Building a HIGH SPEED Rocket Plane

I've been upgrading this RC SR-71 Blackbird to fly as fast as possible. Check out PCBWay at pcbway.com/g/9cfi7a for our one-stop solution for PCB prototype services and more.
👉🏼 Patreon sign up / jameswhomsley
👉🏼 More info about projects projectair.co.uk/
👉🏼 Follow me on Instagram / jameswhomsley
Thanks to E-Flite for sending me this plane www.horizonhobby.com/product/...
Thank you also to TSP for providing the rocket motors / piotrtenderarocketmotors
Thanks to these artists for providing some of the music in the video:
Andrew Applepie for the music used in this video - / andrewapplepie
DISCLAIMER: This video is purely for entertainment value. Personal use of video content is at your own risk. Recreations of experiments, activities and projects are the sole legal responsibility of the person(s) involved in replicating them. I can not be liable for any information or misinformation, wrongful use, damage to personal property, death or any circumstances that result from replication of any projects seen. Be safe!

[@martin2250]

5:24 small correction: you need 8 times the power for twice the speed. Force increases with speed², but power is force × speed

[@christopherleveck6835]

And restrictive exhaust nozzles would be a great idea too...

[@brucebaxter6923]

@@christopherleveck68355” drone motors actually, greater disk area and same efflux

[@Russertlog]

plz be my teacher

[@surfcello]

Was just about to comment the same.

[@sidecarbod1441]

I though it went up by the square, i.e. double the speed requires 4 times that power. please enlighten me!

[@ryguy81538]

Someone may have already commented on this and it might be obvious to you, but a big reason the plane is so unstable during the motor burn is it's not pushing through the center-of-mass. It's strapped haphazardly to the top of the craft causing it to nose dive down as soon as it's ignited. Placing it centrally in the back or adding another motor underneath is a possible way to correct this. Always love your uploads though. Keep up the good work.

[@Erth]

Job Well done! 👍 interesting and inspiring video!

[@Monroeswift]

I was on my way to comment the same thing! also mounting the rocket motor further back on the plane will help.

[@avialexander]

Or, you could angle the rocket to point back and up, so that the thrust vector passes through the CG. It will also push the plane down, but if it's already moving through the air all you need to do is increase your angle of attack to get a little more lift. Or you could do what JATO's do, and hang the rocket underneath or to the sides, pointing it back and down but still through the CG.

[@baudouindesaintroman6337]

I don't do avionics, only pyrotechnics and solid booster engineering, but yes it seemed to me that it would be much more stabilizing to put the booster under the wing level... Also he modified the balance and weight of that plane way to randomly 😂

[@avialexander]

@@baudouindesaintroman6337 Rockets are one of those things that mess up the whole "if it looks like it will fly, it probably will" heuristic. I think that's what we're seeing here, the complicated dynamics of rocket thrust and mass are hard to optimize around, so most people just slap a rocket on top of the plane since it feels correct. I blame 50's-70's pop sci artwork for this misconception.

[@mike1261]

Back in 1980, in a time before computer aided design, I build a SR-71 Estes-type rocket from scratch. I referenced photos from a magazine and used balsa wood & paper tubes for most of the materials. It was about the size of yours. Being a fairly heavy rocket, it had two D-size solid propellant motors, one in each engine. I was quite fascinated by the Blackbird at the time, but extremely inexperienced at building rockets. Needless to say, it flew, but not very straight!

[@ninkd0311]

I bet you used a slide ruler

[@mike1261]

@@ninkd0311 🤣 If I was only that smart... it might have flown straighter. 🤣

[@gkoshinsky]

I made mine in about 1990. I even followed the guide to paint it with different black paints, some flat, some gloss, to simulate the different surfaces. It was maybe my 3rd rocket. I never actually flew it. I spent so much time on it that I was afraid to launch it. Years went by, got interested in girls, and it hung in my room for years. My mom probably threw it out at some point after I moved out. It was beautiful though. I spent so much time on it. After spending months staring at it at the hardware store. Wish I would have launched it.

[@mike1261]

@@gkoshinsky Sounds cool! I don't know what happened to mine either. I know I carried it home after the launch (more than I can say for some of my rockets! LOL)

[@JulianMakes]

Awsome

[@kenselleck2414]

You succeeded in making the SR71 exceed mach 3.2 in scale. I call that a win! Mach 3.2 is 2400 ish mph and your plane did 2800 scale mph. Bravo!!

[@Soldo66666]

How do you scale speed and sizes?

[@Rydog20]

By ratio of size Say if you had a model 1/59 the scale you'd need about 1/59 the power for scale speeds Edit: I'm not the greatest at math so I might be wrong but idrc

[@Soldo66666]

@@Rydog20 oh... That was simpler than I thought.

[@Khoolhwhip]

at altitude 71 did hit 3.3 thoo haha

[@charlesyoung8600]

It's not a project air build without rocket motors. Brilliant!!!

[@leomathguy]

Next step - design and strap on a full flow staged combustion rocket engine on it

[@king_godzilla.]

​@@leomathguyyes😂

[@TomleyRC]

The Insta360 rear facing shots are beautiful! Such a versatile camera. I'm just replacing my original one after a good few years of hard use! Oh..and rocket projects are always a good watch 🤘

[@Project-Air]

Totally agree! Thanks man

[@Ingo3112]

you need to stop mounting the rocket engines to the top of the plane . they need to put in the back like the fans but in the middle . desing the same plane model but with the option to put in the rocket engines in the back like a fighter jet . and put 2 rocket engines in the back not one .

[@BragizTheCocaineAttractor]

I agree with this cuz if it will be sitting on top, it kinda disturbs the aerodynamics

[@Ingo3112]

@@BragizTheCocaineAttractor not only that, it pushes the perfect in line thrust point from the normal engines way higher wich causes the plane to pitch down and generate even more drag .

[@alek002]

Cool

[@TheZombieSaints]

You can can rocket motors that are essentially just multi stage boosters, you literally cellophane tape them together and when the flames hit the tape, it melts, drops off the dead Booster while igniting the second stage. More boost with less weight. Mounted underneath it with 2 boosters then the final motor with recovery chute.

[@Avio_x]

That is true, but it is really hard to squish all of the electronic and also balance the cg with such modifications

[@Planetery_Dragon]

Who loves ProjectAir videos😊

[@MsTatakai]

videos*

[@daandolfijn2749]

Who doesn't

[@how.to.do.stuff.101]

What was it befoore​@@MsTatakai

[@hughjanus5518]

That's why we watch

[@Figglebottomthe5th]

✋ 😁

[@gafrers]

You can never go wrong with an SR-71 Love these flight videos a lot more than the boat ones

[@garrittpwl]

Your video quality is taking massive leaps forward. This video was that of nearly an educational video on a mainstream media station. Keep it up!

[@craighyattusa]

That video was the most (vicarious) fun I’ve had in a long time. Some excellent research and engineering skills on display. Look forward to the next project.

[@NicktheMedic]

That is one really cool plane. golden, rocket-powered, SR-71, 200kph, great footage and video so I'd call that a win.

[@fustigate314159]

Props to the original manufacturer for making the landing gear accurate!

[@lukefortune8314]

intentional pun? 🤔

[@richardm.newlands2417]

Ah James, this is your best one yet, brought a tear to my eye! Brilliant idea brilliantly executed! Just a few minor thoughts: Agree with everyone else who's suggesting a bungee-launch. FYI these incredibly low Aspect ratio deltas are a bitch in roll, because the stubby wings provide damn-all roll damping. And at higher angle of attack, the vortices spiralling off the leading edges tend to bang into each other over the aircraft centreline, causing a roll oscillation. So if you can shoe-horn a rate gyro into the roll channel it'll make life so much easier. I so just love this video!

[@robertstark3326]

Great project. That was a spectacular flight. The way you led up to the rocket engine flight was just so impressive and all the work you did to pull it off. You had a well-deserved success. Keep up the great work.

[@ymemag9861]

I love how you put your RC SR71 into your RC car and drove it to test!

[@jordancoleman2402]

What was he supposed to do with it?

[@ADjasonTplayz]

The plane🔥 The neighbors reaction🗿

[@3D_printer_guy]

Thank you for another great video. I got a tip for line of sight flying, paint the plane with different colors over and under. Makes it easier to see which side of the plane is facing you.

[@nigelhutt9921]

I know nothing about RC planes but found this a thoroughly compelling snd informative video.

[@kggaming792]

Bro is gonna break the sound barrier one of these days

[@thesalilboys5302]

I’m so happy to see such lovely people here. Keep spreading the love!

[@impiggybro]

WOW SUCH A GOOD AND CREATIVE VIDEO!! KEEP up the amazing WORK :)

[@adilsongoliveira]

As I said in another video, you really need to change your radio to use ExpressLRS. The receivers are very small, even the ones with PWM outputs and the range and reliance are excelent.

[@sakfpv8444]

I agree, I switched all my fpv drones to ELRS and fell in love. Even my Arrma rc truck has it now

[@chrisbrook6656]

Yep....ill never look back.

[@TheRattleSnake3145]

You get over 2 km range with standard orange relievers, why would you need more than that unless you are flying fpv illegally?

[@jordanliszewski6549]

But then he could fit a gyro

[@jordanliszewski6549]

@@TheRattleSnake3145 Kind of a silly comment. ELRS wins over older control links like spectrum in basically everything, it's cheaper, receivers are smaller, it's range and link stability is insane and it's open source and always improving further. People have gotten over 100km of range with 2.4 GHz ELRS, basically for a normal usecase you never have to think about range ever again with ELRS. Additionally it comes with lots of additional features, adjustable data rates, model match, the ability to access settings on the flight controller flashing over WiFi. You don't have to switch to a different control link if what you have is working fine for you but for controlling things that fly, especially fpv, having a long range, high performance control link that never failsaves is a very good idea.

[@game-f-un-limitedgamer8958]

1:59 is when the black bird breaks the sound barrier :)

[@Fortnite-ClipsYT]

No

[@BarrettCharlebois]

I always get so excited when I see you drop a new video, especially if it has rocket motors.

[@TheActionBastard]

Long range FPV would be amazing with this project. Imagine the feeling of speed...

[@_tyrannus]

Long range and electric ducted fans are like water and oil.

[@shitbox170]

Get a Strix Goblin cruises around at 120mph and is fpv

[@pioneerAv]

James Bond: The Man with the Golden Plane

[@Boeings640]

😂 such a good joke

[@SgtMars]

4:00 that’s a gorgeous Mini Cooper!😮❤

[@BPBomber]

Your projects always look like such fun.

[@alwaysflying6540]

Just found this channel. I personally really like doing projects like this so for me it was very enjoyable to watch

[@intotheuniverse9170]

I appreciate your efforts 😊 For making these videos

[@Aero-100]

Removing the engine cone was a good idea because it's used to compress air, but if you wanted more power you should add a compressor stage (from the turbofan engines) and put a primary fan in the front to suck all of the air in, and by that, where you put the rocket engines you should put in the front a intake because air sticks into a body when moving, then connect it after the primary fan. You could also have heaters inside of the engine so cold weather heats and you get more force. If you did that with only 1 engine vs 4 old ones you'll get even better power.

[@zmss8537]

and where is he gonna get enough power for all that ? not to mention the weight lol

[@Aero-100]

@@zmss8537 either mount a bigger battery (since the plane can carry it) and extend the fuselage and space administration inside of it (2nd is better) or add a generator to get some of the energy back.

[@zmss8537]

@@Aero-100 there's no space, also the weight????

[@Aero-100]

@@zmss8537 that's why you change the engine, if you have more air to push = more trust and efficiency. And the heater will propulse the air way more.

[@PortedBricksYT1200]

THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING!!!

[@nauhaan1604]

I love your videos! I am a Maldivian drone pilot and my drone pro E88 crashed recently. I really love RC vehicles

[@Eltar_]

KSP Players when they're told to go outside:

[@ameynaik5966]

yooo !!amazing! this has been my dream, i wanted to do it but never really had the rescources to , and now it is sooooo good to see someone do this. thanks🙃

[@vne5195]

A standard planform airplane designed for subsonic flight would be more easily controlled, easier to see the orientation and easier to launch. Perhaps you could try a small diameter folding prop with a motor brake to stop rotation of the prop when the rocket is ignited. Having the rocket pointing out of the tail cone should make it easier to keep the center of thrust aligned with the center of drag.

[@thefantasyforge5015]

This is your coolest plane yet. Good job!

[@TheIronHeadRat]

Great job 👍, how about a catapult launcher build 🚀

[@dfgaJK]

plz get an ExpressLRS controller so you don't lose signal at long range again

[@jas-FPV]

Where did he loose signal ?

[@FarmerFpv]

@@jas-FPV His Turbine video. What he needs to do is just add a proper receiver and a satellite or since he is running Spektrum he can just mount TBS Crossfire lite as it is plug and play with his Spektrum radio. That is what I use with my Spektrum radio and I can fly miles with my FPV planes.

[@dfgaJK]

@@jas-FPV in the "Foam RC jet" video

[@dfgaJK]

@@FarmerFpv or an elrs module bay transmitter....

[@jas-FPV]

@@FarmerFpv I haven’t heard that. And he ises a TD Tandem receiver that uses 2.4 and 900 in parallel. So as long as he didn’t make errors installing it, this thing has the same range as crossfire or Elrs.

[@brianswille]

Cool project! Cant wait to the the next... Gigga... sized project you have coming!

[@zacharywalters8139]

Phenomenal channel man! Just stumbled onto it.

[@kenh6096]

That takes me back, My farther made me a rocket powered SR-71 as a kid.

[@anishgidh7583]

Your car looks cute lol

[@advaitbhore]

The best and most entertaining diy plane channel everr!!

[@Cartoonicus]

That little plane flew it's little heart out. It deserves a medal.

[@ameynaik5966]

4:01 nice car

[@TDC_gaming]

I about to comment that

[@ameynaik5966]

@@TDC_gaming too late. sikkkke. lol

[@Alan_Hans__]

The planes top speed potential was dramatically reduced by bolting on an un-aerodynamic camera and rocket. If these had been shrouded in there could easily have been a further 50kmh.

[@ravanjock]

It probably would not get 50kmh more, probably only about 20kmh:

[@Project-Air]

We needed to capture the flight from the air, so it was a compromise I had to make

[@islam1337simo]

​@@Project-Air Nah it's okay. 100% increase in speed is amazing already. The camera shape might have made the rocket aerodynamics less significant by shielding it. Keep that aerodynamic optimization for a crazier project (2 stage rocket plane weight balancing when)

[@FloridaMeng]

​@@islam1337simoAgreed.

[@ThinkAboutMyComment]

@@Project-Airyou could’ve modified the cockpit and installed the camera there easily.

[@eliot_mrs]

always a good evening when project air drops a rocket plane video

[@Project-Air]

Thanks for watching!

[@JCtheMusicMan_]

I would love to see you 3D scan the A/C and scale it up! Give yourself enough room to cram in more rockets into the form factor. Love this project!❤

[@Am_Photography13709]

i think you saw my last comment on your rc battle tank ship and made it 🤔🤔

[@user-xf2mg2ou9g]

You really should try to launch your next rocketplane from another airplane

[@Dragontamer7866]

Yes please

[@vonknorring09]

X-15

[@marth922]

Bro, your Mini is WICKED COOL!! So jealous!! and what a cool project! These speed record videos always have me on the edge of my seat!

[@FarmerDrew]

14:30 kudos to you for maintaining a decent flight profile, that's a crazy acceleration for the scale

[@YusufMukhsin-kg1lm]

Imagine if there was giveaways 💀

[@thesupremesai6385]

i wish

[@willjhcave]

You’re going to find that high speed aircraft have poor low speed performance. And “low speed” is going to get commensurately faster. You may need to look at non-hand launched options.

[@sarapiper2978]

Please make a flying bullet😮😅 Hahaha 🎉

[@jackmorris2758]

Well done man great video!!!

[@antitheist9976]

Outstanding, cannot wait for the next one ❤🙂

[@fkthe9to556]

Your problem is you need to learn to fly fpv

[@KeplarDesign]

I agree

[@Notsofunniguy]

And also adding rockets into the middle ​@@KeplarDesign

[@DavidRJones82]

Bloody brilliant!

[@001snapshot]

Absolutely LOVE the Corsair in the background....

[@jimmcnally2524]

You are doing things we all dream of. Super cool stuff.

[@OphobbyYT]

That was awesome. I can't wait to see your next rocket plane video!

[@ianjones7266]

Just amazing! Another airplane experiment I don't have to devise!

[@torrentsofrc]

So cool!!! You are my inspiration and hero!

[@MyCreatorSpace]

This is awesome. wathced the whole thing. feel like it would've been turned into a 5 pt build. first rocket powered test could've been a whole episode on its own.

[@virajmankar4882]

man you mske such a nice videos i always enjoy your vids..keep making such type of projects

[@Harvey-the-black-goo]

You teach me what to do in rc I saw the original rocket plane video when it first came out!

[@RvB_Fan_since_8]

Thanks for including the freedom units for us :D

[@100luk]

your vids never cease to amaze me.

[@spamspam4117]

A question for philosophers: is it still a blackbird if it's gold?

[@Twoknight_]

Goodnight

[@NuggetVR21]

Goldbird

[@batisphere1168]

Depends on wether you mean plane itself or a color specifically

[@Ezeystreet]

Its whoopie goldbird

[@MohammadMosa-dw5ye]

It is

[@Serialcrasher]

Cool video 👍 And cool Mini 👍👍

[@comedianfiftysix3775]

That was Absolutely amazing; I really want to pick up the E-Flite Blackbird in the future; soon as I quit bending the landing gear on my Cirrus 1.5🤣

[@EbonSan910]

11:52 Love the fact that Emma is working on the Elegoo OrangeStorm Giga in the background

[@snezzles278]

thing looked awesome in the air 👍

[@stewpadasso297]

Dude cool mini! I built and flew a model SR71 Estes rocket kit when I was a kid. I still have it and it hangs with my other model planes in my home office. Cool video sir.

[@DIYwithBatteries]

Looks pretty cool Bro 👍

[@robsbeta21]

Need to see a build video for your mini!

[@raphi142]

I really love your projects❤. Very cool video.

[@LJvids-wk6jb]

Literally my favorite plane! Thanks project air!

[@nickcoppack4685]

Well done James yet another video I cannot stop watching until the end.

[@darreno9874]

Back in the 80s there was a rc plane called the bullet it easily reached 100mph according to the manufacturer and having seen it fly it was so much faster than anything else. Great job😁✈️

[@spiralsun1]

This gripping drama was a heart wrenching saga and testament to the human spirit 😊❤🙏🏻

[@PKS5Official]

Love ur vids, I’m currently getting into building rc planes

[@umranrc]

Use the drone to lift the aircraft high in the air. Install a cable release servo onboard the aircraft and with enough altitude, the aircraft may gain enough airspeed during the drop to start flying properly and you may discharge the rocket then...

[@BarbecueBenny]

Love the vids I wish I could actually fly a rc jet/plane

[@oakah6373]

Very smart idea using a longer burn time rocket motor with less initial impulse. The acceleration that some of the short burn time rocket motors provide stresses structural integrity too much in a short period of time, leading to spontaneous disassembly.

[@NBAPGaming69420]

That was sick keep up the good work my guy ❤❤❤

[@pimhan]

Love the editing of this video

[@suspiciousafternoon]

really fascinating stuff

[@slingerssecretlaboratory]

Impressive as usual my friend

[@CheezborgerMmm]

I dont know how you do it but you make videos with such high quality but in a timely manner!

[@nali19751975]

Well done mate great video.

[@ralboraggins9564]

nice landing!

[@nxesr]

You could make a launch pad with assisted control. A conveyor system pushing the craft at the desired speed and angle. No more writing off 👏🏼 Another suggestion you could add ground radio systems at further distances as you craft goes out of range it is picked up by the 2nd 3rd 4th or 5th radio system to sustain controlled flight at probably 10x your current flying radius.

[@ericwillis777]

Great fun, a pleasure to watch, reminds me of my APS Folland Gnat jetex model, which only managed a smoky ballistic trajectory after a very energetic hand launch, - far too heavy, cut up postcard is not a substitute for a bristol board skin !

[@rcman4.2flyboy]

I got the same blackbird from eflite thats a awesome mod you did there dude 👏 makes me wanna mod mine

[@freddiegriggs2277]

Brilliant video :) keep it up

[@BassMatt1972]

5:30 Sound works in a similar way. If you have one "Marshall Amp" on stage, you need 4 "Marshall Amps", to be TWICE as loud.

[@jukkatakamaa7274]

Really cool project again.