SR-71 Blackbird Engine Operation Guide

I think most of us think the SR-71 was a beautiful aircraft and there is always a warm spot for the bird when seen and discussed. Funny how it is discussed yet very little is said about the 60s (1967 world speed record of 6.7 mach) in the X-15.. The bird went so fast it burnt pieces off the vertical stab.
I found the article...has pics and everything..
alert5.net...

Mach 6.7.

Fuel burn complete. Flight profile nominal. Powered flight terminated, ballistic flight initiated. Knight is still alive and at the controls of the world’s fastest glider. The X-15A-2 had reached its maximum velocity, a new manned flight speed record by a huge margin. It arcs over the Nevada-California border, over a mile a second, leading edges still glowing from heat. Accumulated heat detonates the separation charges on the dummy scramjet carried for test purposes. It explodes away from the X-15A-2 over Edwards bombing range as Knight decelerates through Mach 1 and 32,000 feet, more charred junk toppling to earth. Knight continues to descend, burning fragments dropping off the aircraft as he flies. The relentless forces of physics reel in ambition once again. But only after history is made.

a reply to: 727Sky

A large part if that is because the SR-71 was a "normal" aircraft, where the X-15 was in the X plane family.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: 727Sky

A large part if that is because the SR-71 was a "normal" aircraft, where the X-15 was in the X plane family.

As 'normal' is for that time period. I heard it was the 'Lucky Strike' cigarette package designer (ad agency) actually came up with this unique design concept (I could be wrong). Talk about X plane families; the F-104 was an X plane spin off product or "rocket plane" a super fast interceptor; but that was about the end of its capabilities having zero maneuverability (an aside to the engineers; "hey; those wings look Way Too Short").

originally posted by: vethumanbeing

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: 727Sky

A large part if that is because the SR-71 was a "normal" aircraft, where the X-15 was in the X plane family.

As 'normal' is for that time period. I heard it was the 'lucky strike' cigarette package designer actually came up with this unique concept. Talk about X plane families; the F-104 was an X plane product or "rocket plane" a super fast interceptor; but that was about the end of its capabilities having no maneuverability (aside to the engineers; "hey those wings look Way Too Short").

Yea that star-fighter was the ford mustang of the skies...pretty fast...but not so good in the corners=)

OG

originally posted by: OrionsGem
originally posted by: veteranhumanbeing

OrionsGem: Yea that star-fighter was the ford mustang of the skies...pretty fast...but not so good in the corners=)
OG

I've never seen another plane other than the Starfighter (stationed on a B52 TAC/SAC Minuteman base; probably using a longer flight line than most to accommodate those behemoths) achieve a near vertical take off at such speeds (just like a rocket) very loud; truly something special/remarkable to witness.

originally posted by: vethumanbeing
originally posted by: OrionsGem
originally posted by: veteranhumanbeing

OrionsGem: Yea that star-fighter was the ford mustang of the skies...pretty fast...but not so good in the corners=)
OG

I've never seen another plane other than the Starfighter (stationed on a B52 TAC/SAC Minuteman base; probably using a longer flight line than most to accommodate those behemoths) achieve a near vertical take off at such speeds (just like a rocket) very loud; truly something special/remarkable to witness.

I bet that thing was pretty loud!!

OG

a reply to: OrionsGem
That's a whole lot of things just to go mach 3.

Cool video, seems simple even if it uses a whole lot of words and numbers to explain it, I like zaphod58 explanation better. But hey what happens if there is no oxygen to burn? By by birdy I suppose. Nah just messing like any beast its merely the product of its environment. But one has to wonder just how far would one of these black birds, or even just the the jet engine last on a place like Mars were its not designed to function in, it would likely take off, and probably make a cool light show when it spirals downward. Its not so much flying as it is dragging through the atmosphere, but without an atmosphere or even a less dense atmosphere it would be pretty much dead weight.

Anyways cool video.

originally posted by: vethumanbeing
. Talk about X plane families; the F-104 was ... a super fast interceptor; but that was about the end of its capabilities having zero maneuverability (an aside to the engineers; "hey; those wings look Way Too Short").

The high wing loading meant bleeding off energy quickly in sustained maneuvering, much like the MiG-21 (which is generally regarded as plenty maneuverable), but the relatively high (for the era) thrust to weight ratio offered by the late J79 models and excellent acceleration helped offset that in large part. The trick would be to rely on maneuvering in the vertical to maintain an advantage over fighters with a lower wing-loading.

Having said that, the same short, stubby wings you are mocking had excellent transonic and supersonic flight characteristics. The F-104 could supercruise at speeds and altitudes other fighters could not match -- AND the wings bled off energy less quickly in maneuver than more conventional designs (like the ever popular delta) at supersonic speed. It was optimized for performance over Mach 1. Most fighters are optimized for lower, transonic speeds (and this is where most aerial combat has taken place historically). At those higher speeds the F-104's flight performance (and even turn ability) was virtually unmatched by contemporaries (and I'd be willing to bet most modern combat aircraft 40 or so years newer).

The short, stubby wings and high wing loading also offered greatly improved ride quality at low level over most attack aircraft, which was important later when it was used in the low-level strike role.

a reply to: _Del_

Those things are loud!

What's amazing about all that is that it was done without the kind of stupid ridiculous computing power that is commonly available today. (No super-computers or desktop clusters using stuff like CUDA to do all the number crunching.) The designs and control tables were mostly made by people using slide rules and the engine operation schedule is either manual and/or controlled by computers that would look primitive compared to what's available today. I'm sure they updated it along the way, but you have to think about what it originally was back in the late 1960's.

Makes you wonder what's available for the current batch of black jets.

originally posted by: pauljs75
What's amazing about all that is that it was done without the kind of stupid ridiculous computing power that is commonly available today. (No super-computers or desktop clusters using stuff like CUDA to do all the number crunching.) The designs and control tables were mostly made by people using slide rules and the engine operation schedule is either manual and/or controlled by computers that would look primitive compared to what's available today. I'm sure they updated it along the way, but you have to think about what it originally was back in the late 1960's.

Makes you wonder what's available for the current batch of black jets.

The current state of aircraft arent aircraft at all....they are starships. Named just like sea vessels. Just like in star trek. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction..

OG