SR-71 or XB-70

Thanks, BlackWidow23. I only came down hard on you because of what I pereceived as an insult to a respected research pilot. Normally, I would have replied in a more diplomatic manner.

I may have been overly sensitive in this case because of my personal involvement with several of the participants. (You could even say that I have "met" Joe Walker, more or less.) Also, I tend to expect everyone to be as familiar with these subjects as I am. I don't always take it into account that there are different versions of the "facts," and that not all of them are accurate.

I have studied both accident investigation reports (Air Force and North American Aviation), spoken with Al White, Joe Cotton, Don Mallick, etc., listened to the mission audio recordings, watched the film shot from the Lear Jet, studied the still photos, and visited the crash sites. I incorporated much of this information in "The Smell of Kerosene: A Test Pilot's Oddyssey" to flesh out Mallicks recollections for readers who were unfamiliar with the incident. The chain of events leading to the accident was much more complicated than I realized when I started my research. There are probably a number of valuable lessons to be learned from the results of the investigation.

Pete just want to say thank you for the write up you did on dreamland resourt about the bird of prey it really provided some insights in to the programme that I was unaware of.

I was unaware of some of the info on the Val as well thanks again for the links.

I thought the X-15 was the fastest and highest flying (unofficial 62 miles up and mach 6.5 or something)

Mind you SR-71 IMO is the best looking, only one that really put in the hours as a serving aircraft too.

Originally posted by Now_Then
I thought the X-15 was the fastest and highest flying (unofficial 62 miles up and mach 6.5 or something)

Mind you SR-71 IMO is the best looking, only one that really put in the hours as a serving aircraft too.

I said that these two are the fastest manned jet aircraft. The X-15 was manned, but rocket powered and dropped from a B-52. I don't think you can count rocket planes because they only stay in the air for a few minutes, while the XB-70 and SR-71 cruised at supersonic speeds for hours.

bdn12 please accept my sincerest!

The SR-71 is sorta iconic, thats the one that will get my vote, can't figure if it looks cool, sexy or downright sinister. Would like to see one for real one day, do they ever fly for shows etc any more?

Sorry Now_Then if you took my response a little harsh because I didn't want to make it seem like that in anyway. Anyways, the SR-71 is unfortunately retired for good and has been for about eight years now. There are no flying examples left, except there are around 30 or so in museums in the United States and one in the U.K. If you want to see many military aircraft, I recommend going to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. I went there last summer and it is an amazing place. They had an SR-71, YF-12, the sole remaining XB-70, and hundreds of other aircraft.

Originally posted by bdn12
There are no flying examples left, except there are around 30 or so in museums in the United States and one in the U.K.

Actually most of the ones in Museums cannot fly either. Many had thier wings cut etc to be transported and no matter hard you try would never be airworthy.

The Blackbird Museum (A-12 and SR-71 and a D-21 drone) and the Seattle Museum of Flight (M-21/D-21 combo and they are in launch configuration, and a J-58) are also good places to see them

Originally posted by FredT

Originally posted by bdn12

Actually most of the ones in Museums cannot fly either. Many had thier wings cut etc to be transported and no matter hard you try would never be airworthy.


Ya, that's why I said there weren't any flying examples left. Maybe you just misunderstood me because I said "except". Anyways, I wondered if it would be possible for the museum ones to fly again and e-mailed some museums about this. The ones I emailed were the museums where the SR-71's flew in and weren't transported by ground. Some of them said that the engines were still installed and they could be brought back, but obviously never will be because it would cost a ton of money. I also asked the USAF Museum and both the SR-71 and XB-70 had their engines still installed. The SR-71 in that museum is the most complete example still remaining.