The A-12 Archangel: Faster, Lighter, Higher than the SR-71

Also what Elon Musk's kid is named after...
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[@ddsholliday]

A-12 pilot Frank Murray refers to the SR-71 as the “family model.” 🤣

[@icicle8263]

Haha are you referencing the L.A speed check video?

[@randymann7251]

The "F is for Family model"

[@hoghogwild]

@@icicle8263 No that is Mr Shul, the man with severe combat burns from Vietnam. Here is Mr Murray, callsign "Dutch-20". This is where he describes the A-12 and then the SR-71 as the family model with its extra crewmember and extra length, fuel capacity and more weight. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g3jHqaOnpth7opo.

[@hoghogwild]

@@randymann7251 The only "blackbird" with an "F" in its descriptor is the YF-12A, the 2 seat version that almost made it to production as a high speed AIM-47 missile carrying/firing interceptor. Similar missiles that became the F-14's AIM-54 Phoenix and AWG-9 RADAR system. Here's a YF-12A in flight, notice its chines do NOT come all the way to the tip of the nose. This lack of front chines was to accommodate the RADAR dish in the nose. pic of YF-12A distinct chines upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/YF-12_Forward_Chine.jpg/330px-YF-12_Forward_Chine.jpg The lack of chines necessitated a large ventral fin to be extended after takeoff as the landing gear was retracted this fin came down in the center of the aircraft. 2 additional non retractable ventral fins were located under each engine nacelle. ONLY the YF-12 had these 3 ventral fins. Heres a pic of the 2 ventral fins under each engine nacelle upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Lockheed_YF-12A_60-6934_in_Air_Defense_Command_markings_1963.jpg/1280px-Lockheed_YF-12A_60-6934_in_Air_Defense_Command_markings_1963.jpg In fact I have pics of myself next to a blackbird and I thought it was an SR-71, but years later noticed that it was indeed one of the 3 YF-12A's. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/YF-12A.jpg/450px-YF-12A.jpg Here's the very vbird I was pictured beside, not same picture, but same bird in teh same position as my pics. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8e/YF-12A_NMUSAF.jpg/1280px-YF-12A_NMUSAF.jpg YF-12A tests flying at over 75,000 feet at Mach 3 were able to not only lock on and then destroy a maneuvering target drone jet flying at 750 feet. The missile was not loaded with a live warhead, the missile destroyed the target drone by physically hitting the drone. Impressive in a time where "look down/shoot-down" RADAR tech was in its infancy. There was the single seat A-12, then the 2 M-21(M for Mothership as it launched the D-21 (D for Daughter) drone to spy on China. M-21 pictured here with a D-21 daughter/drone on its back in teh launch position upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/LockheedM21-D21.jpg/330px-LockheedM21-D21.jpg The drone took pics, flew through China, popped its camera film and allowed the film to descend under a parachute, while awaiting modified C-130 Hercules orbited nearby in order to catch the film canisters mid flight. Very similar ops occurred for the satellite film canisters from the early Hexagon program. The M-21 backseater was known as the LCO or Launch Control Officer. The YF-12A backseater was the FCO for Fire Control Officer. The 3 variants of SR-71 "A", "B" and "C" all had a backseater that controlled all the various snooping and countermeasures devices. He was called the RCO for Reconnaissance Control Officer. A-12, M-21, YF-12A and SR-71 A/B/C all used the J-58 turboramjet engines except for the unpainted A-12 trainer referred to as the Titanium Goose, fitting as the A-12 was referred to as a "Cygnus" or baby goose. (Titanium Goose A-12 trainer pictured here upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/A12Blackbird.jpg/330px-A12Blackbird.jpg It was a trainer aircraft with the backseat position added so that a training pilot can help train the front seater. This aircraft never got J58 engines and always had the 2 J-75 engines which kept her speed limited to just over Mach-2. During early test flights of the A-12, there were NOT many J68s available and there were a few A-12s that flew with one J58 in one nacelle with a J-75 in the other.

[@jamesrogers4674]

Looks kinda like a station wagon.

[@killman369547]

I bet the soviets were pissed when they eventually figured out who had bought all that titanium and why.

[@joeyshmoey8514]

Don't worry about Russia - they were handsomely rewarded when Obama and Hillary sold them 20% of our Uranium reserves. Compare the cost of acquiring Uranium vs Titanium and you will see that Russia made out when you compare the two exchanges of rare elements.

[@silenciummortum2193]

@@joeyshmoey8514 EXACTLY! THANK YOU!

[@michaeladrian2210]

Business is business

[@michaeladrian2210]

@@joeyshmoey8514 no proof

[@russellharrell2747]

@JOE BLOW FROM COCOMO please check your info, the Uranium One deal was for a Russian energy company to buy a Canadian energy company that operated uranium mining operations in the US but did not involve any exporting of uranium. Did the Clintons receive payments to help make the deal happen? Probably, they are as corrupt as any other politicians. Does this excuse any actions done by others in the government? Nope.

[@gabrielbennett5162]

My grandfather, Victor Horton, flew the YF-12A during his NASA career. It was a missile-armed, 2-seat interceptor version of the A-12. He said it was a better plane than the more famous SR-71A, which he also flew. Three were built, but Grandpa's YF-12, 60-6935, is the only one left; 6934 and 6936 were lost to accidents, although the salvageable back half of 6936 was combined with the forward fuselage from an SR-71A static test article to create the "SR-71C" (affectionately dubbed "The Bastard" by flight crews). Grandpa flew that one as well and said it never handled quite right, so was retired after only a few years.

[@jamesclifford5074]

No he did not

[@nicholasstathos1387]

@@jamesclifford5074 I smell jealous

[@stefanwilliams1687]

Thanks for sharing, very interesting indeed, your Grandfather must have been quite a man indeed.

[@TheHortond]

Your grandpa has a cool name.

[@muddobber6863]

@@jamesclifford5074 If it's made up he went to a lot of effort to find the name of a real person in that program.

[@stephenpahs3529]

After being wounded in Nam and months in an Army hospital in Japan, I was assigned to Okinawa. Our Army Ordinance Company was next to Marine Camp Schwab in Nago District where the "Ospreys" are being relocated. I was there June 67' to March 68'. I think it was late 67' that I saw the Blackbird at about 12-15,000' cutting a large arc and losing altitude for Kadena to our south. Being around planes most of my life I could not identify it and asked another troop what it was. He simply said "Blackbird". I would on occasion see them and witnessed a takeoff from Kadena while on a supply truck run to one of our dumps next to Kadena. I also parked at the end of the runway to watch 52's labor off the runway and immediately rendezvous with KC-135's to top off for the Nam run. 60'000lbs of bombs of different sizes for different missions. In Nov 66' I was a rifleman with A 2/27, 25th Div in a rain forest not far from the Cambodian border in 3rd Corps. Three 52's in formation, each with 30 2'000lb bombs hit an area where a NVA regiment from the 324B Division was thought to have regrouped after kicking our ass the week before. We were 2+ miles from the strike. I saw the 52's thru a break in the canopy by sure luck. I looked up because I heard a "hissing" sound" which turned out to be the bombs falling. All hell broke loose as the earth shook under our feet and things fell from the big trees. The next morning we took my company to sweep the strike Zone. You could drop a house into each of those 90 craters. Each bomb shattered a football field size clearing. We found collapsed bunkers and much blood in the area. What was left of them went over into Cambodia and we went back to Cu Chi for Thanksgiving. Sorry, I got carried away with memories.

[@t1ny03]

Amazing. I would love to take you for a pint and listen to much more. All the very best & th,anks for sharing man

[@alankiefer8899]

Thanks for raising your right hand. We owe you a debt of gratitude ( from another Vet)

[@anderseckstrand7033]

Thank you for your sacrifice and service sir. Being on the ground in Nam was 1,000 times more intense than being in the air. Not trying to diminish what the airmen were up against, but trudging through the Vietnam rainforest with all that gear not knowing when the next ambush would happen must have been nerve racking! 😳

[@brentspurrell7989]

Thank for your service.

[@MTerrance]

Amazing recollections. Glad you made it out of Nam and are still kicking!

[@ipawdutube]

Interesting fact: SR-71 was actually tasked to do the opposite of being stealthy sometimes. During one operation Maj Brian Shul (author of sled driver) was flying the blackbird and was told to take up a racetrack pattern just over the building in which many leaders of non friendly countries were having a meeting. The idea being they could hear the distinctive double sonic boom ever few minutes and would know the untouchable plane was spying on them. Blackbird was also used in ‘Nam to fly over POW camps, so the captured soldiers could hear aforementioned sonic booms and were reassured they weren’t alone. Brian Shul recalls a time when a young servicemen asked him to drag an extra big boom for his father who was currently captured. Thusly he started carrying business cards that said ‘this boom’s for you’. If anyone gets the chance to real ‘sled driver’ I would recommend it.

[@Bluelevitron]

The turning radius of an SR-71 at speed and altitude was 180 NM, which kind of invalidates Brian Shul, flying a racetrack pattern over some building. Brian had a tendency to exaggerate his exploits, i.e., exceeding Mach 3.5, while overflying Libya, when the tactical limit of the SR-71 was Mach 3.35 and slowing below 160 knots, while trying to fly-over a control tower in England. Unless he was in ground effect, just before touching down on a runway, at that speed, the aircraft would have stalled with an immediate pitch-up and loss of control.

[@Bluelevitron]

And I'm the proud owner of two of Brian's books, early copies of "Sled Driver" and "The Untouchables."

[@final3119]

Dotar Sojat thicc ass

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

@@Bluelevitron - I'd bet on some of the inaccuracy in the tall tales to be deliberate fudging of the flight envelopes details.

[@wesss9353]

@@Bluelevitron nice!

[@EternalNewb]

"The plane has nukes on it. For your safety, please keep away". The fact that this worked proves people were much, much smarter back then.

[@Kanti12311]

Derkie84 now you have phone zombies

[@munin9530]

well if an f35 crashed near your area and someone told you it had nukes would you really go see?

[@youtoob4life]

Not really, they were just more scared. Remember, schools were drilling children on nuclear attacks and every other story in the press was about the horrors and likelihood of a nuclear apocalypse.

[@Ryio5]

Legal segregation existed in the US in the 60s so I strongly disagree with people being "smarter" back then.

[@petermckenna8462]

Of course. Now if they told me they were conventional bombs then no way. Not only is a nuke less likely to explode from a crash, if it was "in my area" it going off would probably kill me whether I went to see it or not. In fact, seeing that writing on a plane and thinking just not going near it would save you would be indicative of stupidity.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:30 - Chapter 1 - X AE A12 2:15 - Chapter 2 - Development 4:10 - Chapter 3 - Construction 6:10 - Chapter 4 - Testing 10:05 - Chapter 5 - The archangel 12:55 - Chapter 6 - Into the real world 16:00 - Chapter 7 - The end of the road

[@RAYTHEONGAMING]

JESUS THANK YOU

[@brianrad68]

Designed in the 50s but still looks futuristic.

[@exexpat11]

Having had access to TS materials... The Soviets did make sort of a copy of the S/R-71. It's edges were much more rounded but looked almost identical. They ran theirs to the early 90's. Lyndon Baines Johnson unofficially changed the name of the S/R-71 by accidentally placing the S before the R in notes to the Airforce and Lockheed. Rather than correct him the AF/CIA/Lockheed changed the designation name.

[@jonathanheck631]

So many remarkable design elements, particularly considering how long ago it was conceived. The pointed cones on the engines' nacelles were designed to deliver the shock waves from supersonic flight directly into the engine intakes to increase compression.

[@abitoffcenter383]

@@jonathanheck631 they also moved forward and aft depending upon speed and thrust requirements. I've heard a few stories about them not working correctly and flaming out. Which from the stories, when that did happen. It REALLY got the crews attention!!! Regardless of age and teething problems, Imo the A-12 and SR-71 is the sexist aircraft to ever grace the sky's!! From design, construction, to flight parameters it's simply an amazing AC. No it wasn't a G machine, no its climb rate wasn't the best, no it didn't have a big gun or high tech armaments. Because it didn't need it. Just light'em up and wave goodbye. I mean the SR-71 raced the sun........and won!!! SIMPLY AMAZING!! Thank You Skunk works!!

[@IOU1987]

Every technology they've withheld will look futuristic

[@samright4661]

Honestly I thought the A-12 was new. Awesome looking air craft

[@scottmanley]

Something about this title sounds familiar. :) There's an A-12 sitting next to a SR-71 on show at Palmdale, it's an outdoor park displaying a bunch of historic planes.

[@MrRandomSuperhero]

Eyyy, a Scott in the wild!

[@pingchen5291]

Well, you’d know ;)

[@jamesweldon9726]

The Museum of Flight in Seattle has an M-21, which is the A-12 based launch platform for the D-21 drone. I ate dinner underneath it once while I was attending my wife’s company party.

[@bernardenorth]

@@jamesweldon9726 that's uber koo!!! Lucky you, have a wife and got to eat dinner with her under that?! lucky man!!!! don't let her go!!! Sounds like a keeper to me. Wishing you and yours the absolute best in life! ( sorry I still quite haven't figured out this trolling stuff yet)

[@gnome53]

Another A-12 is on display at the Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion in Mobile, Alabama, next to the battleship USS Alabama.

[@disorganizedorg]

Shout out for the YF-12A derivative (two seat A-12 interceptor variant), of which 3 were built.

[@DaylightDigital]

And the M-21/D-21 pair while we are at it :-)

[@peterbrazier7107]

The Eagle Missiles for the YF-12 were used on the F-111B, then improved and called AIM-54 Pheonix and put on the F-14 Tomcat.

[@canddtv221]

RS-71 do u know the story behind that

[@nimroddjcs]

@@boruff68 Those would be the pilot training aircraft.

[@DaylightDigital]

@@canddtv221 Politicians lol

[@Mayhemzz]

I can just imagine the Chinese airspace surveillance guy seeing the US spy plane and just thinking "Nope, not dealing with that today."

[@youtubeaccount5153]

I suspect the Chinese leadership wouldn’t have wanted to admit to the existence and incursion of a plane so much more advanced than anything they had. And so beyond their capabilities to do anything about. So a big “nope” at the upper levels of Chinese military as well.

[@NoelMcGinnis]

The SR-71 has always been my favorite aircraft. There is one in the Wright-Patt Air Force museum only 10 miles from my house. It was so surreal to actually touch one after a lifetime of only imagining it. But the A-12 came first, so it deserves its place in history. I always found it fascinating that these aircraft would leak fuel through their seams on the ground because when they flew at speed the heat would seal the plane completely. So the intentionally built them with loose plating. 😳

[@hoghogwild]

They were not designed to leak on the ground then seal up once heated up at speed. They didn't leak at higher altitudes because by that time the tanks weren't full anymore. Each area of the jet had a certain allowance for the number of fuel drips per unit of time were allowed. Certain areas allowed more leakage than others, some didnt allow any drips Once a certain level of "drips per hour" had been violated, the aircraft is pulled and its tanks are resealed. It was the sealant used that would degrade due to the thermal/chemical/physical movement of the joints that caused the leaks. Every 1-1/2 hours these beasts had to slow down/descend from Mach 3 plus/80,000+ feet and come down to 250knots/25,000 feet and sit on a tanked for over 15 minutes. A-12 held 68,000 pounds the SR-71 being longer held approx 80,000 pounds of fuel. The blackbirds became so heavy during fueling that towards the end of the filling session, the pilot had to engage a single afterburner in order to keep up with the tanker aircraft. They would stroke the afterburner in one engine and then control speed with the other engine. These birds were in a constant dance of acceleration/climb from a tanker with decelerating/descending to a tanker.

[@catatonicbug7522]

As a kid in the 80's, I had a model of the SR-71 in my bedroom. Never even heard of the A-12 until this video!

[@meganfontenot7342]

Me too, I thought of only blackbird as the

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

then you never heard of the YF 12 A either. The "fighter" version. The only example made is at, "THE NATIONAL MUSEUM of the USAF" Dayton,OHIO.

[@jasonpeacock9735]

@@jeffreymcfadden9403 not entirely true. The SR-71C at Hill AFB is a YF-12 prototype that was modified into a trainer for the SR-71 program.

[@HemiDude100]

Simon: “im not sure if i should do a video on...”. Everyone: “just do it!”

[@thecrowcook]

right? we dont want to hear someone else talk about things, we want to hear SIMON talk about things

[@crf80fdarkdays]

If only I could heart react this..

[@steviesavagery]

He just wants people to comment, it helps the algorithm.

[@HemiDude100]

Rocky nah, trolling him was hiring the construction company to break danny and sam out

[@97marin]

DEW IT! *CRACKLES MANICALLY*

[@kurotenshi1973]

Simon, I have to share. My father was a civil Engineer in Okinawa during Operation Black Shield. He was almost court martialed for what happened to him there. Story as follows. My father had a passion for building model airplanes and displaying them in his cubicle and around the dorm during his time in Okinawa. He would purchase the newest ones from local stores around the base. One day, he found a futuristic jet at one small store that a local resident owned. Falling in love with the design, he immediately purchased it, built it and proudly displayed it on his desk the following week. It wasn't long before a high ranking officer ( I believe he said Colonel, but I can't be sure) was walking through the area and spotted the top secret A12 sitting on my father's desk. My father was immediately taken into custody, his model confiscated, and he spent several hours explaining to some very serious individuals that he he had purchased it and would show them where. Question. How did this store come to have a detailed scale model of the A-12 Archangel? Simple. The owner of the store was extremely talented, skilled craftsman and would sit off the runway in Okinawa and take pictures of the aircraft as they flew overhead. He would then go home and carve out models of these aircraft and sell them. After my father was released and informed he was to restrict his model purchases to the local base stores, the military then went to this man's shop..., purchased it and everything inside (including the man's photography equipment and all of his pictures) then paiud to have him and his family relocated to another part of the island far away from Kadena Air Base. Goes to show, the military and CIA do have a heart..., occasionally.

[@Sorain1]

Hay, when you can solve a problem in a moral way that helps you to sleep at night? You do it.

[@syntaxusdogmata3333]

Fantastic story. Thanks for sharing it! 👍

[@a4onkiller]

I love reading the comment section for hidden gems like this, thank you for sharing bud

[@bernardfender5147]

"relocated" yeah, 50 miles off shore with concrete shoes on!

[@Gomorragh]

Well goes to show that the Civil Engineer did a better job of counter intelligence than the CIA did on that front, and restricting his model purchases from the beginning would mean that he would never have caught the "leak" and many wasted hours looking inside the camp when some random passer by who made models was the unwitting leak ... people see unknown things in the sky, people take pictures, if they have the skill they remake them .... its how humans have made money for millenia, and seems to be a weakness in intelligence thinking at that point

[@michaeld.coulombesr.583]

I, as one, know that when the A-12, or the SR-71 took off the first thing they did was fuel-up and then go into afterburner and get upstairs as fast as possible, and once they went into afterburner they stayed in afterburner. The way the J-58 engine was setup was that once you went into afterburner you stayed their, because your engine converted into a ramjet engine, your speed stayed right at Mach 3.2 or so and your fuel economy stayed good. You can look it up if you want. One remarkable aircraft. Michael said that. Bye for now my friend.

[@firstmkb]

I heard from a friend the SR-71 fuel tanks were designed to expand with the skin of the aircraft and seal completely when heated by supersonic friction. Before getting up to operating temperature the tanks would leak, which was why they refueled in mid-air after takeoff. That is a ballsy way to deal with fuel leaks!

[@valrefugio8768]

@@firstmkb I agree the fuel tanks are integral to the aircraft structure. The highest temperature occurs in the outer edges of the aircraft-they are trimmed with composite materials like the Space shuttle. Fuel is used to cool the aircraft and balance the Pitch (AOA).

[@michaeld.coulombesr.583]

@UCYyt9WQ9FZXGrgZBIpF_3KA I, as one, am not willing to argue the point of weather or not the A-12 and or the SR-71 had afterburners, It seems to me that if you are capable of writing in these comments....then for sure you are capable of looking that information up for yourself!!!! And if it's any good for you I'm going on 79 year's myself. But if I feel like making a comment about something I, as one, make DAMN SURE THAT I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!! Michael said that. Bye for now my friend

[@zumazoomzoom7632]

Have read stories from pilots that claimed to be far over the top speed declared for brief moments. The limit is susposed to be the windscreen temperature limits.

[@Cynsham]

@@firstmkb The SR71 also used a specialized jet fuel named JP7 which was specifically designed to have extremely low volatility, low vapor pressure, and high oxidation stability, all meaning that it's extremely hard to ignite. The stuff was so unwilling to ignite that every single time that the engines were started or went into afterburner they had to shoot an extremely volatile hypergolic chemical called Triethylborane into each engine in order to ignite the fuel. The airplane was incredibly fuel efficient once it got above about Mach 2.2 because above those speeds the engines would transition from functioning like normal turbojets to functioning as ramjets, the SR-71's had a fleet of tankers in the air wherever they needed while they were on mission, the only thing that gave them a hard limit in terms of mission length was the limited amount of Triethylborance (TEB) charges they had.

[@Locspocs2]

KZbin should be ashamed of themselves for interrupting all these ads with meaningful content.

[@bobgreene2892]

Some of the ads are really, really gross-- apparently saved for late night hours. We might attempt to believe KZbin had better standards, but that is probably a wasted effort..

[@warhammer5690]

Ikr

[@MrSeaniewa]

Yup. I'll stick to Scott Manly who doesn't put ads in his videos and very similar content

[@TheDing1701]

Seriously, I see NO commercials anymore. I forget that KZbin has them. I got the free AdBlock thing. I'm on my desktop now, but sometimes I watch on my phone that doesn't have the app, and it sucks! I've had it for a long time, and no problems.

[@MrSeaniewa]

@@TheDing1701 I watch way too much stuff on my phone, and my laptop is right there lol. Thanks for the info anyway TheDing.

[@daltonevans3412]

This dude got so many youtube channels it's like he's collecting infinity gems for a youtube infinity gauntlet

[@peytonberg7872]

But every video is well made and very informative!

[@DarkerThanBlack88]

He has enough for two Infinity gauntlets.

[@warkenermillen14]

@@peytonberg7872 especially informative because every 2:30 you get shown ads

[@ezioauditoredafirenze5453]

😂😂🤣

[@peytonberg7872]

@Irish Jester still takes skill to present it in a way that people actually listen to and comprehend.

[@philipmeredith7996]

Iv'e always wanted to name my daughter Oxcart Musk. But we decided on F-22.

[@keirfarnum6811]

I’m glad you didn’t name her “Enterprise”.

[@569139]

Kelly Johnson Lockheed Engineer.. A aviation design extraordinaire..One of the greats!!

[@Robert-xp4ii]

"Archangel" - Best weapon name ever!

[@user-gu1sz9vi9e]

It’s a heck of a plane I would like a vid on the C5 galaxy

[@stefanschleps8758]

Better would be the TR3B.

[@josh_1518]

Nah galaxy is sick tho

[@superheavydeathmetal]

Great idea!

[@Pianotech520]

Ah, the good old C-5. Was stationed for years at Dover AFB and while they make great videos for their figures, those old beasts are really difficult to load!

[@ryer9646]

Years of that thing flying a few hundred feet above my house has left me not only desensitized to it, but also annoyed by it's obnoxiously loud engines. Since then it's been replaced by the C-17 here, which isn't nearly as loud luckily.

[@umeimoto]

Great and informative video ! I've only ever really heard much about the SR-71s as my dad worked around them back in the day; its nice to hear about what came before.

[@danieleriksen1130]

My step dad Carl, was the lead engineer for the engine at Pratt and Whitney aircraft for the SR-71 back in Connecticut. He is 95 years next month. Lots of memories for him.

[@danieleriksen1130]

@_SilverArrow_xxx I did, thanks! He actually was the engineer who solved the problem of the over-heating of the air inlet (RAM effect, he said) where the seals and solder on the electrical components would melt at over mach 3 from friction. They didn't want to use water coolant and another tank, so he had the idea to use the fuel to pass through the inlet housing. It had three positive effects: less weight with no additional coolant tank/pump, saved needing to enlarge the plane and pre-heated the fuel for burning efficiency.

[@roninespiritu]

I remember taking a class trip to the USS Intrepid when I was a kid. I have always wanted to become a pilot and the most amazing plane I had ever heard of at the time was the SR-71 blackbird. I just learned today, because of this video, that the plane I got to sit in as a kid was not an SR-71 but an A-12 Archangel......mind blown.....this has rekindled my dream of flying a plane....😎

[@longboardfella5306]

“Success is a fairly loose concept”. Indeed. Applies to nearly all megaprojects

[@gabbymadsen7260]

Production: Success is mission completion. Experimental Projects: But did anyone die?

[@TheRiverPirate13]

My shop teacher when I was in high school in the 1980's who served as a radar operator at a base in Vietnam during the war claimed that they tracked a SR-71 (I'm thinking it was an A-12) with an airspeed of 2,100 knots (2,400 mph). He said they were told not be tracking these planes on radar but I guess they decided to do it once. He said it was common knowledge on the base that the spy plane was capable of Mach 3.5.

[@exexpat11]

Our FFG tracked both the Space Shuttle and S/R-71 once. Each appeared as ONE BLIP and was gone off our radar screen. If you blinked you missed it.

[@stardustgaster5505]

"You are not surprised by this" I'm not but that video would be great to watch, you've gained a subscription today.

[@Greyman1114]

I would still love to see one on the tank in the sky, the A-10

[@seanbrazell6147]

I heartily second that!

[@indifferentuniverse3991]

Yes yes yes!!!

[@garrett5984]

This is a great video on that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZyZgqVshLRojtE

[@moozaman1809]

I do to want to be mean but this is not an airplane channel it is one about massive projects and the A-10 was no more massive the most other aircraft. He does aircraft that were hard to design and create.

[@timmturner]

My cousin was a crew chief on the A-10 and one father's day he gave my uncle one of the bullet proof window panels, it's like 3" thick. What a cool gift. I asked him about obtaining one of the depleted uranium rounds but getting one of those was an impossibility unfortunately.

[@zosxavius]

Both planes were designed to cruise in afterburner all the time. In fact the faster they flew the less fuel they used. The afterburner contributed the majority of the thrust at Mach 3+. In fact the engine ran as basically a ramjet with the inlets fully forward. I think this video missed a lot on their engines to be honest. They are the most interesting part of the a12.

[@ztoob8898]

At speed, the intakes provided over 60% of the aircraft's thrust. I don't know how that works, to be honest, but none other than Ben Rich, the lead engineer who designed the intakes, confirmed this to be true in his book "Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed". The improvement in fuel burn was mainly due to the intakes also, from what I've read. Of course, higher speed required a higher fuel burn rate (the laws of physics being what they are), but the burn rate per pound of thrust went down, as did the burn rate per mile. Those intakes were pretty friggin' amazing.

[@autisonm]

@@ztoob8898 I think its literally pulling in so much air that its pulling the plane forward.

[@bencolbert6732]

@@ztoob8898 it uses compression forces according to Bernoulli's principle for air compression being negligible at lower velocities, but inversely more important at higher velocities. The more you can slow down an extremely fast gas, the more it will increase in pressure at supersonic speeds. The engine adjusts for compression ratios at supersonic speeds to maintain an increasing thrust. So yeah, it kinda just pulls air in to move it forward using physics.

[@TwelvePaws]

@@autisonm The J58 is a Turbo Ramjet. At High mach, the spike does the majority of the work compressing the air which is then bypassed around the main engine (compressor,combustion chamber and turbine assy) and into the afterburner section. This makes the afterburner way more efficient because this highly compressed air is unburnt thus having more oxygen. So in reality the afterburner is used constantly at high mach numbers, but it's not technically an afterburner at this point (because the majority of air is unburnt when it enters) just a large combustion chamber. The main Engine at this point is providing approx 20% of thrust It can be a difficult concept - I used to work on fighter engines, and understand supersonic intakes (shockwave and pressure reversions etc) mainly it's just witchcraft But basically what you're trying to do all the way through an engine is manage pressure and velocity - As Pressure increases so does temperature and velocity decreases - if you restrict the air then velocity increases and pressure/ temp decrease. Put your thumb over a hose pipe - high pressure behind your thumb with water slowing down - past the restriction low pressure and water velocity increases.

[@Bluelevitron]

@@bencolbert6732 At supersonic speeds each inlet swallowed 100,000 cubic feet of air per second, the equivalent of two million people inhaling in unison. Once the engines are increased to military power, their rpm's and the air, flowing through them, remain constant. The inlet guide vanes on the face of the compressor will have rotated from the axial to their cambered positions, at speeds around 1.7 to 2.3 Mach. The engine is providing all of the thrust that it can produce, 17 % of the total thrust at Mach 3.2, with the inlet producing 54 % and the ejector 29 %. The face of the compressor actually has a slight negative thrust on the aircraft. The spike and shaping of the inlets provided an astounding 84 % propulsion efficiency, which was 20 % more than any other supersonic propulsion system ever built.

[@bobbieratclif9519]

As an aviation addict, you caught me totally off guard with A12. I too like you have seen the SR71 in person. Since we’ve declassified so much information about the SR71, there has to be a whole lot more to learn about the A12. My bet you’ll keep hunting high & low for this astounding aircraft history. My bet is this A12 also scooted along our civil aviation as applicable & necessary avionics were implemented into planes we’re flying today. And yes, I hope you continue your delightful gold nugget shows that delight me each & every week (especially when there’s that fact v/s fiction approach). There’s.clearly some pre-NASA angle going on here. Talk about super cool 👍

[@georgiathai4961]

If you read “Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base” by Annie Jacobsen, you’ll read a lot of the history of the A-12. Don’t let the book title scare you. It’s not all about UFOs and stuff. Really good book and comprehensive history of Area 51 and what they’ve done there.

[@sidchicken2308]

I believe you can see an A-12 in person aboard the USS Intrepid in NYC.

[@arthurbarette768]

I just discovered your channel 1 month ago, and I really love it ! Your content is great and the narration is always clear and interesting, thats one of the best war/history channels out there imo, keep up the great work 👍👍

[@DarrellLarose]

In Canada the Avro Arrow has become an urban legend, with a lot of incredible claims. Perhaps you can separate the wheat from the chaff of this 1950's interceptor.

[@scooterdogg7580]

it was great for its time ,but some seem to think it compares to the independence day alien space craft in performance lol

[@DarrellLarose]

@@scooterdogg7580 It was also obsolete when Sputnik was launched and the threat became Soviet ICBMs. It was designed really for one mission, as a highspeed Interceptor.

[@kimchipig]

@@scooterdogg7580 I grew up in an RCAF family and ever since the cancellation of the Arrow they have never forgotten which party did it. That said, we can see from this video that interceptor aircraft had been rendered obsolete. The British also cancelled their maga-interceptor, the TSR-2 for exactly the same reason.

[@chaswalker2038]

@@kimchipig The TSR-2 was to be a low level nuclear bomber to replace the V-Bombers. It was cancelled under American pressure and they offered Britain a deal on the F-111 as a replacement. The deal went sour after delays and cost over-runs on the F-111 so Britain did not get its new bomber until it developed the Panavia Tornado together with european partners.

[@jimhansen1245]

the arrow was definitely the real deal, killed by politics .

[@fordprefect7710]

Also, too; My gramps was in the US Army Air Corps. He helped to develop radar, during and after WWII. It took me many years to fully understand why he yelled at me when I stood in front of the microwave. He saw, or heard about more than a few Airmen getting cooked alive from unshielded radar. I didn't hear about this until after his death. My Aunt did a little segment about this on a local NPR station in NC. That was a few years before his death, but I didn't hear that recording until after he died. I have it on CD. I listen to it on his birthday.

[@TheOriginalRick]

Used to watch the SR 71s fly out of Kadena in the early 70s. From lift off to out of sight was less than 60 seconds.

[@dsadik666]

Gone in 60 seconds

[@arador1968]

I did the same when I was stationed there in the 80's :-)

[@jrjones7960]

I was on Okinawa/Kadina with F106s in 1968 and to our knowledge the Blackbirds were SR71s. We knew of a previous version called the YF12 which was a squadron of interceptors. I also "heard" that the YF12s were reconfigured as SR71s. I did not know of the A-12.

[@jimmyggh1]

The YF-12A, the long forgotten version that was between the A-12 and the SR-71

[@kevinstrout630]

Ideas for videos: HMS Dreadnought Tenochititlan

[@ShellyAnn1a]

In 1973-1974 I was stationed on Okinawa at Camp Hauge, the base was about a half mile from the end of the Kadena runway. We always knew when the Habu was getty ready to take off. Two tankers would take off ahead of it. I lost three coffee mugs to the SR-71, the vibrations were so great when SR-71 Habu took off and did its tail stand over us, the cup seemed to walk right off the edge of your desk falling to floor. That was frustrating, especially if you had not had your first cup of morning coffee yet.. It would be gone for a couple of hours the return. We would watch some F-4 Phantom fighters take of, so we knew we had a show coming up. Maybe a mile out you would see some red and white lights come on and the Phantoms would disappear into the clouds. When the Habu closed to within a quarter mile from or base, the Phantoms would try to ambush them. When the Phantoms dropped out of the clouds, the Habu's gears would come up, then they apparently got permission to leave the flight pattern. The nest thing that happened, the Phantoms, would drop in behind the Habu in a kill position. As the got over hear, the Habu would do a tail stand and nearly bust our windows. The Phantoms were already in burners, when everybody went ballistic, straight up sort of. It seemed like it only took a couple of minutes for the Habu to loose the Phantoms and they had to break of their pursuit, a couple of minutes later the Habu would be back in the landing pattern, ready to land. Used to have some super 8mm film of the Habu coming in for a landing. You could really feel the pressure in your chest as it took off over you, like the Habu did back in 1973-74.

[@anthonymcneill1465]

I did not even know this plane existed till today. Yes, the U-2 and SR-71 I was aware of, even saw the SR-71 at the Air and Space Museum. Wow!

[@towermoss]

Used to live on Kadena, and we'd see these things fly overhead a few times a week. The plane is called the Habu over there.

[@Lawrence330]

Mostly unrelated, but I used to live near an Air Force base and saw a B-2 Spirit once, among the quietest planes I've ever seen (assuming similar altitude to the usual C-130s they flew out of there). Navy Hornets, OTOH, are so effing loud I'm surprised they ever hit a target. You can hear them coming for miles and miles.

[@louisjacques8085]

HABU out of Kadena were SR 71’s

[@johnrip4522]

What year were you over there?

[@malusignatius]

For those interested, 'Habu' is the name given to several pit-vipers native to the Ryukyu Islands.

[@roriquevernonii8439]

@@malusignatius and a sake, lol!

[@MichaelEdelman1954]

There was a third variant: The YF-12A. The SR-71 replaced the A-12 because it was more advanced. It could carry more fuel, more payload, and a second crew member. It also developed more lift had a smaller radar cross section, thanks in part to the chines.

[@JV-lq3tx]

Wasn't the A-12 the initial CIA variant and the SR-71 was for the actual military?

[@mnfrench7603]

Michael Edelman the YF-12A was armed. None went into production... or did they?

[@karlepaul6632]

Couldn't they have mentioned Clarence "Kelly" Johnson at least ONCE in this video?

[@stampede122]

The fourth variation was the M-21, although short lived

[@stampede122]

mn french the missiles initially designed for the YF-12 ended up on the F-14

[@chrisshort87]

Great job, Simon. Really enjoyed that. Well deserved sub. I look forward to exploring more of your content.

[@JessWLStuart]

I knew a mechanic who in the Air Force worked on the SR-71. He said the airplane was stressed tested to the equivalent of mach 7.

[@ryugakishatu6372]

It was used as a testbed to develop technologies that were later needed during the development of the “Aurora” hypersonic aircraft in the 1980s, which is still classified but has been seen and heard by lots of people

[@powwow151]

Simon I have to say that I'm actually really impressed by this video. I'm a pretty enthusiastic aerospace enthusiast (and am studying for an aerospace engineering degree) and usually channels like this are great, but aren't ground breaking for myself as I usually have heard about a lot of this stuff. But I actually learned quite a bit of stuff this video, so major kudos to you and the research you and your team have done, it's always been top quality in any of your channels.

[@Lawrence330]

Kudos to you. I did ME for 4 semesters before changing my major back to EE and just taking a minor in ME. Fluids was a bitch... I'd rather count electrons than calculate the pressures a fluid excepts on a wonky geometry.

[@stevedaenginerd]

@@Lawrence330 I can totally understand your point! I spent 20+ as an A&P (while not one of my degrees, I do consider myself as an ME) before I went and had the bright idea of getting a computer science degree. I'm just glad I didn't have to do any hard maths with fluids!! Lol

[@882952]

Although I love the A-12 for it's incredible history and performance, I also have a family connection which I am very fond of. My dad worked for the CIA at Groom Lake when the A-12s were being tested there. He was part of the security team, and one of his interesting stories is about how he got hired by the CIA to begin with. Oddly enough, it all started with answering an ad in the newspaper, and he didn't even know what the job was until he was hired. During this time, he, my mom, and I lived in Las Vegas, where I was born. Every week he would go to the airport and get on a military plane (later they started using Janus Airlines) to fly to Area 51. He'd work there for the week, and at the end of the week he'd be flown back home again. I never get tired of asking him questions about his time there, and he remembers it fondly.

[@dallasjelinek6432]

Well did he see any thing like ufo or Bigfoot???

[@882952]

@@dallasjelinek6432 No, only the beautiful, shiny, Lockheed A12 aircraft he was charged with keeping a secret at the time. :)

[@psyekl]

I spent part of my childhood near Beale Air Force Base in California and I regularly got the privilege to watch the SR-71 fly, even getting close to it sitting on the tarmac during airshows (cordoned off with guards, of course).

[@TheGenericavatar]

Ben Rich, the leader of the Skunkworks after Kelly Johnson retired, wrote an excellent book about his time at the Skunkworks that includes the development of the U-2 and the SR-71.

[@keithbradley4224]

Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was a freaking genius.

[@davidmyersretiredaerospace8038]

A good friend of mine yes.

[@generalripper7528]

Was he though? The swept back wings come from German research and the Germans also developed a high-altitude spy plane in WW2, which was very, very similar to the basic design of the U-2. It's called the DFS 228. They benefitted quite a bit from captured German research. However, the Americans produced very innovative designs during the war as well and yes they also had great engineers. I am just saying that there is a lot of German technology in the post-war jets of the US. West Germany even developed a plane very similar to the F-117 before US pressure resulted in the cancellation of the project. Look up the MBB Lampyridae. *Edit: And the design of the A-10 was heavily influenced by the "Unnamed" Junkers Ground Attack Aircraft. Hans-Ulrich Rudel was also an advisor to Fairchild-Republic.

[@davidmyersretiredaerospace8038]

@@generalripper7528 Yes he was and a very good friend of mine.

[@jeffprice6421]

@@generalripper7528 The US had swept wings. You have oversimpliffied the entire process of both the design and manufacturing of these extraordinary aircraft. When they started this, titanium couldnt be formed. They invented everything necessary to form and machine titanium from scratch. That's like the full lifespan of an entire civilization in a year, by one team on one project. If Johnson isn't a genius, then why have Archangel and Blackbird NEVER been surpaassed?

[@jeffprice6421]

@@davidmyersretiredaerospace8038 Wow! Do you have any Kelly Johnson stories to tell?

[@ztoob8898]

On most aircraft, the afterburners are used infrequently. The Concorde, for example, flew in "supercruise" which is the term for mach+ flight without afterburner. But the SR-71 and the A-12 were designed to cruise in afterburner. The engine's core was primarily an air pump to feed fresh oxygen to the afterburner. Once the aircraft neared mach 3, the inlets and ejectors provided most of the thrust, the afterburners second, and the engine core a distant third. That's just the way it worked.

[@shelleyking8450]

We can only repeat the RELEASED top speed and altitude of these planes, which are astounding. The ACTUAL limits will never be known, but from first-hand accounts over the years, we're considerably more than the "official" records.

[@woodyfpv1990]

Very interesting comparison of two great aircraft. One small note: jet engine thrust is measured in pounds-force (lbf) not pound-feet (lb-ft). The latter are the units of torque.

[@kopfauftischhau216]

Something about the giant airships, especially Hindenburg, would be interesting.

[@petahoee8281]

I second this

[@stefanschleps8758]

Better would be the TR3B.

[@Tommy-5684]

the R101 she was the largest airship ever bult so large the Titanic coud fit inside and crashed in a French village on her maiden voige from India to the UK killing 48 of her 54 crew and passengers. as a side note Iron Maiden wrote an 18 minute epic about this airship and her crash

[@PieterPatrick]

@@Tommy-5684 Every time I hear Titanic I think: That boat used 600.000 kg of coal in one day..... Wauw!

[@egmccann]

Akron / Macon. >.>

[@johnbaxter9446]

This is fascinating. I had never heard of the A12 and I honestly thought you were talking about a current design using AI so sophisticated as to be incomprehensible to humans. Your channel is FANTASTIC. BRAVO!!!!!

[@jonathanheck631]

I was pleased to have had an opportunity to visit the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia a few years ago to assist in delivering some original art for display at the CIA's private museum. I believe that the oil paintings of the A-12 that we delivered were the images seen in this interesting episode. That occasion was just prior the dedication of an A-12 that is now installed on a pedestal outside the rear of the CIA HQ building. We drove under the A-12 on the way out, but they were still finishing up the display area.. We also got a tour of the CIA Museum [closed to the public, with some display items viewable at the CIA Museum's www site] with the museum's Curator. All of the CIA brass and a number of very senior military people were present during our visit, as it coincided with the Director's annual Christmas party for employees. We were supposed to get our picture taken standing next to the big CIA seal on the floor of the building's entrance area, but unfortunately the CIA's official photographer was busy at the Christmas party, and use of our own cameras was prohibited inside the property. It was a very fun and interesting experience.

[@America_Yea]

It would be interesting to hear about the Interceptor version of this family of planes the Yf-12.

[@zerotsuki7543]

This is the first video I saw of yours. That I know of, I am now subscribed to all of your channels, until the next one lol. Carry on fact boi

[@ltcurry]

I had the honor of watching a Sr-71 Landing at an airbase in Nj in the early 80's while on an cable car ride in Great adventure Nj. I know the air base, cant remember the name, Black, long, loud and you can not mistake the shape. It was awesome.

[@civicgsr19]

I got to watch the SR-71 out at Skunkworks in Palmdale when my dad worked for Lockheed. They are so so so so so so so soooooo loud. Such an amazing aircraft...BUILT WITH A SLIDE RULE.

[@RammYou2]

slide rule - that is ignorant Chris.

[@charlesjmouse]

"Elon Musk is a bit of a strange man" - Agreed!

[@ln7929]

You Can't be a innovative billionaire without being weird looking at you howard huges

[@pirittap.9947]

Still feel a little sorry for the baby. Just a little though because his/her (don't know wich it is - don't really care, I actually didn't know Musk had a baby until I saw this vid) dad is one of the richest men alive, I'm pretty sure that makes up for the crappy name.

[@jeffgambill3821]

@@ln7929 he passed Forbes yesterday on the worlds richest man.. They don't count China though ?? I read that there's a guy in China that makes more in one day then Amazon makes in a year... They even have a holiday for him.. Don't know if it's true,I saw it on youtube a week ago..lol

[@13lochie]

@@jeffgambill3821 Putins the number one almost certainly. That bloke has been squirreling dough out of the country like its a trolley dash for 20 years.

[@jeffgambill3821]

@@13lochie lol,that's pretty cool, I have no idea what you just said but I wish I could talk like that... What is a trolly dash.... I've never heard of that but I assume it takes in a lot of money

[@chriscroley9279]

There is an A-12 inside the museum in Mobile Alabama. I thought it was a Blackbird till I was 20ft from it and saw the single canopy. Very interesting storyboard next to it as well.

[@Sabeteur83]

If I recall correctly from other videos I have seen, a big difference between the A-12 and SR-71 is that the A-12 is a single seater, besides the trainer, and the SR-71 is a 2 seater.

[@RonaldMcPaul]

Not surprised this is the most viewed video. The development of Kelly Johnson and fast planes is one of the coolest things human has ever done, if such a thing can be quantified.

[@khkartc]

The California Science Center in LA has an A-12 on display, as well as the space shuttle Endeavour.

[@blueofthelightanddark6273]

khkartc the trainer variant

[@shawnstrode3825]

In the early 70's I had security clearance to view the SR71. What an amazing aircraft. Unfortunately I could not say anything about it for quite a while.

[@gabecoombs3021]

I would definitely be interested in a tallest building in the world video, you explain things exceptionally well!

[@bobjones5166]

To show how classified these planes were I was stationed an a northern base in the US when a SR-71 declared an in flight emergency and needed to land. Our base was chosen as the place to put it down. We had just a short time to prepare. The base scrambled to get 20 foot high curtains ready. They formed a 3 sided walls and when the plane landed it pulled into said curtains and shut off it's engine. A fourth wall went up behind it. NOBODY but the pilot was allowed inside. We placed 50 security forces around the plane but they were not allowed withing 75 feet of the curtains. By the end of the day we had a flock of C-130's land with security folks to replace ours, maintenance folks to work on the plane and 2 pilots to choose from for the return flight and they even brought their own fuel trucks (loaded with fuel) to refuel the plane. By the next afternoon the plane was fixed. Th rear curtain was dropped, the engines fired, the front curtain dropped and it's taxi was also it's run up to speed and it was off the ground in seconds and just a memory a few seconds later. This was what the folks on a US Air Force base go to see of this plane. Nothing unless you saw it land or take off. Ohh one more thing, if you were seen pointing a camera in it's direction all HELL would break loose. lol Just my $0.02

[@WarHoover]

I grew up in Northern California. I had the luck to see SR-71s flying around every once in a while as a kid. Sometimes just a few thousand feet up over Sacramento. It was always a huge surprise, and I wondered what the hell was going on for it to be so far from Beale AFB, so low over a populated area.

[@kellypedron8388]

Actually, they needed their own fuel trucks, because the SR-71 (and the A-12) burned JP-7, not JP-4 like everything else; I doubt any Air Force base except Beale kept JP-7 on hand.

[@kellypedron8388]

@My Dude ?????????????

[@rancor4690]

I would like to see a video about GPS

[@UmVtCg]

Ahhh Navstar

[@falconerd343]

Heck yes! I'd say GPS counts as a megaproject! The array of applications and just how reliant modern technology has become on it is incredible. It's so necessary for modern tech that there are 3 other separate world wide navigation systems built by other countries that don't trust the US and so created their own to ensure they have access to a GPS system. (Russia, China, and Europe all have their own systems) Plus Japan and India have their own regional positioning satellites (in geostationary orbit so the ground trace covers their respective countries) to make sure their countries are covered.

[@jbgnx38]

I love Simon's humor and delivery. Hilarious!

[@DavidAragon13]

Last year at the Museum of Flight in Seattle I saw the M-12 and the Apollo 11 "Columbia" that day. One of the best days of my life.

[@fedomandez]

The OXCART family. Coolest planes ever. I think you could talk more about the engines and their ramjet in-flight transition

[@darthbane4980]

In Palmdale CA, there is an A12, SR71 Blackbird, U-2, and a D-21d drone(same engine of the SR71 I think) on display and it’s free. It’s called Blackbird Airpark. There is also another aviation museum next door. It has everything an aviation fan could ever want to see including a F104 starfighter. It’s also free. While driving there you drive through The Skunk Works. I drove 16 hours to get there and it was worth every second.

[@stephensjurset6832]

Thanks. That's good stuff. I am glad that I found your channel.

[@brettkuntze8997]

there was a Popular Science or Mechanic issue that detailed in great depth how SR=71 was developed and manufactured. It was almost impossible to build it.. It took lots of problem solving to make it fly. It was never enough to have just titanium, because many of the problems to be solved was related to high temperature that created problems . It was a fascinating issue! I was too cheap to buy the issue online if any..

[@4077Disc]

I can’t wait to learn about the Newport News Drydock.

[@user-ko8ti2my5p]

why is drydock called drydock if it wet

[@LewWhite10]

This video brought back so many vivid memories for me. The cosmic top-secret projects are very alluring, but to those who live with the memory of them, it can take decades to stop having nightmares. 50 years ago I served in the black area where the SR-71 Blackbird was maintained underground and rose on an elevator before taking off in mere seconds.

[@brianjob3018]

Interesting what Mr White shared. I'm only aware of the -71 operating out of Kadena and Edwards Air Force bases. Now, someone several years ago told me he saw a TR-3B come out of an underground storage at Edwards, rotate slowly and then instantly was gone. > Mr White, if you ever read this reply, what can you share about other black projects?

[@LewWhite10]

​@@brianjob3018 The Blackbird was the most awesome of all possible thrills to witness as it emerged silently from underground in the black area of Kadena AFB during my tour there. Jimi Hendrix had just recent died, and soon after I found myself on what we called "the Rock." I worked mostly the grave shift while stationed there, and what went on after dark caused me to have nightmares for several years afterward after my 4 years in the USAF ended. It was after I was discharged (honorably) that I realized how much background research was done to check out my friends and family back home in order to have a top-secret security clearance to be so close to the super-secret aircraft that could be used to deploy tactical nuclear weaponry, and perform high-altitude reconnaissance too. The technology that I saw being used over 50 years ago is still a century ahead of anything the day-to-day person has ever imagined yet. Lockheed was the next step, and I wanted no part in whatever was going on back then, so I declined their offer to come work for them. The experimental particle beam weapons I saw in 1969 were pretty to see at night, but my conscience compelled me to stay away from all of it no matter what the financial reward might be. The Space Force has existed for decades, and now the public is hearing about it.

[@brianj1136]

@@LewWhite10 What do you mean financial reward? You were being paid your E-6+ pay right? Or do you mean potential pay as an employee of Lockheed as a security contractor?

[@fishnchips2228]

One day there'll be nothing left of Simon except a massive beard.

[@davidschmidt6013]

6:37 "...at an altitude of 6 meters.." THAT would have been an interesting flyby....

[@Ron4885]

For real. For our U.S. persons that's only 19 feet off the ground. Might be cool to see though. (from a distance) :)

[@barthoving2053]

It was not a flyby it was a take off with the landing gear staying out. The landing gear apparently created instability and the pilot decided to land on the salt flat instead of risking a turn.

[@harrykoyl3784]

Definitely would have needed an extra pair of undies and pants for sure....!

[@davidschmidt6013]

@@barthoving2053 Yes, I'm aware of that from the vid, as I have excellent listening skills. This was just a joke.... (i.e. ANY flyby at 6 meters would be an interesting flyby.) Get over yourself.

[@timothyashe3779]

For a more in depth history of A-12 Oxcart/Archangel I would highly recommend Annie Jacobson's "Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base". There is a lot more in there other than just the A-12 but since the A-12, and the U-2 before that, is so closely connected to the building and development of the Groom Lake base it covers the A-12 history extensively.

[@Praetor_Fenix420]

There is A-12 on display at the Californa Science Center in Los Angeles.

[@bradchang5076]

One is also on display at San Diego Aerospace Museum... Right at the entrance to the building.

[@GhostGuitars]

LOVE the jokey conversational style of presentation here!

[@spacecatboy2962]

i watched a video of a russian talking about what he felt when he heard of the SR71 in the 60s. He said he didnt believe that such a weak country with such a weak society like america could make such a high performance plane. It really speaks to the difference of how russians and americans see national strength. Russians think that their strength comes from a heavy handed, hard fisted all powerful, all controlling govment made up of a few people at the top telling everyone what to do. Americans think their strength comes from the people who are free to pursue ideas, and free to innovate and invent throughout society and to dream and design and learn and sometimes make large profits from their inventions. Its true that the american govment tends to get everyone together to invent and design things like planes and gadgets and space programs to be used for defense, but at its root, it is still the free human spirit to create that pushes innovation forward. So what russians see as american weakness is really americas strength, while the very thing russians believe makes them strong is what makes their country weak.

[@AshoreToo]

The Chinese Communist regime B S their citizens the same way as Russians did. Many bone-head Chinese currently guess they can fight America and defeat Americans.

[@knewdles]

@Murmurations - agreed~! Some icons in Soviet history are unique treasures~! However - cant resist saying; such beauty & charm are rare; - thus with reverence; - I know why the caged bird sings.

[@ashcoates25]

I’m so disappointed! I was hoping this would be our dry dock video...

[@colingravon9810]

Yeah. I think it hasn't been long enough since the Nimitz one, probably takes a couple weeks with scripts and editing.

[@ImpmanPDX]

And here I was thinking you'd come here looking for Drachinifel's latest video upload. I've done it. If you're not a follower of "The Drydock" you should be.

[@ChickenLiver911]

Colin Gravon, I think it takes a few months.

[@js00065]

Very funny ashley 😆

[@kineticdeath]

I wonder if the drydock will become an ongoing thing like the ever elusive brick video on Half as Interesting.

[@aardvarkansaw]

I was stationed at a long range radar base in Southern Louisiana from 1966 through Spring of 1969. During this time the A-12 flew. Two or three times an aircraft came into our radar range from the NNW and made a giant high speed 360 degree turn within our coverage area. The 360 degree loop that was maybe 350 miles wide. The analog radar paint was the largest I had ever seen--much larger than any airliners'. (Airliners made about a 1/4 inch wide paint. This aircraft made a radar paint that was closer to an inch wide.) Airliners creeped along compared to this aircraft. The speed was absurdly fast maybe 6000 mph. It's altitude was about 95,000 feet. I do not know what it was. This same pattern occurred 2 or 3 times when I happened to be on duty.

[@3ducs]

6,000 MPH?

[@kevionrogers2605]

@@3ducs that seems like a ballistic missile being tested with some form of guidance.

[@artisan002]

Finding enough info to work with will be tricky, but I'd love to see you tackle the YF-12, ideally with it's companion Phoenix missile.

[@wbrandon78]

Depending on what is considered "Mega", it'd be cool to see an episode on new strides in artificial intelligence.

[@N0rdman]

"pretty excellent at reflecting radar"? That is exactly what you DON'T want a stealthy aircraft to do. Either absorb or deflect away, but if you're deflecting; you have to be careful in which direction you are doing so.

[@jameshowland7393]

I think that's what he meant.

[@YannisG784]

how do they deflect it though? is it something in the material its made out of or special tech on the aircraft itself?

[@N0rdman]

@@YannisG784 Yes, everything; from the choice of material to the way they structure the material, angle of the surfaces, the paint they coat the body in, the way they position the air intakes for the jet engine (compressor fan face is a MAJOR radar cross-section). As an example when we had a type of a ship in the navy, switching the round hand railing for a square handrailing with one of the edges pointing sideways made a huge difference for the radar cross-section like this; , as the radar bounced more either up in the air or down into the water.

[@maniccon8919]

I’m I’m

[@williamblack4006]

Simon, you should do a show on the L-5 Space Colonies (sometimes called O'Neill Colonies). A concept to build giant stations in space far from Earth and the Moon, L-5 colonies would be cities in space, located in a gravitational node in the Earth-Moon system. These colonies would be home to tens of thousands of people each, and serve as bases for building solar power satellites -- these were to be enormous-- to generate electricity for Earth. L-5 colonies were extensively studied in the 1970s. The first person to propose L-5 colonies was Princeton University physicist Gerard K. O'Neill. Concerned in the early 1970s about both the effects of industrialization on Earth's environment and the energy crisis, he proposed developing giant space stations capable of hosting up to 10,000 people. These space colonies, as O'Neill called them, would be used to support the construction and operation of large solar power satellites that would convert sunlight into microwave energy to be beamed to Earth and converted into electricity.

[@jamesharding3459]

Higher than the SR-71? They must have had it smoking some really strong stuff!

[@seanmalloy7249]

95,000 feet was the maximum altitude that they would admit to. You should take the accuracy of the flight model with a significant quantity of salt, but in 'Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer' (the last word changed from 'Simulator' due to a dispute with Microsoft over 'Flight Simulator') from Electronic Arts, it was possible, with a considerable amount of care, to get the SR-71 modeled in the game up to around 130,000 feet, although keeping it in level flight at that altitude was a question of 'how fast do you make a mistake and lose it?'

[@garfieldfarkle]

The A-12 was also equipped with air-to-air missiles. One measure of the spectacular technological success of the A-12 and SR-71 is that 50 years later, no plane has been produced that even matches, much less exceeds, their performance.

[@roswellarmyairfield9472]

Actually the A-12 that the CIA flew in 1967 and 1968 in SEA did not carry any missiles, only cameras. It's brother, the YF-12A, which initially set the speed records was designed to carry a precursor to the AIM-54 Phoenix, which was the AIM-47 Falcon...Initially the A-12s that flew in mid 1962 were equipped with J75s because the J58s were still having teething problems after 4 years of development. By 1963 all the A-12s had been re-equipped or built with J58s. The J58 was NOT a ramjet..... it was an after burning turbojet with a bypass that overcame aerodynamic issues with the engines flying at speeds over MACH 2.5. This bypass principle was later used on the big fan jets we see today on most jets... especially airliner engines..

[@Sk4lli]

While they are spectacular, I guess there is not much need for that specific capability. It's very expensive to develop, not fault proof, can still be shot down. And then there are spy satellites nowadays which can provide very precise picture. In a sense, they are the logical next step. Much faster and higher. ;)

[@presidentirinavladimirovna7054]

I've heard the SR-72 is actually undergoing testing right now, and is able to hit Mach 6+.

[@jeffprice6421]

@@Sk4lli Can be shot down? How many Archangel or Blackbird have been shot down?

[@Sk4lli]

@@jeffprice6421 I didn't say there were any that have been shot down. But it's possible, to be fair, that's also true for spy satellites. But it was even mentioned in the video.

[@TxRattPack]

Since you have talked about the A-12 I would like to see something about my favorite plane....the YF-12A Interceptor.

[@williamscanlon9315]

I was going to suggest you do a video on the drone version of the sr-71, the d-21 but you did it already! Excellent.

[@thomasfx3190]

I love this video and Simon your work, as always is a grade above. 🎉

[@egorvongorr5209]

This video needed to be made ! Thank you ! My father was an F 4 fighter pilot in Vietnam and while stationed in Japan he was driving across base and part of the road crossed the back landing strip . He was off duty driving with my mother and brother and an airman guard left the security gate open and an A 12 landed right in front of them. Nobody had ever seen any plane like it before and my brother thought it was a UFO. My father even got a bit in hot water just for seeing it and he was sternly told he DID NOT see that plane and then told my mother and brother they did not see it either and never spoke of it again until recently. I am also fascinated by skyscrapers . What if you did a comprehensive video about the evolution of all the world record skyscrapers leading up to Birj Khalifa and beyond? I would love that

[@adeletaylor6143]

The plane so good some people name their kid after it.

[@FrankyPi]

@Generous Principle lol

[@jvburnes]

Great summary of an incredible plane. You might want to mention that it, the U-2 and the SR-71 (originally the RS-71) were all designed by Kelly Johnson. Kelly also designed the famous WII fighter, the P38 Lightning.

[@privateer0561]

At around 18:20, you describe the afterburners of the A-12 being "used for takeoff and evasive maneuvers". They were indeed used for takeoff, but they were LEFT ON the whole time they were aloft. The A-12 and Blackbird were designed to run continuously on afterburner - not just for takeoff. Indeed they were most efficient at top speed/full afterburner. As for evasive maneuvers, all the planes had to do was go faster or move the stick a little.

[@Hoshimaru57]

My dad pointed out once that the reason these planes’ top speed was classified is because they couldn’t actually find where they stopped accelerating before they’d rip apart from aerodynamic stress. Meaning that the fastest air breathing plane ever never was never even able to reach its top speed.

[@tarocalypse]

Yes your dad is correct. Not an engineer myself but others here have spelt out that the A-12 would essential rip itself apart. So pilots were speed limited

[@vincentgoudreault9662]

This is actually true of most supersonic aircraft with variable geometry intake (the J58 installation is those mobile cones and trap doors; on F-15, those would be sloping ramps). As you gain speed and keep the oblique shock adapted, the pressure gradient in the intake gets larger, increasing thrust -- at such regime, the engines are just pumps to get rid of the air from the intake that is actually providing the propulsion. That is the reason the F-15 speed, for instance, is often described as "Mach 2.5+", since Mach 2.5 is not really the limit of what the propulsion system can deliver. This is not as much "classified" as "never really tested".

[@fredfredburger5150]

Considering the heat at which titanium loses it's structural rigidity it's been estimated the top speed of the A-12 (or Blackbird) is around Mach 3.5 - 3.7 At that speed the heat generated by air friction would heat the metal to the point the plane would fail.

[@timnewman1172]

My Uncle who was an SR-71 pilot would only say Mach 3+, then smile...

[@timnewman1172]

@California Dreamin Yeah, he was very interesting indeed!

[@spacepeanut8993]

The SOO LOCKS!!! Around 40% of the US's Iron ore passes through it here in the Great Lakes!

[@jackprice6599]

Seen crazy videos on here of trains dropping ore directly into ships.

[@frodrickfronkensteen9241]

I did some contract work for Lockheed back in 99-00. I worked out of Ft.Worth but was shuttled to Marietta for a month, and shortly before my contract was up, I was sent to Lockheed's Palmdale facility. At that time... they had an SR-71 parked at each corner of the base and an F-117 on a pylon at the main facility. Gained a new perspective on "first impressions" that week. It was less than a week spent there, but I saw some wild stuff. Examples... I saw the JSF-C (F-35) prototype/test bed without its skins, awaiting completion and testing, saw (at that time) Northrop's next-gen lifting body space shuttle replacement in a rented hangar on site (spooky... half finished, full size, just standing up in the dark in this huge hangar) and I was able to attend an informational briefing from an F-22 test pilot (F22 was still in proving phase) and his stories were mysterious, entertaining and at times jaw-dropping. Helluva plane, from what I could gather. Didn't even get "the whole picture" of what the plane could do, and I remember thinking... "boy, it would really suck to meet one of those coming the other way." And that was 20 years ago... Knowing what I know now... with the advancements of the program... A half dozen Raptors would lay down one serious "sh!t show" for the enemy for hundreds of miles in all directions (in the air). I'm no aviation expert. Not a pilot (aside from a couple dozen hours in a twin engine prop). I was simply crossing paths with the industry and had a true passion for military hardware - still do). Was in my my late 20s. Was a pretty fantastic several years of my career. --- Good video. Thanks for doing this. Enjoyed it.