The Plane that Dreams are Made Of: The SR-71 Blackbird

[@Geezer171]

At the Udvar - Hazy museum I asked an SR7-71 Pilot what the coolest unclassified thing he ever saw was and he said and I quote "Seeing the sun rise three times in one day". Watching the look on his face, it was pretty apparent that he was not making that memory up.

[@DeathByLego]

Wait what how what

[@dianechoksondik2913]

samuel caldwell Either he flew around the earth 3 times or it has something to do with the planes high speed in relation to earth’s rotational speed

[@Ripu2]

Brian Shul SR-71 pilot said he saw three sunrise and sunset s on a single mission over the artic circle.

[@rus1gib]

Should mention the JP-7 fuel that this bird used. It's flash point is so high that it can be used as both a coolant and an engine lubricant before it is finally injected into the combustion chamber for burning. Yet another bit of genius.

[@Slider6294]

Good point--JP7 isn't even a distillate fuel.

[@tristanpollack6232]

holy cow that's crazy!

[@robertalexander5892]

You could literally light an entire book of matches, drop it into a container full of JP-7 and the fuel would put it out.

[@tristanpollack6232]

that's awesome hahaha

[@tristanpollack6232]

love this kinda shit

[@A1n3dr5e1234567890]

Man.... thinking that the SR-71 and his engines were designed without computers , just paper and pencil is something that makes me admire this bird even more!!!

[@LIONTAMER3D]

they used a slide rule & a protractor

[@rotax636nut5]

Who needs computer aided design when you have Kelly Johnson! not my opinion but a FACT proven by history

[@genesisint1]

@@rotax636nut5 He used his Michigan Computer

[@doorhanger9317]

SR-71 blackbird is the best plane ever made. It was made to outrun missiles. I need not say more. It was made to outrun frikin missiles on the edge of space. and it worked. I want one

[@F22raptor46]

+Shinji Hirako Actually no, the Mig-25 puts loads of effort to just touch Mach 3.1 or 3.2 and then it can't hold it for more than a couple of minutes till it destroys its engines completely. The Mig-25 was a deathtrap for the pilots that flew it. It was unsafe to fly as is and on top of that it's safety mechanisms and ejection seat was removed to give performance which made little difference.

[@F22raptor46]

***** The Mig-25 certainly was great for what it was, it was a high speed interceptor built to intercept a bomber that was also an absolute marvel but sadly never went into production. However even though the Mig-25 was good the way it was, it too was extremely overrated and was miserable at safety, that was it's biggest downfall.

[@F22raptor46]

***** Every plane has its flaws. But I prefer planes that have non fatal flaws unlike the Migs

[@doorhanger9317]

***** IT OUTRUNS MISSILES ON THE EDGE OF SPACE

[@F22raptor46]

+Shinji Hirako Cheap and Robustness doesn't garuntee success

[@benjames046]

I would like to share an excerpt from the book sled driver by Brian Shul. "One day, high above Arizona , we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. 'Ninety knots,' ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. 'One-twenty on the ground,' was the reply. To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was 'Dusty 52, we show you at 620 on the ground,' ATC responded. The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter's mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ' Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.' We did not hear another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast."

[@TechLaboratories]

Ben James That's one of my favorites!

[@SirSpinalColumn]

+Ben James Im getting this book!

[@DavidWoroner]

+Ben James It just does not get any better than that... thanks for making my day!

[@ningen1980]

+Ben James I LOVE that bit of the book!!! =D

[@jgparks1065]

+Ben James As a former Army pilot/bug smasher from the Vietnam era, I got nothin' but love for sled drivers. Thanks for retelling a great story.

[@gabrielchad447]

Spoke to an old air force officer at an air show probably 12 years ago... mentioned the SR-71 and its insane top speed of around mach 3.5 (even being 12ish at the time I knew most of its stats). He laughed and told me that its real top speed was closer to mach 5, but the airframe would overheat and fail if it sustained that speed.

[@ddland45]

SR-71....the SEXIEST piece of...machinery ever created by the hands of man!

[@asiftalpur3758]

You obviously don't know about the mighty Po 2, filthy casual.

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

@@asiftalpur3758 Hehehe, no. The SR-71 is hands down the best aircraft in the world. By far.

[@asiftalpur3758]

@@DonVigaDeFierro don't make me melt you with jet fuel bro.

[@luthfiadhityanto]

Exactly.....it's sexy

[@zackzane6886]

It’s my second fav behind Concorde

[@ThomasBrennan01]

This video simply outclasses any other SR-71 video. The amount of quality, interesting content I just watched in these 7 and a half minutes would have been stretched out and dumbed down to fill up an hour long documentary. You even have a separate video on the engines physics! I could cry :'D

[@nafsiammara]

Pity there's so few videos though.

[@tongajones2543]

The engineers made use of Le Chateliers principle in the conversation from a turbo jet into a turbo ramjet via the 6 bypass tubes that directs compressed air around the middle engine directly into the burner/after burner cycle. The aim is to maximize the amount of desired product thrust by maximizing the use of one limited component fuel through the increase in concentration of another component air so as to make the thermodynamic equilibrium shift left/right, maximizing thrust-- that was real slick only in the U S of A .

[@tongajones2543]

***** no they were not you MORON!

[@tongajones2543]

***** first of all nimrod i was commenting on the technical facets of the planes engine.Second no where have i read about any french involvement in the design of the plane albeit my research on that ground was minimal thus confirming the fact that i am more interested in how it functions than who or what made it. And oh it was not a fighter jet, look who doesn't know anything about the blackbird.

[@tongajones2543]

***** you are an idiot. And what makes you think i am hating on France! Please do ban me, because your incompetence is overwhelming especially on this subject not to mention your lack of intuitiveness into my area of interest as dictated in my earlier posts.

[@jagoep]

I had the privilege of seeing one of these in an air show in 1988. Magnificent piece of engineering.

[@anchor4067]

I'd pay money to see this one

[@randymagnum6680]

My dad was stationed at Edwards in the 80's when I was a kid, I got to see this plane up close all the time and even sit in one, I'm still in awe to this day

[@johnbullwick2225]

Essentially 3,500 feet per second. That’s faster than most full length rifles can move a bullet. Crazy. .662 mps

[@GP-qb9hi]

Or 1km/s

[@LIONTAMER3D]

in another video it was demonstrated that the sr71 could beat a .308 bullet @ max velocity from coast to coast by about 5 minutes =/

[@TalkingMotors]

I"ll ask God after I die if we can have at least one SR-71 in heaven. Just as a reminder that we could do one or two things right.

[@F22raptor46]

TalkingMotors Tell me about it!!

[@rolanddawson117]

That’s funny.

[@archiecoolsdown5854]

And when He says " no"?

[@patch5859]

I love how they used the design in star wars! Very iconic!

[@juanadrover9240]

Despite of all the tech information, the fact is that this airplane is the most beautiful machine the humans ever made. She looks PERFECT, just like dream!

[@roxasparks]

Juan Adrover I love her but dont forget the space shuttle.

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

The Eagle module may look ugly to all of us airplane enthusiasts... but it's the greatest achievement of the entire human race. The Sr-71 is cool and all, for a plane, but nowhere as comparable to the Saturn rockets, or the Lunar module... hell, not the ISS, The supercollider, or any other machine gets any closer to what humans did with the Apollo program...

[@MrAjfish]

This the best run down I've seen of the SR 71 and your enthusiasm for it is contagious. Nice work.

[@gefiltepaprika]

Much like the A-10 is a gun with a plane attached, an SR-71 is a camera with a plane attached. I got to see one in person at the SAC museum a few years ago. Those engines are staggering in size and the plane is long as hell. Just for a camera to go on a trip. My father in law was in intelligence in Vietnam and specialized in aerial photographs from the SR-71. He said that if someone called in a battlefield review, he'd have pictures within the hour or so even though the SRs were flying out of Japan.

[@bluetannery1527]

I really like this comparison, mostly because it's both really accurate and really funny to think about. The A-10 was actually designed /around/ the GAU-8, and the SR-71 was designed around its camera and cruising and altitude. Everything that is remarkable about the SR-71 is because they were required to make the most badass, most effective spy plane probably ever created. I have mad respect for the guys at Skunkworks. (go Kelly!)

[@deanwcampbell]

+William Tannery I disagree; I don’t like this comparison, it’s backwards. The SR-71 should be described as an aircraft with a camera attached. The aircraft was the project that the Pentagon allocated the majority of funds to, not the camera.

[@plh8707]

gefiltepaprika lol no. More like two engines with a cockpit attached. Most or the body actually contained fuel.

[@RCAvhstape]

I'm not saying your father-in-law was wrong, but that does not square with this quote from Wikipedia: Rob Vermeland, Lockheed Martin's manager of Advanced Development Program, said in an interview in 2015 that high-tempo operations were not realistic for the SR-71. "If we had one sitting in the hangar here and the crew chief was told there was a mission planned right now, then 19 hours later it would be safely ready to take off." That same wiki article says the USAF would fly missions about once per week on average.

[@bc1969214]

Helium Road I'm late to this but another factor not in its favor over satellites was lack of real time intelligence transfer. All the data had to be taken by aircraft to the end user to analyze after the Blackbird landed. One of the pilots mentioned the Pentagon needing detail from a Blackbird that set down in Mildenhall after a mission which required another jet to fly the material from the UK to Washington.

[@Skyerzen]

the SR-71.... What an achievement! And the best part is it never shot or killed anyone... :) It was just one fast mother. :)

[@plh8707]

PantsWizard lol missiles had to land somewhere.

[@patch5859]

Unfortunately I believe 2,maybe 3 pilots/RSOs were killed during the program.

[@SatishKumar-rc4pl]

@@patch5859 only one pilots

[@rod3134]

👏🏼 Outstanding, this reviewer is the first one that's acknowledged that the SR71 top speed is STILL classified. Mach 3.2 is the publicly acknowledged max speed. In all likelihood, it was most likely capable of Mach 5 to 7 speeds. The key is "RAMJET" mode. Ramjets are good up to about Mach 6. The SR71 could probably tweak out more speed for brief periods. Excellent review ❤👏🏼 (And for all the haters out there, look up the D21 drone. It's a pure ramjet drone that started flying at mach 3 .)

[@michaelvs.scorpio7676]

The SR-71 Blackbird is an engineering MASTERPIECE!! Its capabilities are truly AMAZING!! It is an outstanding testimony to what the human mind can do with NO help from computers at all!! It's outward physical appearance is so futuristic and/or modern looking, even by today's standards, that you could probably very easily fool someone who doesn't know that much about aircraft into believing that it is a brand-new airplane that was just finished a week ago!! It definitely does NOT LOOK like its age AT ALL!!

[@Ripper13F1V]

I've been blessed to see this fly, it is truly an amazing invention. The way it navigated was truly cool as well. Everything about it is just so weirdly advanced in thought and design that it almost seems impossible. No cad, no computerized simulations, just well thought out and executed designs. With what we know about the SR-71, it would be interesting to rebuild one in concept with modern engineering techniques just to demonstrate if nothing else, the sheer magnitude if the ingenuity involved in creating something that operates in excess of mach 3 and 80k feet. In fact if someone tried to design this today, they'd label him mad.

[@jamjardj1974]

And yet Kelly Johnson and the rest of the SkunkWorks team were geniuses.

[@Wildkat-1]

One of man's greatest accomplishments ...RIP Kelly Johnson !

[@thaGkillah]

So this plane would reach New York from London in less then 1.5 hours (90 min)! Astonishing !!

[@karrecod]

Fucking crazy! 90 min in 2018 is Amsterdam to London with a normal plane.

[@robertalexander5892]

Just think. That's just the "official" top speed.

[@nicholasmorrow2601]

Capt_Kaplan I would bet money that it can go faster than that 😉

[@panderson9561]

At cruising speed...Mach 3.2...it was a mile every 1.5 seconds. When they were flight tested back in 1964, they were clocked at mach 3.4...so we know it will go at least that fast. Brian Shul claimed to have hit mach 3.5 running from a Libyan SAM. Given the verified speed of 3.4, 3.5 is believable. One SR-71 pilot claimed the top speed was probably close to mach 4, but nobody ever pushed it that far. Assuming the mach 4 speed was possible, that's about a mile very second. Do the math.

[@andrewfreeman3492]

I seem to remember reading that in attempting one of the final speed runs they calculated that it could hit Mach 3.5, but the engines would be toast after. However, a bigger problem was that they determined that if there was a problem, keeping the pointy bit facing forward would be a bigger issue. So they abandoned the idea. So it's unlikely that the sr-71 would have been pushed to those limits on an operational sortie.

[@CyclonicTuna023]

Blackbird was such an amazing plane. I wouldn't suprise me if the real, "classified" top speed was closer to mach 4.

[@EduEnYT]

One soviet SAM operator disliked this video

[@srenkoch6127]

Only one? :-) If I recall correctly it was shot at several thousand times, and when the pilots found out that a missile was in the air, they just opened the throttle and waved in the rear view mirror so to speek....

[@zacharychavez3482]

HAH!!!

[@andrewwhite8774]

Legend has it that missile is still chasing the blackbird.

[@mrlopez5009]

And 158 UCBerkley students...

[@mwu365]

Flip465 ?

[@blankstare3775]

I remember seeing an sr-71 flying over my neighborhood on my way home from an elementary school field trip in 1989. I couldn't believe my eyes lol. Easily one of the most special moments I've ever had.

[@thaGkillah]

I simply adore the fact that you are also providing subtitles for the one or two words which are hard to pronounce. This channel is a true treasure for every engineering enthusiast! I would totally support you guys on patreon or in a similar way. Especially if I am done with my Bsc.

[@timhyatt9185]

I've been lucky enough to see the Blackbird a handful of times....it's a truly astonishing plane. I had been under the impression the SR-71 was still being used by NASA, but evidently that program has been also closed... One designer gave me a contributing factor for their retirement: the pending end-of-lifespan limits on the KC-135 tankers that are needed for refueling after takeoff....they were all being changed from turbojets, to turbofans, which dropped their top speed to below the slowest the SR-71 could maintain with any real stability. Without tanker top-off after take-off, the SR-71's range is significantly reduced..... There's always the Aurora, but that's still up for debate.

[@primeministerprinz2695]

I know im posting this comment nearly a year after you but the Aurora is REAL.

[@timhyatt9185]

not sure how that is even relevant....yes, Aurora is reportedly the blackbird follow-on....there's some evidence it is likely uses a hybrid pulse-detonation engine.. However, there has been little actual confirmation about it, and until we get some, we're only speculating. It's revealing to look at the F-19 models issued by various model companies in the mid-late 80's, (the blended tear-drop shape with canards and center tilted tail fins) and how much they differed from the actual F-117. If seems clear someone leaked the F-19 "design" deliberately as an obfuscation, though it would appear to be a "second generation" design, having more akin to the B-2, than to the F-117... My personal opinion is the Aurora is may be more closely related to the "wave-rider" concept, but that would also give it a hellacious heat signature.... In the end, we'll just have to wait for them to tell us, what's been flying out of Groom Lake

[@primeministerprinz2695]

True probably won't know about the aurora til 2030AD

[@MrEkg98]

They will never fly it again anyway. Its been over 20 years. Even if they could remake parts etc from drawings. Guys that worked on it and flew it are 20 years older and I bet they were older guys the time it stopped flying. Chemical exposure for the mechanics. Quite a few mechanics die early from cancers etc. I just think the secrets and knowledge of this plane will disappear.

[@bc1969214]

I'm not sure if the KC-135 was a big factor since Blackbird pilots mentioned preferring the KC-10 which was able to more safely refuel the SR-71 due to a higher top speed.

[@steventhompson399]

I remember trying to understand this plane when I was a kid and not having a very good time of it, but even before I was able to get how it went so fast I thought it was the coolest plane ever on account of the appearance and performance, to think it was designed and built just around 2 decades after WWII and with old fashioned pencils and slide rulers just blows my mind

[@peterevans8807]

Great video with lots of nice tech and a splash of whit. The SR-71 is still to this day the coolest plane ever made. If someone said that plane was released in 2014 with the newest and best tech there is not a person who would not believe that was the new age of planes. A timelessly spectacular shape and performance that STILL will leave any plane made well and truly in the dust. A true expression of "If it looks right, it is right"

[@kentd4762]

Very well said! Truly an incomparable plane.

[@Jeppelelle]

Some people claim that the classified top speed of the SR-71 is about Mach 3.5 but honesly i think it is way higher than that. Why? Look at the XB-70, an amazing aircraft but didn't have much of the "go faster" bags of tricks that the SR-71 have, the XB-70 also used the fuel for cooling but not to the extreme extent that the SR-71 did, SR-71 pilots have stated that even the inside of the glass was so hot after the flight that it was impossible to touch it, the XB-70 have much fewer heat related stories, the only one is the failure of a honeycomb structure at mach 3 suggesting that the SR-71 cruise speed was much higher than the XB-70. The SR-71 uses the awesome J58, 2 turboramjets that uses the highly complex spike, nacelle, bypasses and alot of other stuff, the XB-70 uses regular turbojets. The SR-71 was leaking on the ground, only after speedruns when the airframe and fuel tanks and everything had expanded due to the heat; the SR-71 would stop leaking, never heard the same story about the XB-70, the list goes on and on, and still, the XB-70 was a mach 3+ airplane. The XB-70 doesn't look as refined either as the SR-71 which every inch of the airplane looks to be designed for super high speed runs. So yeah, comparing the 2 airplanes and keeping all the technology in mind and all the extreme solutions for speed in the design of the SR-71, to me atleast, it would seem like the SR-71 is much faster than the declassified mach 0.2 or (0.4 suggested classified) difference between the 2 airplanes. Also, the MIG-25 can do mach 3.2, sure, it destroys itself while doing it but yeah, XB-70 and MIG-25 looks almost "ordinary" compared to the SR-71 but the difference is just mack 0.2 and 0.1? Also, the difference between the declassified top speed of the SR-71 and the claimed top speed of mach 3.5 is not big enough to keep it classified, if the true top speed was 3.5 i think they would have declassified that number instead. Doesn't make sense to keep mach 0.2 difference a secret. So yeah, i don't think mach 4+ is that far fetched.

[@justachipnc33]

lol Are family n friends (few USAF) have always said the same thing!

[@justachipnc33]

***** It is not built and look like that for a meager Mach 2.5 lol Like you said easily double that. Can only imagine what's flying now.

[@slickstrings]

@Flip465 you dont have to go mach 5+ to outrun a mach 5 missile. Missiles dont chase you, they meet you at a point in space. They calculate that point and fly an intercept course. To evade sams, the sr pilots would simply accellerate because that would force the missiles to change that ip faster than they were able to. There are plenty of stories from sr pilots of sams passing close by, fired by clever operators. These claims of mach 4 plus are unfounded. The difference between mach 3.2 and 3.5 is massive. At these extreme speeds, its not a linear increase in stresses and power requirements.

[@slickstrings]

@flip465 ummmm you misunderstand. any guided missile will change direction, that's how they calculate and effect an intercept point. however, it is still an intercept point, ie they calculate where you will be and fly the shortest course to that point to meet you there. they do not and cannot get up behind you and chase you down. if you change your course or speed, the missile has to change its IP and if you force the missiles IP to change more than its performance allows it to adjust, it will miss. The SR71 at speed cannot turn sharply at all. Its turning radius at mach 3 is hundreds of miles. In order to force a change in IP, it simply accelerated quickly. it also utilised a jammer to interrupt communication between the missile and guidance radar on the ground.Also, you cant just make wild claims about top speed and say, its classified so it must be true. The true top mach number of the SR is not likely to be much more than 3.6, because at that point the shock cone from the nose is likely to be sharp enough to start touching the wing tips and causing problems.

[@scottlp2323]

It's well over 50 years old and it's still completely astonishing. The Concorde is it's only equal in the 'How the hell did they ever do that?' stakes.

[@brenthill3241]

I would have say that as a novice tech/mechanical engineering fan these Tech Lab videos are by far the best produced spots on KZbin. The narration gets right to the point with good details on the subjects on hand and at least the background music isn't too intrusive. In my perfect world music would only be in music videos but I realize most people dig some background sounds.

[@ArturoBaldo]

Man this is the greatest channel on youtube!!! I could watch your videos all day

[@rebeccaphillips4824]

My husband worked sheet metal on the S.R.-71, & U-2 while stationed at Beale AFB CA 1976-1980. The stories he tells!! I remember driving from base housing at night & watching the S.R. take off & land, what a sight! As an intro to the base we got a tour of some of what the S.R. could do. They showed us pictures taken in Russian where you could read the newspaper headlines clearly.

[@DefinitiveMedia22]

Finally a channel that knows what they are talking about, and someone who knows exactly WHY it was retired, Because of Costs , You have earned a SUB

[@MissionaryForMexico]

When I was stationed in Okinawa I was able to sit down with two pilots that fly the ha-bu, SR-71. I learned it can fly higher then 95,000 ft. And fly faster then what this video is telling you. I also learned they will even shut engines down to get even better images recorded on film. They refuel many times to fly one mission. Seen them launch and recover at Kadena Air Force Base many times. When they come in from a mission the aircraft is so hot, it looks white! They bring in these huge fans to cool down the engines, skin of aircraft. They use a gantry crane to remove the pilots, due to the heat emanating from the aircraft. They wear a pressured suit, just like an astronaut would wear in space. Hint: Now what does this tell you? They have a variety of countermeasures to use to keep from being successfully attacked. Lets just say more then emitting chaff and flares! Now there is a newer platform even faster then the SR-71. If you do some history research on when top secret weapons systems have been declassified. You can figure out, there is flying technology platforms at least 30 years in the future, that are flying black top secret missions over your heads, and in other countries, and in outer space!

[@martykaye6548]

Absolutely fascinating piece of unimaginable technology. Love it.

[@Paiadakine]

When my son was in elementary school we had a chance to sit in the SR-71 cockpit at March air force base museum. Back in the 80's I remember looking down at an SR-71 when driving back from Big Bear.

[@tonygareth221]

I do not understand jet engines and I cannot believe how fast this plane goes! Hard to wrap my head around it

[@jimmyhamm9737]

This plane needs a successor to its name ; Faster ; sleeker& invisible.

[@WildPhotoShooter]

Slide rules were the only tool back then , the SaturnV was designed the same way, both amazing achievements.

[@davide8982]

More than speed, what fascinates me about the SR-71 it’s the human ingenuity… we are amazing!

[@totoritko]

WTF, I just ran a bunch of quick calculations and the SR-71's fuel efficiency is better than even today's jetliners. The SR-71 took ~12000 gallons of fuel and had a range of 3300 miles on it, so about 0.275 mpg. Compare to the very state of the art in fuel efficiency on commercial jetliners like the 787 Dreamliner, which gets 0.27 mpg and the atrocious fuel efficiency Concorde got at only 0.144 mpg. One would think that this disparity arises from the SR-71 being extremely light-weight and stripped down, but that's not necessarily the case. The SR-71 had a ratio of empty-to-MTOW of 36% (meaning, 36% of MTOW was the plane itself). By comparison, Concorde had a 42% empty-to-MTOW ratio, an A380 is at 48% and a 787 is at 51%. While certainly light, it's not in the insane region that aerospace technology can produce (e.g. Saturn V rocket at just a touch below 6%, Falcon 9 at around 5%). At first glance these numbers seem to suggest that a modern commercial derivative of the SR-71's technology isn't that unfeasible. Even if we lost part of the fuel efficiency in the process, I'd bet there'd be quite a sizable market willing to pay 2x the regular fare price to arrive at their destination over 3 times faster.

[@totoritko]

beeroosterm The limited passenger capacity simply comes by virtue of being relatively small. What you need to look at as well is the ratio of dry mass to MTOW and it wasn't all that far off for any of these planes. Blow up the size of the SR-71 to something like the Concorde and increase its dry mass to MTOW proportion to 42% like for the Concorde (using that to install seats and a passenger cabin) and you could probably still get a very capable M2+ passenger airliner. My point is the *weight proportions* are fairly similar.

[@AverageJoe8686]

+totoritko Air drag. You're comparing 10kft hammer to a 80kft razor. Air density exponentially decreases with altitude. They are going for space travel to go >M1 for passenger stuff now because the public was dissatisfied with the sonic booms.

[@jorge8596]

The SR-71 didn't have to carry several tons worth of people, seats, air conditioning, luggage and entertainment systems. It had to carry 2 people, a camera and a communications system

[@MissionaryForMexico]

But it is only a two seater ride!

[@patch5859]

My all time favorite plane! Especially love watching Brian Shoul's talks! And can't get enough of the "LA speed story"! Also have his "Sled Driver " book, and several others by other SR-71 pilots. Thanks for your video, and looking forward to more of your work!

[@kentd4762]

The LA Speed Check Story is the best! If someone hasn't heard it, they need to look it up on YT.

[@patch5859]

@@kentd4762 Another great story is permission to buzz the tower!

[@vm8899]

When art and technology meet

[@saa82vik]

You made me almost cry man.

[@captaintightpants581]

The narrator said the Airforce stated the SR71 top speed was "classified". My late uncle was an engine mechanic on that plane who actually got to take a test flight. He told me 3.2 was the rated top speed but if you pushed the throttle she'd do 5.5 or better......... but not for long. As sleek as the plane is, it still couldn't withstand the stress of that kind of speed. He wore a Skunkworks tattoo on his arm.

[@FlyboyTed1972DCI]

Can we all just take a second and say a bigs thanks to the greatest aviation mind ever to grace the skies...Thank you Mr Kelly Johnson...!!!!

[@Jaden48108]

Very nice. If the SR-71 was produced today having no existence before today, it would stand as a marvel.

[@michaelmeyer6306]

One minor technicality: Thrust isn't from the exhaust exiting the engine but from the reaction of the fuel/air mixture burning in the combustion chamber (or cans).

[@taoone9227]

Nice presentation. Excellent narration voice timbre. The sled was budgetary displaced by satellites not drones, but that is a nitpicky detail. Thanks for the great video.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Nice video. The SR-71A BlackBirds are still just as " Futuristic " today as in 66.

[@infadeldog13]

Supremely put together video about simply the coolest thing humans have ever designed! Top work on this vid!

[@willthacker5182]

Kelly Johnson has to be one the most brilliant men ever to design aircraft's. For all the amazing engineering solutions they implemented to solve the challenges of mach 3+ flight, they never fully figured out how to stop the snap yaw phenomenon, associated with the loss of thrust from one engine, due to a flame out. The engines are spaced so far apart & create so much thrust, while moving massive amounts of air, when one engine would shut off, the drag caused it to act like a giant anchor pulling on one side. The pilot only had hundreds of a second to respond to the situation & pull back the running engine, or the airplane would yaw so aggressively, the side of the fuselage would end up pointed into the oncoming airstream. At mach 3 or faster, that yaw would snap the plane in two. Later they implemented systems to recognize the thrust loss from one engine shutting off, and pull back power on the running engine. However, they still lost several SR-71's from those particular events.

[@emp100k]

Still the coolest looking aircraft ever made (not to mention all of it's incredible superlatives). So sleek and menacing it looks like it's going 10,000 miles an hour when it's standing perfectly still.

[@pjs4069]

The most exciting thing that I have ever seen is the HABU taking off and landing. I was stationed on Okinawa in the early 70's and saw it fly, several times, from Kadena AF base.

[@whiskeyactual.]

Awesome presentation, really enjoyed!

[@richardteale8203]

Absolutely awesome! My favorite plane since childhood, when I saw a model in a model shop! Love military aircraft & powerful jet engines, so the SR71is the cream of the crop! Bought books, posters, memorabilia & watched allsorts on it, so thanks for adding to my experience with the Blackbird brother.👍 Cheers.🍻 Rich.😃

[@kingtigerbooks1162]

The SR-71 is my favorite aircraft. Maybe not as heavily armed as the Eagle but it's gonna sneak up on them MiGs real quiet like and shoot them with its camera. My neighbor is an old F-4 Phantom pilot. He saw a little action in Vietnam. I keep telling him to write a book. He had his share of close calls and narrow escapes from MiGs. These are my 3 favorite aviation books: - Her Majesty's Top Gun by Sharkey Ward - Topgun Days by Dave Baranek - Great Fighter Jets of the Galaxy 1 by Tim Gibson

[@myguydied]

No more Blackbird? Awww, that was my favourite jet aircraft of all time this side of the Tomcat! That's it I'm downloading this bad boy for Flight Sim...

[@BryanJohnsonJohn3_30]

I used to know the navigator who rode on the 1st and 2nd operational sorties of the Blackbird. His statement to me was that New York to California speed record could easily be 1 hour if they didn't have to refuel. I don't recall what New York & California air strips he was referring to. I have not seen him since the late 80's, and honestly he's probably no longer alive. He used to love to tell about a moth that was caught in the aircraft. When they were at altitude, their cockpit was pressurized to a certain level and their suit (a pressurized space suit) was pressurized for the gap between the cockpit and survivability. He claimed that this crazy moth survived at altitude in the cockpit. He also had some very hair raising stories about watching anti-aircraft missiles run out of fuel as they tried to shoot the BB down over Viet Nam during the "conflict". I was really young when I knew him and wish I had kept in touch with his daughter and her husband - the reason I knew him. In fact, his son-in-law was my best man at my wedding.

[@timhyatt9185]

+Bryan Johnson the last "for the record" run from California to virginia, was less than an hour, and that INCLUDED a mid-air refuel stop right after take off....(which was normal procedure for SR-71 flights; they take off with mostly empty fuel tanks)

[@dustinlastinger]

I see and touch this plane every day. Beautiful

[@joshuawood1436]

No doubt you see and touch something everyday, but that has nothing to do with this video.

[@Anonyminded]

Thank u for careful explanation of this superb plane!

[@jvargas454]

I worked at Lockheed (N. Hollywood) after the SR-71 was built, but my supervisor who did work on the project said it was designed in 1958. No doubt the electronics was upgraded many times. Is this information incorrect?

[@TechLaboratories]

1958 marks the start of the OXCART program for the CIA and the design of the Lockheed A-12, the direct precursor to and sister of the SR-71. 1962 marked the completion of the A-12's design and its first flight, as well as the approximate time when the USAF took interest in the plane and redesigned the aircraft to be a two-seater fighter plane (the YF-12), and then a two-seater reconnaissance plane, rather than a single seater. The first YF-12 flew in 1963, the first SR-71 in 1964.

[@mrmrmaples]

My C+ professor was the pilot that holds the altitude record... Such a nice and helpful guy!

[@ravellwolf]

Extremely well done presentation! Content, speaking tone and pace, and clips are all spot on. You're giving professionally made documentaries a run for their money here! Would love to see more documentary stuff on aviation. :)

[@mojust777]

it really is the most beautiful and just amaizing and iconical and special and and and plane evver built in my opinion... just 78 tons of pure awesomeness!

[@danilocalic797]

I love your fascination with the Blackbird!

[@Michael_Michaels]

With such good explanations, you have my attention! Give us some more SR-71!!!! Please... :)

[@balasmj]

I can't stop admiring my sr71 model everyday I love this plane so very much

[@TranceParadise]

A-12 OXCART was 3.35 Mach. This is an actual spec from a Lockheed spec sheet in Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale, CA.

[@No.Handle31]

They where engineers not ones who have a computer. They where gifted people who made such a great icon to aviation history. And now we have gone backwards!

[@miltonrigby6621]

That, "very carefully" killed me man. Cool vid!

[@garlicpepper1334]

these videos are surprisingly informative

[@Normally_aspirated]

One of the crowning pieces of American engineering

[@wizardwingman3654]

Another fine video by TechLaboratories!

[@BillyN31]

What a great job you did on this production !

[@jeylful]

Great video! I quite enjoyed it!

[@captainobvious1750]

why did this give me the feels ;-;

[@devonlassiter1288]

if you think that the Sr 71 can only go mach 3.5 your in for a big shock

[@Liamflynnphoto]

My grandfather worked at Pratt and Whitney and helped to make the J58 engines that powered the SR-71

[@AverageJoe8686]

The music at 4:15 is so perfect. What is the song and artist? Really happy I "found" this channel, Mr. Tech Adams. Thank you very much for being so succinct, sir.

[@tigerd7528]

Have you found out the name of that song? I have been trying to figure it out for so long! Thanks!

[@SR71_SR72]

I wish I was born a few years sooner to actually remember or even this beautiful bird in action...

[@bambam144]

oh yes she is a dream and she will ever be a dream a real dream many thx for this great video!

[@parveshv.merchant9806]

A masterpiece.... designed with pencil, paper and slide rule...now a days we need a super computer for everything...

[@heavenstomurgatroyd7033]

Parvesh V. Merchant - it's because you use it as a crutch. The brilliance was in the minds of the engineers at NACA that invented the ramjet engine. I grew up with slide rules, you make a lot of mistakes. With a simple calculator you can check your work 3 times in the same time. Yes I was an aerospace engineer that made parts for flying machines, it wasn't the computer that designed them.....

[@mariecaristi7308]

nice job kid. nailed it.

[@mauriciocastro7505]

Thank you for sharing this knowledge in such an "affordable" way, if I want to say it some how easy understanding.

[@bpp325]

Thinking out loud this is technology from the late '50's and flying by 1962. Be interesting to punch in performance expectations, right now, and see what is spit out the other end.

[@saquist]

Awesome Tech-Adams.

[@darrenpinto902]

Your videos are the epitome of professionalism - hoards of people will benefit from this. really top class educational stuff ..

[@BillyBoblovesthedirt]

Great videos.

[@ayushjain585]

Dude your videos are awesome!

[@skytrotter6144]

Well done and easy to understand for the neophyte but nevertheless fun to watch for the aviation enthusiast and professional I am ! Keep up the great job…😉

[@captcorajus]

ALWAYS loved the blackbird. The top speed of the thing is WAAAAY more than the 'official' top speed. The skin of the blackbird left space between the joints so that when it heated the joints would expand and close. Which meant that on the ground, the thing constantly leaked fuel.

[@captcorajus]

***** No,, roflmao. Sit down little boy, and get your head out YOUR ass.

[@captcorajus]

***** lol.. I'm not stating an opinion dipshit. No... seeing a picture doesn't working on it does.

[@captcorajus]

***** Shit head, you mus be a millennial. Only a whiney assed millennial walks through life not knowing shit about anything, The final flight of the SR-71. Look it up. They broke the record for the fastest flight for New York to LA just BARELY staying within the publicly listed max speed of the aircraft. They were showing off. Now do your homework little boy and STFU.

[@TRSchocked]

+captcorajus I concur. My father (many years now retired) was an Air Traffic Controller with the Canadian Forces and was stationed at Goose Bay in the mid-70's. SR-71's were in "his" airspace on a fairly regular basis, mostly as overflights between the FOB in the UK and the CONUS. He dealt with them as "traffic" and swears that they were "feet wet" over the North Atlantic for less than 25 minutes...on many occasions. "Feet Wet" is referring to the time to travel between the controlled airspace of Prestwick Scotland and My Dad's control area in Northern Labrador. He would have no reason to make this up, it's just another airplane on a piece of paper that he has to talk to in the course of doing his job. We got a visit from one of these in 1976 at the Goose, when something went "sideways" and they had to divert. Dad knew when it was scheduled to leave and took my brother and I out onto the airfield in "RATCON 1" (the half ton that the radar guys had for use on the airfield) to watch the spectacle. SPECTACULAR it was. The pilot got it up and clean within the first couple of thousand feet of runway, held it on the deck accelerating, then stood it on it's ass and punched a hole in the sky right in front of us. The ground was shaking like an earthquake. We lost him after no more than 30 seconds...in CAVU met. conditions. My best guess is we are probably looking at something in the realm of 2500-2700 KTs, if the truth be told. One of the guys who flew this thing will surely spill their guts on the actual performance...one of these days. My little bit of experience as a wide eyed kid...many, many years ago.

[@gefiltepaprika]

+Terrie Ron Schock Everything is faster than they report. My father in law once saw a B-58 hustler (Mach 2 bomber) taxiing on the runway. He turned his head to jog across the end of the runway. He heard a tremendous roar and looked back. The plane was gone. He looked up and it was climbing vertical and barely visible. I saw the B58 at the SAC museum and it is a ridiculous plane with a crazy ejection system. The one at the SAC museum is "Greased Lightning" Tokyo to London in 8 and a half hours.

[@ank_kr]

Excellent stuff. Merci 👍

[@FSEVENMAN]

Well done Tech...

[@armadillotoe]

We need a national Kelly Johnson day to celebrate genius.

[@Dad_Brad]

At mach 3.2, the blackbird is NOT just getting warmed up, in fact that's almost to the floor. The blackbird is just barely faster than the Mig, it just does it for 1 1/2 hours instead of 3 minutes.

[@psique1ra]

Thanx Adams for sharing your knowledgement!!It's a really plane that dreams are made of and reality too,i love this project SR-71 and you do a good job to uncovering for us ;) it's soo sad there nowadays they use drone for surveillance and carrying some bombs without...Anyway congrads! 👏

[@drivesmartitsanart]

Dream are made of SR-71 just as much as SR-71 is made of dreams! ❤

[@mcdiamond2463]

I think they're still in service. They're just keeping it classified so the other countries don't know of it's use. You also can imagine the advances they've made in the mechanical engineering since it's inception.