systems behave like the real thing and not just something you jump in and put on full burner and go vertically up to the edge of space, and FS).

Speaking of super-planes, I heard that the Air Force came up with a scheme to paint it but Skunk Works told them that it'd be scorched off during the first flight so it would be a waste of paint, but the XB-70 Valkyrie is pure white and that was also claimed to be able to go near that speed, although maybe not for the same duration but still, and that btw is also a fantastic looking plane imho and also featuring a aerodynamic concept I don't think any other plane has used, Compression Lift I think it was called, riding it's own shock wave. And as I'm sure you know, someone did make a good looking freeware model of the Valkyrie recently :D

One modern plane I think looks fantastic is the sadly loosing ATF plane known as Black Widow II, what a fantastic design, elegant, space-ship like, futuristic, high-tech, fantastic proportions, muscular almost like a F-14 Tomcat but smoother and stealthier (I think that is now officially a word). And there is one of those for FS too :D

I wonder what it would take to make a flight-model and modify landing points etc. when a 3D model was available, and hopefully without getting compatibility problems with FS, like most updated freeware Blackbirds have which make me avoid them, although I'm keeping the FS2002 Commander 114B GA plane, I like that one.

(Sorry for the long post)

Frank

[chris]

If I'm not mistaken, Concorde also flew on flew on her own shockwave. Both the SR71 and Concorde were far ahead of their time, although Concorde probably more so since it's origins started back in the mid to late 1950's with the Aerospatiale Super Caravelle and various Bristol SST designs, including one designed for Mach 3!

Joining forces, the Europeans avoided the Mach 3 design and went with what they knew would be feasible to construct with the materials available - and what would very likely work as intended. In retrospect, out of the American SST designs of the time, the Lockheed L2000 looks by far the better choice in comparison with the adventurous but complex Boeing designs.

Both Concorde and SR71 leave behind a void that may not be filled anytime in the near future. For passenger planes, the Concordes blend of speed and distance made it totally unrivalled, while the SR71 used those same attributes to irritate those unlucky enough to be faced with those nasty black planes snooping where they shouldn't. ;)

Though rumours suggest Senior Crown may already have been replaced with a mysterious Mach 5+ aircraft.

[Radical-Al]

you could also go to www.sleddriver.com

this pilot (met him a few times at 2 air shows) wrote his own books about the SR71 (theres an expensive special edition book... but I don't have it) and he took his own book photos too!! very informative and interesting.

[Frank N. O.]

Thanks for the info, and thanks for the link Al :)

What's Senior Crown if I may ask?

What plane is the most complicated to fly in terms of systems needing constant attention: Concorde, Valkyrie or Blackbird?

Frank

[Justin Martin]

Thanks for the info, and thanks for the link Al :)

What's Senior Crown if I may ask?

What plane is the most complicated to fly in terms of systems needing constant attention: Concorde, Valkyrie or Blackbird?

Frank
Senior Crown was the code name for the Blackbird program.

[chris]

I'd say a Valkyrie is probably most demanding, the SR-71 next, and Concorde last because most things are quite heavily automated, and because it has a crew of three (or 4 sometimes).

SR71's had their own special dangers with engine unstarts. :yikes: Those were extremely dangerous on the SR71 and could result in the aircraft going out of control. If I'm not mistaken, it did however end up with a system to shutdown the other engine as well if one engine did an un-start. (presumably keeping the aircraft balanced).

The primary danger for a Concorde would be cabin de-pressurisation at above FL500. I don't believe it ever did happen, but I think once an outer window did develop a crack and the aircraft descended right away.

[Frank N. O.]

Thanks Justin, I've seen a lot of documentaries with the Blackbird and such planes but never heard that name before.

The Concorde is the easiest of the 3 to fly? Man, I guess I should go back to driving old cars then because the Concorde is hard enough to understand, although I still say it's not that authentic (or easy) flying a plane that normally requires 2 people or more at the same time, although I have found programs that allowyou to online fly with a co-pilot etc. sounds cool as heck if one's into it.

Frank