These SR-71 Blackbirds
Discussion
Cant remember if I posted, sat in a cockpit of the Blackbird at the museum of flight in Tacoma, W.A, talk about tight fit.
An excellent read, a true story about the U2, SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Stealth Fighter called "Skunk Works", by Ben R. Rich & Leo Janos.
What was interesting was that a technical paper on radar had been written by one of Russias leading experts and publsihed in Moscow, the paper explained a century old set of formulas derived by a Scottish physicissts James Maxwell and later refined by the German electromagnetic expert Arnold Sommerfield, they predicted the manner in which a given geometric configuration would reflect electroagnetic radiation, but no one had picket up on it.
Incidently it was originally designated RS-71, but President Johnson announced it to the public in 1964 as SR-71, instead of putting out corrections, the air force decided not to call attention t a very minor mistake by the commander of chief, and ordered Skunk Works to change about 29,000 blue prints and drawings at a cost of thousand dollas to read SR-71.
An excellent read, a true story about the U2, SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Stealth Fighter called "Skunk Works", by Ben R. Rich & Leo Janos.
What was interesting was that a technical paper on radar had been written by one of Russias leading experts and publsihed in Moscow, the paper explained a century old set of formulas derived by a Scottish physicissts James Maxwell and later refined by the German electromagnetic expert Arnold Sommerfield, they predicted the manner in which a given geometric configuration would reflect electroagnetic radiation, but no one had picket up on it.
Incidently it was originally designated RS-71, but President Johnson announced it to the public in 1964 as SR-71, instead of putting out corrections, the air force decided not to call attention t a very minor mistake by the commander of chief, and ordered Skunk Works to change about 29,000 blue prints and drawings at a cost of thousand dollas to read SR-71.
Edited by Vipers on Wednesday 14th August 17:01
Edited by Vipers on Wednesday 14th August 17:47
hoffman66 said:
It largely did yes, but obviously the SR was largely needed by the CIA not the air force!! But like the U2/TR1.
As it's name suggests the A was an attack plane.
The A stood for Archangel not attack. It was the codename for the aircraft and the A12 was the twelfth designAs it's name suggests the A was an attack plane.
heisthegaffer said:
But I also think that what we did back then was impressive given the miniscule budget vs the yanks.
Indeed.I can't find a link to it right now - but I've seen detailed aerial pictures of St Paul's Cathedral apparently taken from a PR Canberra flying along the English Channel sometime in the 1960s.
Seight_Returns said:
heisthegaffer said:
But I also think that what we did back then was impressive given the miniscule budget vs the yanks.
Indeed.I can't find a link to it right now - but I've seen detailed aerial pictures of St Paul's Cathedral apparently taken from a PR Canberra flying along the English Channel sometime in the 1960s.
This photo from a Canberra was on a tv show about the golden age of British aviation, reportedly taken from the isle of white. But the consensus from internet experts.
due to the angles etc is that it was taken from somewhere near caterham. El stovey said:
This photo from a Canberra was on a tv show about the golden age of British aviation, reportedly taken from the isle of white. But the consensus from internet experts. due to the angles etc is that it was taken from somewhere near caterham.
It also shows Portcullis House seemingly largely complete but still in the later stages of construction with cranes still present. That dates the picture somewhere between 1998 and 2001. So quite possibly from a PR9 but not from the "Golden Age of British Aviation". due to the angles etc is that it was taken from somewhere near caterham. That's my Internet Expert contribution !
Seight_Returns said:
Eric Mc said:
Don't forget that spy satellites were already returning detailed pictures from altitudes of over 100 miles by the early 1960s.
But with the obvious limitations that a predictable and largely (but not completely) unchangeable polar orbit presents.The point I'm making is that the resolution capability of spy cameras was already pretty impressive by then so people should not be that surprised by pictures taken by much lower flying aircraft.
Seight_Returns said:
El stovey said:
This photo from a Canberra was on a tv show about the golden age of British aviation, reportedly taken from the isle of white. But the consensus from internet experts. due to the angles etc is that it was taken from somewhere near caterham.
It also shows Portcullis House seemingly largely complete but still in the later stages of construction with cranes still present. That dates the picture somewhere between 1998 and 2001. So quite possibly from a PR9 but not from the "Golden Age of British Aviation". due to the angles etc is that it was taken from somewhere near caterham. That's my Internet Expert contribution !
Dr Jekyll said:
MartG said:
Presumably 'Air America' markings on an A-12 wouldn't fool anybody.Another frustrating example was the stubborn insistence of the Air Force to have its insignia painted on the wings and fuselarge of the SR-71 Blackbird, even though no one would ever see it at 85,000 feet, finding a way to keep the enamel from burning off under the enormous surface temperatures and maintain its true red, white, and blue colour took our chief chemist, Mel George, weeks of experimentation and cost the government thousands of unneccesary dollars.
After they succeeded, the Air Fore decided that the white on the emblem against the all black fuselarge was too easy to spot from the ground, so we repainted it pink. Air Force regulations also forced them to certify that the Blackbird could pass the Arozona's road dust test.
Years earlier low flying fighters training over the desert wastes suffered engine damage from sand and grit, despite the Blacbird would overfly Arizona at 16 miles high.
El stovey said:
This photo from a Canberra was on a tv show about the golden age of British aviation, reportedly taken from the isle of white. But the consensus... is that it was taken from somewhere near caterham.
Given the amount of air pollution over London in the 1960's (only a few years after 'pea souper' smogs were killing people in their thousands remember), and notwithstanding the fact that Portcullis House had obviously fallen though a time warp, I'd suggest that it's more like to have been taken somewhere near the Houses of Parliament... from an altitude of a few hundred metres. 
Serious point, of course, being that it doesn't matter how good your lenses are, if they are separated from their target by several miles of particulates, water vapour or heat haze - you've got to have really clear, calm air to get a decent photo from long range.
Edited by Equus on Thursday 15th August 12:16
A new SR-71 themed talk has just been posted up on You Tube - again, from Peninsular Seniors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ABvIHohG0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ABvIHohG0
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff