The last SR-71 flight

[tigisfat]

I was wondering when it was and what it was for, so I looked it up. I think there may have been some flights in the last few years, but these were the last for a large test program down there.




-GwuEx7YYEU

[Toastmaker]

I somehow find it strange that there is no further use for an aircraft of these capabilities.

:kilroy:

[Navy Chief]

Who knows for certain if it is not being used? NC

[tigisfat]

I somehow find it strange that there is no further use for an aircraft of these capabilities.

:kilroy:


I think that in advanced research, there will be a need at least once or twice a decade for a reliable tesbed that can reach mach 3 without drama. They probably quietly pull them out every few years or so. Then again, I don't know. NASA used to keep a handful of aircrews qualified, and they had a simulator at the Dryden research center. People living at and around Edwards would talk about the occasional SR-71 sortie 'sneaking' out at 3 AM even up until a few years ago. The word is that there are no longer qualified crews, and I know they gave a simulator to a museum in Dallas.

[TomSteber]

Not to worry, there's always Aurora! :icon_lol:

[smokinhole]

The SR71 itself was secret and not seen by the public for years, I got a feeling it's been replaced. Funny though, flying the simulator is more work than fun . Mach 3 is very demanding as far as staying on course and not overshooting your destination.

[cheezyflier]

you can probably (i am only guessing about this) get all the same data from a sattelite that we used to get from the blackbird. besides, with sattelites, the whole world has them, everyone accepts that everyone is watching each other and everyone else, so there isn't really a need for a plane that does the same thing. of course, this is all speculation on my part, there's probably several people here who can point out all the flaws in my thinking.

[Tom Clayton]

Unlike what you see on television, you can't tell a satellite to move from one country to another at the flick of a switch. You can only get data when the bird happens to orbit over your target. I simply can't imagine that there will ever be a time when ultra-high speed/altitude recon is no longer needed.

[tigisfat]

Not to worry, there's always Aurora! :icon_lol:

There never was an aircraft called the Aurora. The much speculated about aircraft was actually the B-2. Aurora was simply the name of the project and funding destination.

[smoores]

I'd call it its last official flight

[Matt Wynn]

Who knows for certain if it is not being used? NC

and who knows it could have its replacement already in use....:icon_lol:

[TomSteber]

There never was an aircraft called the Aurora. The much speculated about aircraft was actually the B-2. Aurora was simply the name of the project and funding destination.

It was meant as a joke.

My real guess is that "they" will continue to use the SR-71 as long as they want/need to, but "they " don't have to inform us about it. I would also assume that there is already a newer version of something flying that's about to replace the SR-71's replacement. After all, they usually don't tell the public about what they have until it's been a very long time in operation.
From what I've heard, "they" are usually about 20 years ahead of the technology that has been revealed to the public. You don't want your enemies to know everything that you have.
And as Tom stated, you can't just move satellites to where you need them. But you can get a plane overhead in a matter of hours.

[VFR Alexander]

It was meant as a joke.

My real guess is that "they" will continue to use the SR-71 as long as they want/need to, but "they " don't have to inform us about it. I would also assume that there is already a newer version of something flying that's about to replace the SR-71's replacement. After all, they usually don't tell the public about what they have until it's been a very long time in operation.
From what I've heard, "they" are usually about 20 years ahead of the technology that has been revealed to the public. You don't want your enemies to know everything that you have.
And as Tom stated, you can't just move satellites to where you need them. But you can get a plane overhead in a matter of hours.

"They" as in Skunkworks?

[Panther_99FS]

Interesting thread here...There's a Lt Col here at my base that used to be a back seater in the SR-71, perhaps I should direct him to this thread.....

[TomSteber]

"They" as in Skunkworks?

I guess there were a few "they's" there. As far as development goes, I think "they" would be what ever company is developing high tech aircraft in secret.

As far as the first "they":
I would say "they" would be what ever branch of the government that needs to use a spy platform at the time.

And Panther, by all means invite the Lt. Col. If he can talk about it freely, that would be some good stuff.

[tigisfat]

"they" have been
many agencies throught the many iterations of the blackbird program. I believe NASA was the last with a vested interest, but who knows who was utilizing NASA's services and abilities to generate sorties.

[deathfromafar]

There's no question there was something flying subsequent to the SR-71 that had/has far greater capability.The "Aurora" name sticks around whether this new or series of new craft are actually named that. One thing is for sure, a new platform exists and it's exotic design and capabilities justify it's continued classification. The late Ben Rich of Lockheed acknowledged there was more than one secret exotic program actually flying at the time of his retirement from Skunk Works. I have been following stories of "Aurora" for 20 years. One thing for sure, the credible eye witness accounts and physical data from two major Federal Agencies suggest whatever this new craft is there is little doubt of it's spectacular capability. The eye witness story that was most intriguing was about the airline crew that was flying on a track to the North of Groom Lake one evening when they saw a plane take off out of the base and rapidly climb to their approximate altitude-FL350. The plane then started a very steep climb at a 30+ degree angle on the horizon and accelerated high and out of sight within minutes. One of several interesting stories.

Here are a couple of interesting hangars at Groom Lake. One in the open connected to the taxiways and the other being built semi-recessed into the hillside near the other hangar. Both buildings have precisely the same depth of 315 feet.

[deathfromafar]

"they" have been
many agencies throught the many iterations of the blackbird program. I believe NASA was the last with a vested interest, but who knows who was utilizing NASA's services and abilities to generate sorties.

NASA operated the SR-71 under a special grant during the Clinton Administration for testing the Linear Aerospike which was mounted on the back of the SR-71. The project turned out to be more or less a failure. Prior to this project, the SR-71 was retired by the USAF.

http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/SR-71-LASRE/Small/EC97-44295-99.jpg

[Railrunner130]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sr-71_blackbird#Second_retirement

I used to think that it still had a viable mission. However, between the satellites in place now, the Global Hawk, the Predator and the venerable U-2, the mission is well covered. Between the Global Hawk and satellites alone, real time intelligence can be captured for an extended period of time. Not so much for the Predator and U-2 though. It's an old school airplane that was difficult to maintain and just about impossible to upgrade. They tried GPS on it and literally baked the entire system.

And to think of it from a pilot's perspective, while it seems really cool to jump in the Blackbird and do Mach 3, the reality is that the duty day is very long, you're stuck with a fishbowl around your head and you can't hardly move. No thanks.

It was an awesome machine- I've probably got a dozen or more books on the Blackbird. But it's time came and went. Luckily, we still have it to lust after in museums and there are a few for flightsim to take for a spin.

:ernae:

[TomSteber]

[QUOTE=deathfromafar;211351]There's no question there was something flying subsequent to the SR-71 that had/has far greater capability.The "Aurora" name sticks around whether this new or series of new craft are actually named that. One thing is for sure, a new platform exists and it's exotic design and capabilities justify it's continued classification. The late Ben Rich of Lockheed acknowledged there was more than one secret exotic program actually flying at the time of his retirement from Skunk Works. I have been following stories of "Aurora" for 20 years. One thing for sure, the credible eye witness accounts and physical data from two major Federal Agencies suggest whatever this new craft is there is little doubt of it's spectacular capability. The eye witness story that was most intriguing was about the airline crew that was flying on a track to the North of Groom Lake one evening when they saw a plane take off out of the base and rapidly climb to their approximate altitude-FL350. The plane then started a very steep climb at a 30+ degree angle on the horizon and accelerated high and out of sight within minutes. One of several interesting stories.

Did this have anything to do with the vehicle that left the "donut on a rope" contrail?

[Panther_99FS]

And Panther, by all means invite the Lt. Col. If he can talk about it freely, that would be some good stuff.

With the way things have been recently, that might not be a good idea....:bump:

That being said, I must admit it was an experience just to see his "Mach 3+" wallet card...

[deathfromafar]

Did this have anything to do with the vehicle that left the "donut on a rope" contrail?Well, that is the folklore anyway. So called PDWE(Pulse Detonation Wave Engines). Maybe so, maybe not. I have spotted similar contrails coming from high flying tubeliners more than once. Not sure what causes that effect. The people who claimed to have seen a fast moving craft out ahead of some of these contrails claim a couple of things that are significant. One was that there was slight or deep low frequency sonic boom and the other was that the craft they spotted was moving at very high speeds and had a steep 70 to 75 degree leading edge sweep with clean lines and no visible engines viewed from the ground. The one siting I was involved with was that myself and others in my area were awaken one morning at about 3am hearing a deep rumble/vibration that sounded like a muffle car or truck with a V8 engine with a high lift cam in it. There was repetition in 1 to 1 1/2 second intervals. I looked outside as did my friends as we were spread over a 5 mile apart radius. We could not see anything but the sound seemed to come from above. Another friend who was fishing overnight at the time spotted an aircraft flying very high and claimed it had an unusual luminescent contrail and moved at very high speed. The speed was too slow for a meteor or falling satellite according to him. So who knows, it was something. Question is what?
5558

5559

5560

[safn1949]

Just for fun,the SR 71 at the SAC museum.A very nice display.I also had a chance to see the A-12 at Wright-Patterson,no photo however.

[TomSteber]

With the way things have been recently, that might not be a good idea....:bump:

I hear ya!

[Wing_Z]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDbQ5xvsrIU

[GT182]

Looked and sounded all too real Wing_Z. He did a great job building and flying it too. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/GT182/Thumbup.gif

[Wing_Z]

I love RC jets.
Unlike the props they can sound really authentic.
And I'd love one of those to play with!