“If they hadn’t had the unstart when they were going through the gate, the record speed would’ve been higher. Their goal was to make 2200 mph,” David Peters former SR-71…
NavalWarfare
Sonar Technician explains why talking normally while aboard a US Navy Submarine on silent running can compromise the boat’s stealthiness
Silent running (or ultra-quiet) is a stealth mode of operation for submarines Silent running (or ultra-quiet) is a stealth mode of operation for submarines. During silent running, the propellers have…
History
The SR-71(Bx), a Blackbird supercruising strike aircraft equipped with AGM-69A SRAM missiles
Ben Rich of Lockheed Skunk Works presented a paper in 1976 that provided a brief overview of the “Bx,” a straightforward modification of the SR-71 Blackbird into a supercruising strike…
The USAF F-4 Phantom II version was authorized to be designated the F-110 Spectre in 1962 McDonnell Aircraft Company delivered the F4H (later dubbed F-4) Phantom II in answer to…
Civil
[Updated] ATC controller recalls when he asked for vertical separation to an SR-71 Blackbird crew in conflicting route with an Air France Concorde Supersonic Airliner
‘I was controlling a westbound Concorde just entering my airspace when I received details of an SR-71 coming eastbound on a route that would conflict with Concorde,’ Pete Clarke, former…
History
How Apollo astronauts dumped on their way to the Moon and how they tried to stay clean without shower
The Apollo astronauts had to change many of their daily routines, including what they ate, drank, dressed, and even how they used the restroom On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11…
A few people nicknamed the SR-71 the “Lead Sled” after pilot Jerry O’Malley and RSO Ed Payne, on their second Blackbird combat sortie over Vietnam in 1968, dropped 60,000 feet…
Airshows
The Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets that collided at RAF Fairford 30 years ago during IAT ‘93
Incredibly, both pilots escaped without a scratch, even though one of them had to eject from an inverted position; a BBC announcer said that the pilots had ‘jumped out from…
F-14 Tomcat
During Operation Desert Storm the F-14s RHAW gear went crazy because of the EA-6B ALQ-99 jamming pods emissions
An investigation revealed that EA-6B jamming pods emissions were one of the principal reasons for communication problems experienced by multiple Navy formations underway over Iraq on the first day of…
If KC-135Qs were unavailable, ordinary Stratotankers could be used to refuel the SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3+ spy plane. If it weren’t for air refueling, the SR-71’s range would be relatively…