IMPORTANT SR-71 Blackbird Tests: AAR, NATOPS, Mig-31 Fight & Carrier Attack | DCS

[@nevermindmyname9153]

I just realised, you can finally re-do the "Attempt to shoot down/intercept a Blackbird" video. Last time you used a MIG 25 or 31 in place of the SR-71.

[@grimreapers]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqaug5V5d81laKs

[@nevermindmyname9153]

@@grimreapers That one got passed me, thanks.

[@nevermindmyname9153]

I think you Pinned the Wrong comment. The the one below is about the SR-71 Pilot.

[@moedmechanics2983]

Yeah, use a D-21 Hypersonic Drone that belongs to the A-12/SR-71 Blackbird!

[@timbaskett6299]

@@moedmechanics2983 I can remember as a kid, there was a brand of die cast airplanes called "Dyna Wings" they had an SR-71 with the D-21 on it. I used to "pretend" it was a booster engine!

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

I am very lucky to live in Washington State just south of Seattle - The Boeing Museum of Flight has the sole surviving M-21 / D-21 set and also has a salvaged cockpit from a crashed blackbird. You can sit in the cockpit. I was born at Cannon Air Force Base hospital when my dad was stationed there. So yes I am an "Air Force - bratt".

[@tonygryboski8593]

We have a Blackbird on static display at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, MI. Last year they had an anniversary and opened the cockpit for the first time as well as bringing in a bunch of former pilots and some skunkworks engineers to speak.

[@jjbloon]

Not sure if it's just a mockup or what but the Pacific Coast Air Museum in Cali also has a D-21. Only thing left from a blackbird is an intake though, I think. Extremely cool to see up close.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

@@jjbloon The D-21 you have is it just the D-21 drone itself?

[@sempermilites87]

Not sure if it's still here, but back in the 90's....A Blackbird flew to March Air Reserve Base. I was a kid then, but I still remember the sonic boom when she flew over So Cal. She then landed and IIRC, she's still at the March Air Reserve Base Musuem. Tail number: 61-7975. According to their website, this Blackbird is a Vietnam vet. Flew 82 missions during the conflict and many other hot spots around the globe.

[@jtjames79]

I was a little kid when they were parking SR-71 on the Lackland Air Force Base parade grounds (early 90s). They let me sit in the cockpit while they painted the canopy. Technically it was very very very illegal. Even as a little kid I was an aviation nut, but I never used my bragging rights until I was an adult because I was legitimately worried someone might get in trouble.

[@dong9224]

The SR71 always flew in burner except for refuelling, during refuelling without burners it struggled to maintain 300 knots so it had to fly with one engine barely in burner. Most pilots preferred the left engine and the use to look out of the left quarter window as the plane flew slightly sideways (the left window was the only window that was heated for de misting)

[@TimelessWorldOfGaming]

You say you find it hard to explain how good this plane was, how about tell them that from the point the SR-71 went into service in 1964 to the point it was de-commissioned in 1999, over 4,500 missiles were fired at it but not a single SR-71 was ever shot down. There was a story where Reagan had an SR-71 crew fly over a North Korean base during a meeting attended by several country leaders. He ordered them to fly a figure eight over the area and break the sound barrier ever six minutes but they didn't know why they were doing it until later. Turned out that was Reagan's way of knocking over their coffee cups every few minutes and letting them know we were watching them and there was nothing they could do about it. lmao

[@grimreapers]

^^^

[@tonygryboski8593]

When I was in the Air Force I had multiple people tell me roughly the same story that allegedly happened about a year before I showed up on base. An SR-71 had an IFE over New York state and needed to get on the ground ASAP so it was directed to our base (Holloman, AFB) in southern New Mexico. The plane needed half the continent to slow down and was on the base about an hour after it squawked. They rolled it in a hangar that was immediately off limits to everyone and sat there for about a month. One day without any notice beforehand the hangar doors opened up and it taxied out to runway then took off. I'm a little skeptical because they were based in California so why not just go to your own base if you are crossing the continent anyways, but at the same time I have multiple attestations from people in different places telling me the same story.

[@RsRj-qd2cg]

Maybe they didn't want to turn around.

[@Decrepit_biker]

Just think how much harder it would be if the cockpit was accurate..... the visibility was awful out the front. And hello Lt Pickles!

[@grimreapers]

agree. She says Hello

[@Istandby666]

The turn rate at mach 3.2 of the SR-71 is Dallas,Tx to. Chicago, IL. When they take off from Edwards Air Force Base and return.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

The KC=135Q'S were BlackBird only tankers. The air frame of the blackbirds had to heat up so that the Titanium would expand and "SeaL" the fuel tanks. Since the JP7 has a very high flashpoint it's no problem for the tanks on the blackbirds couldn't be sealed permanently due to lack of materials that wouldn't melt during the missions. So the design was that the titanium would expand and "Seal" up the tanks to allow for topping off the tanks for the missions.

[@albers17]

only one? then why was there the "T" model? lol

[@MikeMiller-fc2cc]

You explained it alot better than I did above. glad there are others that know about the jet.

[@tomriley5790]

If I recall correctly it also enabled the aircraft to take off with less fuel on board so it could be built to be lighter on the ground.

[@satmax8576]

@@albers17 The T model is the engine upgrade from the TF33 to CFM56.

[@satcom6]

Sr71 actually did take off "full". Problem is, the fuel tanks had seals that leaked like split pipe. So two v8 engines had to be used to start the aircraft (while leaking fuel) because the plane couldnt start itself. Then it would take off, but by the time it reached altitude it was down to half to quarter fuel, and needed fuel to then proceed with the mission. The good news is, after it was airborne, the temperature and pressure caused the fuel tanks to expand and seal themselves, thus preventing further leakage....until it landed again of course.

[@osuna3525]

*No.* The leakage was not that bad. The aircraft was too heavy. Early fully fueled test trials on the A-12 blew out the tires on rotation so they opted for the refueling after takeoff. Even with the lighter fuel load they had to replace the tires after 12 flights.

[@danielberger1378]

That outside shot of the blackbirds being refueled.... just WOW! And then, you just had to top that with close formation flying at mach 3+.... :-)

[@Anarchy_420]

Cool, perhaps you can do the test I requested lol considering it was a bit more realistic and badass-- can The YF-12A intercept The SR-71 Blackbird??👍👍

[@Anarchy_420]

Idk if you seen it but I also added few things to make it a full Vid-- Can The SR-71 Blackbird fly over Both Russian and Chinese Carrier Fleets at the same time, can the following aircraft intercept The SR-71 First-- Two F-15S/MBT's Next-- Two F-16I Sufas and The Grand Finale-- Two YF-12A's OR just One YF-12A Creating a scenario where You guys are flying against each other! That's the entire request however I'd be more than happy with YF-12A trying to intercept The SR-71!👍👍

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Another FYI about the "SR"-71's was that they were to be introduced and known as "RS"-71 but President Johnson had called them "SR-71" and every one took it to mean "Strategic Reconnaissance - where as the "RS" was supposed to be for "Reconnaissance Strike".

[@pinkfloyd7572]

If true, that's pretty cool. I'm not really doubting you, I just never heard that before.

[@ooo_Kim_Chi_ooo]

@@pinkfloyd7572 Its true. The president mispoke the lettering and it stuck.

[@grimreapers]

wow

[@sempermilites87]

@@ooo_Kim_Chi_ooo Not surprising. I don't know how President Johnson's attitude was or what the demeanor of the Joint Chief's were, but I'd like to see the four star general who would correct a President on something like this. xD

[@Reactordrone]

RS-71 would be a reconnaissance version of an anti-submarine aircraft though.

[@edhikurniawan]

I did some hours experimenting to intercept SR-71 like your previous video, using CMANO. The SR-71 started at Malaya peninsula, heading to Natuna Island. There are 3 patterns, coming directly to the Natuna or passing it a few miles, so it had 75° angle when positioned exactly north of the island. The other had 90° angle. One with 90° flying at 90k feet. The other two were 85k feet. All with max speed of 1850 knots. Not the best speed it has but that game says so. I used MiG-25PD, MiG-31(A) Foxhound, and SA-5c Gammon (S-200 Vega). The island has P-80 radar with 135nM range. As well as all SA-5c radar set. 75° Using MiG-25. Had 2m prep before take off after it have been detected at 135nM. 4 tries the MiG always can't shoot down the SR. SA-5c also always fire when it comes rather close to the island, its max speed is 2150 knots. It always tail the SR, only about 25% chance to hit from 4 trials. So i resorted another cheat, installing another P-80 radar so it will detect the bird sooner. And now 100% chance the MiG-25 able to shoot it down. The R-40 IR (AA-6 Acrid) missile had longer range it will fire sooner than the SARH. Also SR had several defensive ECM capable to spoof it off. But we fired all 4 missiles, 100% chance will shoot it down. About the one coming directly to the island, funnily enough, mostly it will be taken down by the SA-5c. They will fire much sooner, even before hitting the max range radius. A MiG-31 also enganging the one coming directly. It bring 2 types of missiles. R-40 IR newer variant than the MiG-25 has, and R-33 (AA-9 Amos). It always lob the R-40 first and never the AA-9. I say lob because they (both MiGs) only been able to reach 60K feet, even with afterburner. There's 60K feet hard limit for the plane altitude. Still milder than say F-15C, F-16D, and Su-30 with only 45K feet. R-33 will be fire if the R-40 failed the task, they will tail the SR-71 from behind. And mostly be fired about 5-8nM from the back of the bird. I also tried using F-15C with AIM-120D, the only one capable to reach 90K feet altitude. The C7 for instance, can't reach such altitude. The F-15 itself has 45K feet hard limit alt in the game. And the missile refused to fire if the target is higher than 40K feet difference. So i had to 'lower' the SR altitude down to 85K feet. Which was its actual penetration altitude. The AMRAAM D able to shoot down the Blackbird, only if it made a slight maneuver to evade the incoming SA-5c. Like 2 times over 10 trials. The same also can be said for AA-10 Alamo (R-37 if I'm not mistaken) They able to reach 90K feet. But the chance to hit the bird is as abysmal as AMRAAM D. This AA-10 is the C/D version i think, the one with longer booster. Launched from Su-35s. So in short, if the SR bypass the island in an angle. MiG-25 or 31 were able to shoot it down easily. But they need large radar (intel) coverage as they need several minutes before scramble. Several minutes late, and the window is gone. I've tried with 10 mins. SAM was not so effective against this approach. If the bird coming directly to the island/radar. SA-5c easily able to shot it down. 2 missiles launched per salvo. Because is has powerful ECM. While jets are having rough time to deal with it, when coming this way. That's my a bit of tests using CMANO, idk how it will be fare with DCS. Every jets here take off with full fuel btw. So they're free to use the afterburner. But i choose the lightest loadout.

[@grimreapers]

thx!

[@jcadlololols4671]

My understanding is that once the fuel load was getting high, they were generally on max military & would pop a single engine in & out of burner to adjust position during refuelling as two burners were too much additional power. The issue with that clearly being that it would yaw.

[@nathansmith3608]

That sounds right, except popping it in & out of afterburner. The SR-71 used 'shots' of TEB chemical igniter to start the engines & the burners. They had a limited number of burner lights per flight, so they'd try to keep the 1 on once lit Dealing w/ the yaw is what made it so hard to fly

[@rubiconnn]

Hey Cap, if you are looking for a new set of rudder pedals, I highly recommend the MFG Crosswind pedals if they are in your budget. They are very well made and are incredibly smooth and outperform far more expensive rudders *cough*thrustmaster. You can also spend $30 on ebay and get a generic motorcycle steering damper for it and it makes it feel incredibly realistic. They also sell replacement pedals if you prefer the combat style footrests for it.

[@grimreapers]

thx

[@donaldwoodworth1202]

Back n 83, a SR-71 landed @ grand forks afb, my step-dad was n air ground equipment ( AGE), he saw it land, he knew how much I love that airplane, but he could not say anything abt it at that time, but way later time he explained what happened when it land, as soon as it landed, their was a follow me truck, it took it rite n2 a hanger and security was so tite. Abt a couple of weeks later, the base newspaper, the leader, did a new article on it! Cap, I am very jealous of u, since u did get 2 see it fly, cherish it!

[@roust0802]

14:53 That new meow mod when the missile is fired is pretty awesome! 🤣🤣

[@grimreapers]

lol

[@SavageTactical]

Cap, Skunkworks by Ben Rich is a good book to that talks about the SR-71. It’s main focus is on the F-117, but it does have several chapters talking about the SR-71. It’s also available in audiobook.

[@grimreapers]

thx

[@Mojje42]

yupp can highly recommend it too they literally had to build the SR-71 from scratch as there was no other plane to borrow parts from

[@rc1363]

excellent book. Interesting cold war factoid, they were built using Russian titanium sourced by CIA front companies.

[@garymyers6638]

The blackbirds went through a gigantic temperature range. That temp difference cause a lot of expansion of the skins and some functional aspects of the airframe. Preflight, sitting on the ground, they leaked fuel like a sieve. They would 1/3 fuel the bird, burn up to altitude and the skin would heat up from friction enough to seal the leaks and then take on fuel from a specialized fuel tanker that could do a couple hundred knot faster than a standard fueler. Take on a full load, climb to max alt and then super cruise. After the flight was over it could take upwards of 12 hours to fully cool to a touchable state.

[@cliffhooper3558]

The panels on the blackbird were gapped to allow heat expansion to the point it leaked fuel like a sive until up to temp. That's why the fuel situation mentioned.

[@Redemptorchapter]

Apparently the SR71s would refuel over Utah and crank it up over the Arco Desert in Idaho, which is why as I as a kid would get rocked by an overland Sonic boom every couple of weeks.

[@420noscopeyeetcannon2]

Bro when cap was upside down in the blackbird, I started laughing at the same time as cap.. Blackbird is absolutely crazy

[@tonynickels6452]

It would leak fuel on the ground until it got up to pressure through speed and altitude. Then meet up with tanker and continue the flight. Amazing amazing airplane. The tail surfaces did that as well it had a drag chute for landings. Thank you for flying this Beauty

[@recoilrob324]

Lots of semi-information here about reasons for take off with light fuel load. Yes they DID leak on the ground...but not gushing and certainly they could take off with a full fuel load, but rarely did. Tires were always a problem and stressed enough at the light fuel load plus if the aircraft took off heavy it didn't handle well and if an engine out should happen things would be a lot worse than if it were lighter. Safety dictated the light fuel take off....then immediate refueling. Also it could fly on one engine so long as it was IIRC the starboard one being the port engine had the pumps needed for the hydraulic system. We lost one over the South China Sea when the port engine seized back in '89. I was in J-58 overhaul at P&W and the recovered engine brought to us for examination to determine cause of failure. Considering the operating environment the engines performed well but were pushing the envelope at designed cruise speeds. It's kind of funny that the average cruise speed is always referred to as it's 'max'...which of course it wasn't, not even close. Cruise speed kept temperatures within limits where the lifespan was considered normal but it for sure could go faster if needed....would reduce the TBO but unlike the MIG-25/31 didn't trash them after a dash. You haven't lived until you've stood behind the mighty J-58 during a Qualification Run on the test stand. Absolutely the most awesome thing I've ever seen and felt.....though I did piss blood for two days afterwards. Found out you really shouldn't be that close to one as the sonic hell it put out is VERY hard on the internals of the body. Good times!

[@MyCatInABox]

Wow...what a job (And what a thing to have experienced)

[@davidgreenwell8574]

Did you ever throw a quart of Cherry juice in exhaust during ab run? Spectacular lol.

[@jackbower8671]

Been loving the SR71/YF12 vids. It's mesmerizing watching these things fly

[@grimreapers]

agree. Real honor to fly her, even if a free partially complete mod.

[@jackbower8671]

@@grimreapers You boys did awesome and definitely hooked a new subscriber

[@calmterror]

There is a story in a book by an Egyptian general Saad el-Shazly from the Yom Kippur war talking about how the Egyptians knew an SR-71 was flying over by just getting single blips over multiple SAM radars. They wouldn't do anything about it but it was so fast a single radar couldn't track it for more then like 2 or 3 pings. I think the Book is called "The Crossing of the Suez". Mine is in storage so I cant quote it. Next time i get a chance to find the book I'll see what it did say. It is a great book on how Egyptian countered Israeli Air power by never advancing farther then their SAM coverage.

[@GutkowskiMarek]

A Blackbird fun fact: It was calculated that if it would carry a bomb the bomb itself could be made of concrete. The energy on what was basically a rock dropped from a plane, hitting the ground it would have an effect of a small nuclear device.

[@grimreapers]

cool

[@joeyravage4798]

23:40 BUllets?? lol BOOLETS!? God, I love you, man 😆

[@JT11D-20]

the astronomical positioning sytem is pretty sick!

[@grimreapers]

agree

[@JT11D-20]

@@grimreapers btw Cap one of the reasons she took off with less fuel was to reduce wear on the tires

[@JT11D-20]

it ran nitrogen filled tires at 425 psi

[@jebwatson]

watching simba refuel right next to you was just too cool

[@Wolfe351]

just spent the last 3 hours flying it over the Nevada map, total blast could not stop grinning, finished off with Supersonic low level pass thru Vegas then pulled it vertical and ejected at 25000feet....the aircraft keep flying (at fullburner LOL) doing large loops and showed no sign of crashing any time soon!!

[@nouseformyname3788]

Here's a couple astonishing facts that helped me and many people understand just how amazing this machine is: it still solidly holds the records for flying New York to London in 1 hour and 55 damn minutes, and freaking east coast United States to the west coast in one hour and 8 minutes.. 68 minutes.. . WTF? HOW???

[@stratcat3216]

I got be in the spot next to the boom operator on our KC-135q while we refueled an SR-71.. damn thing almost stalled out and we were balls to the wall. The 135q had turbofans, 2nd gas tank system, strobe lights, etc.. made just for the SR.

[@grimreapers]

wow!

[@mattski850]

Gun noise…”eh eh eh eh ehhh”. That is flipping classic!!! Hilarious!!!!!

[@A7XKoRnRocks1]

22:42 Probably the coolest thing I have ever seen.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Fact - Kelly Johnson of the Advanced Project Division of Lockheed "Skunk Works" Designed and built the blackbirds all with only slide rulers and without computers. BlackBirds were the first planes to incorporate "Stealth" as a part of it;s design. Later Lockheed had rank a simulation with computers to predict what would be the Optimal design and it was very close to what the blackbird's design was already.

[@TheGranicd]

Had no angles. Was just sleek. Same can be said for Horton Ho229.

[@Duvstep910]

Now i want to see some SR-71 mission recreations

[@vrbnjakd]

It is a common misconception that the Black Bird was taking off with low fuel because of leakage. It took off with low fuel because of safety. They had problems with tires bursting and to prevent that reducing the load on the tires was the only option (plus further development of better rubber material). Also, in case of engine failure on take-off the plane would side-slip out of control due to big thrust difference and low yaw stability and high take-off weight.

[@jtjames79]

I've seen pictures of an SR-71 with an oxygen port on top. I wouldn't bet against the SR-71 technically being able to get to space, considerably modified obviously, with the oxygen taking up any payload.

[@nathansmith3608]

Check out the NASA design doc "Predicted Performance of a Thrust Enhanced SR-71 Aircraft with an External Payload" where they looked into boosting an SR-71 w/ Nitrous to carry large payloads for hi supersonic hi altitude testing

[@anthonyb5279]

NO I can confirm it can NOT get into space. Thats a myth. sorry. :-(

[@anthonyb5279]

@@nathansmith3608 I canceled that program it was too dangerous. I like Roger I did not want him to die.

[@jtjames79]

@@anthonyb5279 so confirm it...

[@anthonyb5279]

@@jtjames79 Thats not an O2 port. Its the mounting and fuel for HSTV project to test the linear aero spike engines for the VentureStar. It was supposed to lob up to 140k' to test the rocket engine. The SR-71 can only handle 2.5G when heated up. It was imposable to stay within that limit on the way down. The safe way was to use the Pegasus rocket but that was canceled too as the VentureStar was canceled. go look up the HSTV and VentureStar. The blackbird did not need Nitrous or supplemental O2 for high altitude flight even up to 170k' as it had a monofuel already supplemented with hydrogen-peroxide. The limitation was the fact that it was an air breathing engine and as it lost air to pressurize it just wont run. If you kept it below 12°aoa the engine would flame out around 170k' but it could NOT fly that high at 12°aoa. It needed a ballistic lob to keep the AOA in limits but on the decent back down into the thicker atmosphere it busted G limit. So NO it can't fly in outer space. This is no longer classified these facts are in many books on the Blackbird. So go read it yourself.

[@Streaml1neJMoose]

Time to start working these bad boys into the major mission campaigns. Making recon and intercept missions a requirement would be tight.

[@kevkeary4700]

the boyz at 3.194 mach!! wowzaz. I want more of that stuff Cap!!

[@tadficuscactus]

That is some very high speed formation flying.

[@skyhorseprice6591]

SR-71 also was the first stealth aircraft. It had an impressively reduced RCS, at a time when 'stealth technology' was straight out of science fiction. Yeah. This thing was _good_ .

[@blastfromthepast7119]

Nazi scientists working on their aircraft discussed stealth technology, and partially implemented it in the 229.

[@themerc123]

from what ive heard is that it wasnt that it didnt start with full fuel but until the expansion joints actually sealed up it leaked fuel.

[@HDRAus]

Read the book Sled Driver. They used to refuel with the AB on one engine!

[@grimreapers]

wow

[@Mojje42]

yupp the plane got so heavy getting on fuel they needed the AB to push the plane against the probe but could only use 1 AB or they'd go to fast..... can't imagine having to counter that yaw and AAR at the same time

[@HDRAus]

@@Mojje42 spot on. At Mil power it wasn’t enough to stay on the boom as it got so heavy, but with both AB’s it was too much. One was enough but they would fly cross controlled for over 15 minutes or something I think it was. Incredible. And they would do it twice a flight at least!

[@davidgreenwell8574]

Kc 135 Q firewalled SR-71 barely above stall during refuel, most difficult refueling operations of any aircraft in the world. The reason the blackbird launched light on fuel was because it didn't have enough lift to take off full fuel, so it was launch tank go on mission.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Curious as to why Air To Air refueling was even included in this - since Air To Air refueling was the Lifeblood of the BlackBirds missions.

[@bearcatracing007]

To show it can be done and is modelled in DCS!

[@blastfromthepast7119]

You just answered your own question.

[@AXL4LIFE229]

Fun Fact - The Blackbird was never shot down at any point in its more than thirty-year life, even though more than 4,000 missiles were fired at it over the years

[@donaldwoodworth1202]

Yes, it did get shot down, by the sec of the air force, did not understand or wanted the SR-71 no more, the 1st time n USA history, president Clinton used a line item veto 2 get rid of the SR-71, fun fact, the air force came 2 Kelly Johnson and asked him how much would it cost 2 destroy the SR-71, he put a price tag @ 93 million 4 each, the air force said, no and they put them n museums, Kelly Johnson did not want 2 see his pride and joy destroyed, which I do not blame him 1 bit!

[@dr.ryttmastarecctm6595]

28:54 Cap says, _“I've got an idea what I want to do valued viewers.”_ Me: I suddenly flashed to the *Missing Man* formation flying overhead as I comforted Cap’s distraught wife....

[@CLAPGriffin]

I really want to watch a deleted scene from Top Gun where Maverick has to tell Goose to keep his cat occupied because it keeps meowing when he's trying to dogfight 😆

[@grimreapers]

lolololol

[@kurtreichenbach8927]

Cant remember where i watched it at but i remember it said that the SR-71 was put in a 3d modeling program and couldn't find anything to improve the design to make it better. Also from my understanding from what i seen/read that the plane lost so much fuel from being none self-sealing fuel tanks and fuel used and take off was the reasoning for the immediate need for a refuel after take off.

[@grimreapers]

cool

[@apmorf]

There is one discovery documentary on the development of this exquisite aircraft and your all need to see it! It's basically trial and error with a lot of crashes 😃👍🏻

[@markstott6689]

It amazing what the Blackbird can do. Whilst it's unique and pretty much untouchable it's not my favourite aircraft. That would be the Mosquito. I'm hoping that you will put one through its paces sometime soon? Please?

[@joesaulsiii2254]

The blackbird always took off with low fuel, the titanium wings leaked until they're up to friction Temp, every time they flew It re tempered

[@414Chevy]

The SR was refueled by a KC-135Q that only carried JP-8 fuel. Too make a tanker ready for JP-8 the tankers fuel tanks were defueled, then flushed with JP-8 until the fuel tested was 100% JP-8. The Q model would take off before the SR, and meet it to top it off to full. SR's were only partially fueled on the ground, because they leaked so much fuel until they were airborne and the skin came up to temp and sealed the tanks.

[@olekundbolek9160]

The main reason for instand refueling was to ensure 100% inert atmosphere inside the tanks. The Blackbird uses 3 liquid nitrogen Dewar flasks consisting 260 liters nitrogen. It was only possible to fill the tanks up with nitrogen when the plane was filled up completely with JP-7. Aircraft limitation was Mach 2.6 without inert atmosphere inside the tanks. The worst thing to do was a called Yo-Yo. It was a maintenance nightmare. Sometimes the aircraft needed to fly instand Mach 3+ and they needed to fill up the plane 100% and then defuel 15000 pounds to ensure the inert atmosphere nitrogen system works....and yes they refueled the Blackbird cause the MTOW was at the limit for the tyres.

[@jeremycaufield8605]

I was expecting you to break in half, fighting the Mig like that.

[@tmseh]

If it is too difficult to put into words how good the Blaclbird was look at it this way; the Blackbird was so good that the Chinese failed to copy it.

[@jaredtanner2738]

They fail at copying most things...

[@tmseh]

@@jaredtanner2738 Yes they do. They didn't even try with the Blackbird!

[@JulianDanzerHAL9001]

you could still try landing on a marked piece of runway the size o a carrier with a lo of headwind

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

A fact that a lot of people may not realize about the BlackBirds - is that they fly faster then bullets do. So no machine guns of any kind on them.

[@TheGranicd]

Bullet from plane doesnt start from 0. It starts from plane speed.

[@hairychris444]

@@TheGranicd And will slow down & be overtaken by the plane after a few seconds max.

[@Mobius118]

If your poor little cotton socks aren’t burn out of them already, I have another viewer request: what is the maximum altitude you can take the beloved Blackbird to in DCS?

[@TurbodanNM]

I think they hit 108000 in the video testing SAM and interceptor performance against the SR71. It just stopped climbing like the software has a hard ceiling built in.

[@grimreapers]

Sustained 108k Instant 129k+ that's what we done so far.

[@anthonyb5279]

There was rotating bomb rack that could hold 4 MK82 that could be installed on the A-12.

[@christopherfischer6998]

12:36 LTJG Pickles telling you to go faster and higher

[@grimreapers]

agree

[@Maeyanie]

"Coming in for a gun run." And by that you mean "goat run" apparently. ;)

[@danielrobbins349]

The SR-71 is perfection.

[@bonesmiginty2458]

I’ll add to the valued viewers request lol. What about having the Blackbird (and/or YF-12) at maximum altitude, maximum speed, try to pull a split S? See if either of them can pull out in time.

[@grimreapers]

cool

[@cakeshoe]

Your comment about it being a very expensive way to bring down a carrier got me thinking; how about a red vs blue event where there is a financial limit - you can use any planes, vehicles, missiles, etc. but all to a budget. So, using your face and re-sporning would not be an option - every bullet counts. Doesn’t have to be a massive battle, perhaps a small, stealthy, sniper-like mission would be more suitable. Just a thought

[@timbaskett6299]

To be honest, I think an SR-71"D" with a bubble canopy would look amazing!! I'm sure with modern tech it would be possible, even with heat restrictions. Cap gave me an idea......a YF-12 with a GAU-8/A!!! The fastest US jet with the gun from the slowest!!!

[@neilhale4529]

The KC-135Q Stratotanker was specialized to handle JP-7 fuel.

[@TheVonJagger]

The SR71 couldn't take off with full fuel as the fuselage would leak as it was built for the titanium to expand

[@kevinwiltshire2217]

You would have to refuel immediately after takeoff because the fuel was leaking out of the fuselage

[@charless2867]

Rudderons. The vertical control surfaces act according to the laws set in the flight computer.

[@MDC2020]

I was curious if DCS would allow you to fly the Blackbird straight up and exceed 150,000 feet.

[@kiwidiesel]

Just tell them its the Godfather of air breathing planes bar none!!

[@nedj10]

blackbirds vs carriar forgot to mention what would happen when an entire carriar group's phalanx systems starting respondig with their own kenetic energy :)

[@benpurcell4935]

The kinetic energy of a Blackbird works out to be about 29,057,073,017.91178 Joules or just 29,057 mega joules of energy.

[@grimreapers]

thx

[@benpurcell4935]

@@grimreapers You asked and so I did what was asked.

[@usa-1129]

Next video: "Can two space shuttles attack a U.S. Carrier group?"

[@grimreapers]

Good suggestion

[@williamkillingsworth2619]

On of the reasons the black birds did not take off full of fuel was weight. She can hold, around 70,000lbs of fuel!!! It was much more efficient to do it that way. The climb out from low altitude would have wasted a lot of gas. She would have needed to refuel before blasting off to mach 3.

[@hangman5969]

I just found out about this channel, it'd be neat to see some formation flying, or another idea see an assisted landing on a carrier

[@134StormShadow]

6m20s... what a beautiful sight 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@drrocketman7794]

The way to understand how good this plane is: "Sled Driver: Flying the World's Fastest Jet" by former SR-71 pilot Brian Shul

[@lohrtom]

Cap, the issue with the SCUDs and the older Patriot system was that the patriot was designed to shoot down helicopters and aircraft. The closure rate with a missile, which was basically two missiles closing each other , was that the warhead fusing was not designed for that type of intercept. By the time the missile decided to detonate and triggered its warhead the two missiles had passed each other . Best case Scenario was the expanding warhead clipped a rear portion of the SCUD and made it unaerodynamic. We had this issue with the older Tartar/SM-1 sams. We were always playing catch-up with the newest Soviet ASCM. At one point we had 3 versions of S-M1 to choose from depending on the threat. That decision took precious seconds to make. Can you try the SR-71 against older SAMs head on and see if the fusing issue is modeled?

[@grimreapers]

copy

[@ΓρηγόρηςΠανούσης]

"if u consider it, it would really mean a lot to me" cap: completely stupid

[@joeyravage4798]

I love any SR 71 vids! A Valee-yood (spoken super quickly) Viewaz!

[@russellwilliams4317]

I remember this one time when I was flying the 71 over China and saw a group of butterflies at 60k.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Very interesting and entertaining.

[@loganholmberg2295]

In Vietnam I know they did launch the CIA version off carriers in testing. Not sure if there landed them. Saw it on a youtube vid recently.

[@kenhelmers2603]

Fun indeed!

[@moedmechanics2983]

D-21 drone on the back!

[@mikeysargent5652]

Loving what you’re doing cap!! When will the next canyon run happen? I’d love to see the stealth planes give it a crack. Maybe a “stealth only” version with harder obstacles?

[@grimreapers]

Good plan. Not for a while I'm afraid, I am busy real life stuff for a few Sundays.

[@dystopianlucidity4448]

KC10’s were used for refueling SR71.

[@WilfChadwick]

1900s Kittyhawk to 1960s SR71, 1960s SR71 to 2020 spaceX, 2020 spaceX to 2080 NCC-1701? Wish I could be alive to see if.

[@pirisola]

100,000 pounds (45,000 Kg [45 Mg]) at mach 3.2 (~4000 km/h [4 Mm/h]) is about 28 GJ

[@grimreapers]

woah...

[@MikeMiller-fc2cc]

It never, EVER took off with full fuel load.. The plane actually leaks fuel on the ground. It has to get up to speed so the titanium could grow and seal, then refueling could take place. Also the fuel it used was also a lubricant.

[@antoniohagopian213]

Coolant* not lubricant

[@MDC2020]

Pickles is your copilot

[@lostsoul4680]

How does one volonteeterereer for this type of activity? I do not know how to fly a plane but have a computer and a semi precious face. I have dcs but not loaded it yet.

[@jjbloon]

Cap, I'm sure you've seen pics of the Blackbird cockpit, so I'm guessing you're glad it's not modeled and you can AAR from inside the comparatively spacious F-15 cockpit instead. Why have good visibility when you can go fast

[@grimreapers]

I like the instruments but that canopy/window though...

[@brokenursa9986]

YF-12 vs. MiG-31 was somehow a dumber dogfight than Growling Sidewinder's P-47 Thunderbolt vs. A-10 Thunderbolt II fight today.

[@grimreapers]

I am always the dumbest...

[@brokenursa9986]

@@grimreapers Dumb in a good way. Like, absolutely hilarious and ridiculous to watch.

[@mjcandy9153]

The SR-71 was an Air Force plane, it doesn't have a NATOPS. The USAF equivalent is the 3-1.

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

For the carrier run why didn't you 1. push the stick down in a shallow dive instead of rolling or 2. slowed down then throttled back up? The blackbird is a lot more maneuverable than you give it credit for.

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

Oh never mind good job it just takes practice to fly at high speeds high up a great job!

[@joeyravage4798]

Silly question: could a Concorde armed with missiles threaten the sr 71?

[@grimreapers]

I WOULD LOVE TO TRY THAT!