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The Ultimate Spy PlaneExplore more photos from the story |
In the new sci-fi movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, an airplane on display at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, gets a star turn. The real-life reconnaissance plane, an SR-71 Blackbird, is the basis for the character Jetfire, a souped-up superplane brought to life by the film's animators. (The Transformers franchise recounts a series of epic battles between two factions of alien robots who disguise themselves by morphing into machines.)
Of course, the actual SR-71 Blackbird had transformed manned flight long before special-effects animators saw its potential. Created as the ultimate spy plane, the SR-71, which first took to the air in December 1964, flew reconnaissance missions until 1990, capable of hurtling along at more than Mach 3, about 2,280 miles per hour—faster than a rifle bullet—at 85,000 feet, or 16 miles above the earth. It is the fastest jet-powered airplane ever built. At top speeds, the surface heat of the airframe could reach 900 degrees Fahrenheit. In their pressurized suits and breathing pure oxygen—mandated by the extreme altitude—the two-man crew looked like astronauts.
Brian Shul, one of fewer than a hundred pilots who flew the plane on recon missions from Beale Air Force base in California as well as bases in England and Japan, calls the SR-71 simply "the most remarkable airplane of the 20th century. We'll never see a plane like that again."
The Udvar-Hazy Blackbird, identified by its tail number, 61-7972, holds several records, including: New York to London in 1 hour 54 minutes 56.4 seconds. (Another Blackbird, 61-7958, set the record for average jet speed: 2,193.167 mph.) On March 6, 1990, as it made its final flight, the Smithsonian plane set another record—Los Angeles to Dulles International Airport, outside Washington, D.C., in 1 hour 4 minutes 20 seconds (barely time for a snack and a snooze). That day, a team including Air Force Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida touched the plane down at Dulles for delivery to Udvar-Hazy, the National Air and Space Museum's companion facility.
I asked Shul, a former Air Force fighter pilot and Vietnam veteran who has written two books about the Blackbird—one recounting his reconnaissance for a dramatic raid on Libya in 1986—what it was like to fly such a phenomenal craft. "It wasn't like any other airplane," he told me. "It was terrifying, exciting, intense and humbling every time you flew. Each mission was designed to fly at a certain speed; you always knew the airplane had more. It was like driving to work in a double-A fuel dragster."
A team of engineers and designers at a southern California unit of Lockheed, headed by legendary aeronautical designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson and his eventual successor, Benjamin Rich, created the SR-71. To deal with airframe heat at Mach 3 and to reduce weight, the SR-71's skin is 85 percent titanium and 15 percent carbon composites. Ironically—because the spy plane was a creature of the cold war—its titanium was purchased from the Soviet Union, although the use to which it would be put remained a closely guarded secret.
The unarmed Blackbird depended on its speed and altitude for defense and on a high degree of invisibility. The plane's distinctive flat profile, with a sharp edge, or chine, running the length of the fuselage, presented very little surface to be detected by radar. Its features anticipated the F-117A stealth fighter, developed at the same Lockheed unit. The SR-71's unusual silhouette caused workers at a U.S. base in Okinawa, Japan, to refer to the plane as the habu—a poisonous black snake indigenous to the island. Crews dubbed the plane the "sled"; SR-71 enthusiasts call themselves "Sledheads."
Achieving Mach 3 performance is expensive. The 32 Blackbirds cost an average of $34 million each. Of the billion-dollar SR-71 fleet, 12 were in accidents, but none was shot down by hostile action. Only one crew member was killed, in a mishap that occurred during a midair refueling. "We knew," says Shul of his fellow Blackbird pilots, "that we were flying a piece of history."
And history the planes have become. However advanced they were, time and technology overtook them; in 1990, as satellites appropriated their mission, operational flights ended. Today's unmanned orbital droids may represent the state of the art. But compared with the Blackbird, they are hardly art at all.
Owen Edwards is a freelance writer and author of the book Elegant Solutions
Comments
Absolutely the coolest aircraft ever designed and flown. Looks mean and sleek whether flying or on the ground.
Posted by John Strebler on June 19,2009 | 01:46PM
The SR-71 was truly a remarkable aircraft. My favorite Habu factoid? That the plane constantly leaked jet fuel while on the runway – and was designed to do so – until it did a quick high speed run after taking off. The fuselage would heat up and the titanium would expand into a perfect seal. Genius.
Posted by Chad on June 19,2009 | 02:13PM
Just not enough superlatives to go around for this aircraft. It is beautiful as well as menacing either in flight or sitting on the tarmac. Kelly Johnson and his team at the Lockheed 'Skunk Works' were amazing when it came to designing, developing and manufacturing this aircraft.
Posted by John B. Beck on June 22,2009 | 08:38AM
Nice to see a mention on the new Transformers movie in there.
Posted by Micheal on June 22,2009 | 03:17PM
Transformers DO NOT "morph."
They "TRANSFORM."
Please understand this.
Transformers are still popular after 25 years because they "TRANSFORM."
They are "ROBOTS IN DISGUISE."
Posted by Michael Vazquez on June 22,2009 | 04:47PM
One wonders why they retired them with no replacements on the drawing boards. Particularly at a time when other Russia could shoot down our satellites. Poink! We're blind. Now China can do the same. It helps to have more than one way to do reconaissance.
Posted by William Hunt on June 22,2009 | 10:25PM
A role model
Posted by Veronica on June 23,2009 | 01:07AM
There's a SR-71 on display near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There's a science museum near the Coliseum which explains why the SR-71 is there. It's on display out in the open so anybody can walk up to it. If you happen to visit the Coliseum for a football game, you should walk over to check it out. The SR-71 is situated at an angle so that you can see both top and bottom sides of the jet. It's really something. I cannot believe it first flew in 1964.
Posted by paul on June 23,2009 | 11:17AM
It's really a work of art. No matter what angle it's viewed from it looks as if it's flying. In the air it is just breathtaking! And this was built and designed before computers were common. My hats off to the "slide ruls boys."
Posted by John J. Kaye on June 23,2009 | 03:01PM
I was on Okinawa in 1969-70 with my husband who was in the Army. I was at a car detailing place, near Kadena Air Force Base & saw this plane circling overhead.
I was amazed & did not realize I was seeing this magnificent plane. I will never forget that image. I will always remember it as the Habu..
Posted by Lorraine Giberson on June 23,2009 | 05:20PM
The article indicates that of 12 accidents involving the SR-71, only one crew member was killed. I am curious if the research included information on a crash in late 1965 in north eastern New Mexico. It is my understanding that two crew members died in that incident. At that time I believe the aircraft was referred to as the RF-112.
Posted by Bob on June 23,2009 | 07:54PM
http://www.alexisparkinn.com/sr-71_break-up.htm
One crew member died when an sr-71 broke up at mach 3.
Posted by Jóhann on June 24,2009 | 01:08PM
It is an honor to have been an Air Force member working in photographic production laboratories that produced and distributed the intelligence information these airplanes gathered.
Posted by Garry Casey on June 24,2009 | 05:13PM
If the scenario ever took place where a satellite was 'taken out', could or would the SR-71's be re-activated? Or would other satellites be re-positioned for coverage?
Posted by Frank Bennett Jr on June 26,2009 | 06:33AM
Your article on the SR-71 was interesting, but neglected to mention the CIA's A-12, which was developed by Kelly Johnson and first flew in 1962, two years prior to the SR-71's first flight. From the development of the A-12, the YF-12 was built. Finally, taking from the design of the A-12, the SR-71 was built for the Air Force. The single-seat A-12 was lighter and faster than the SR-71 and often flew higher than 90,000 feet and in the vicinity of Mach 3.3 and it alone was the fastest jet-powered airplane ever built. The name habu was first applied to the A-12 which had flown operational missions from Okinawa over Vietnam and North Korea before the SR-71 landed in Okinawa. I was an A-12 mission planner.
Posted by Ron Girard on June 26,2009 | 10:26AM
You talk about the Transformers but no mention of the X-Men?
The Blackbird has been the X-Men's official plane since 1975.
Posted by joe c on June 26,2009 | 01:18PM
A great airplane. Period.
However, at $34 million apiece, I wouldn't exactly call them expensive. I believe a Gulfstream V is a $30 million aircraft. So, on a performance to cost ratio, I would argue the SR-71 was a great value.
Posted by Joe Fusco on June 26,2009 | 06:09PM
William Hunt: the replacement was top secret.
Posted by Fernando on June 28,2009 | 03:23PM
I saw one in 2002, parked on the deck of the USS Enterprise moored off Manhattan on the Hudson serving as a military museum. Surely it's still there.
Posted by AlanDownunder on June 28,2009 | 05:21PM
I remember reading that the Federal Specification Number for the paint used on the SR-71 is captioned "Indigo Blue", but it's so saturated that it looks as black as any FS "Black." Maybe it would look blue in the light of a nuclear explosion.
There is (or was; it's been years since I visited it) another SR-71 on open display at the Air Force Weapons Museum outside Pensacola, Florida, along with many other aircraft, including a B-17 and a B-52. You have to walk under a B-52 to realize just how *big* that sucker is. The B-17, OTOH, looks much smaller from the outside than it does in all those WWII movies.
Posted by Steve on June 29,2009 | 05:09AM
My father was a weight engineer on the SR-71 project. A weight engineer "weighs" planes mathematically before they're built to make sure they'll fly. When he died I put a formula for "lift" on his tombstone:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/outtacontext/2040389171/in/set-72157603220719187/
Posted by Jeff Gates on June 29,2009 | 07:14AM
Reply to Bob (June 23, 2009):
>> Wikipedia has the following:
"25 January [1966] – Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7952, Article 2003, crashes near Tucumcari, New Mexico during test flight out of Edwards Air Force Base, California. Pilot Bill Weaver survives, but RSO Jim Zwayer KWF.[176]"
SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft,_1950-1974#1965
>> I was about 11 years old (1965 or 66) on a summer family vacation t New Mexico (maybe Ariz.) standing outside when in a clear blue sky we noticed a large white bomber escorted by 2 or 3 fighter jets flying overhead. (A truly memorable sight!) Later that same day, the news mentioned the mid-air collision described in more detail below. It was major national news at the time.
A June 1966 collision/crash having occurred around Barstow, CA between a XB-70 Valkryie bomber & one of its Lockheed F-104N Starfigher escorts is described in more detail in the web-site below. Why those aircraft near Barstow were so far from where we saw "what we saw" in the southwestern US desert, I really cannot answer. However, could the Valkryie/Starfighter collision be the one which you remember?
SOURCE:
http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/XB-70_crash_site.htm
Posted by Michael on June 29,2009 | 09:19AM
Good post, but actually the fastest jet powered, air breathing plane is the X-43 at around mach 9-10. If you all want a good book on the SR-71 and the F-177A check out SkunkWorks by Ben Rich, the engineer who developed the revolutionary cone intake on the engines.
Posted by Mike on June 29,2009 | 10:42AM
My favorite factoid is that the standard evasive maneuver for the SR-71 to avoid enemy fire was to speed up. That's right -- missile fired? OK let's just go faster than the missile until it runs out of fuel.
Posted by Alex Foley on June 29,2009 | 11:18AM
"It is the fastest jet-powered airplane ever built."
X-43 requires a rocket to get fast enough make it's ram-jet style engine to operate. So it's not really SOLELY jet powered like the SR-71.
However, it is freaking ridiculously fast!
Posted by Matt Turner on June 29,2009 | 01:58PM
There is an SR-71 on display at the AF museum in Dayton OH and a YF12A in one of the out hangers. You can get up close and personal with the 12A, walk right up to it, under it, and touch it. It's black, rather than the white you might expect but has the lower vertical fins not found on the 71. (note, I was last at the museum over 10 years ago, YMMV).
I was on Okinawa between 64 and 68 as the child of an AF Sgt. This was before the SR71 officially existed. When the Tet offensive cranked up, they launched on in mid day. I remember seeing this space ship take off and could not figure out what the heck it was. Some years later, I put the pieces together. Amazing experience for a kid...
Posted by Doug on June 29,2009 | 02:58PM
i spent 3yr at beale afb with the sr-71. it,s a must see!!!
Posted by eddie wagstaff on June 30,2009 | 01:20PM
First, I've always loved the Blackbird and I'm glad it's going to be on the big screen. It was a huge disappointment (among many disappointing changes) that the X-Men movies decided not to use it.
Second, it's interesting when terminology loses meaning over the years. I have to point out your use of "a souped-up superplane". I believe you meant a "suped up" or "sup'd up" SUPerplane ... as in SUPercharged not as in bowl of SOUP. sorry ... :)
Posted by Ben on July 2,2009 | 06:17PM
The SR-71 is truly a most remarkable aircraft. I recall seeing it do a fly-by at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Ontario Canada a number of years ago and can still fell the vibrations that eminated from the aircraft as when passing along the water front and getting ready to leave the area the power was 'turned on'. What an amazing site, to see the two engines come to life and watch as it quickly disappeared.
I realize that we rely quite heavily on satalites now however I also feel that there are planes the government has that the general public is not aware of. I find it hard to believe that the powers that be would simply give up 'specialized' aircraft in place of the satelites.
Posted by Kent on July 3,2009 | 07:58AM
Tose are travel times I can live with, 2.5 hours from London to New York, Sadly planes fly the same speed now as they did in 1896. Ah well roll on Hypersonic Batwing Ballistic Transport from Virgin Galactic
Posted by Ron on July 4,2009 | 03:03AM
The replacement, in addition to satellites, is aerial reconnaissance drones.
These days, there is very little reason to design military air planes with pilots; pilots are just a cost and a liability.
Posted by Mike on July 4,2009 | 04:20AM
There is an SR-71 with the drone at the Air Museum in Warner Robbins, Georgia.
At least there was one there in 2000 when I ran the Marathon at the air base in Warner Robbins.
Even changed into my racing shoes under the wing of the SR-71!
Posted by Mike Runs on July 4,2009 | 11:24AM
I was in the Air Force and worked on the SR-71 at Beale AFB for my last 2 1/2 yrs in the Air Force .It was a very interesting time in my life 1967-1969.
Posted by Glenn Hawkins on July 4,2009 | 07:08PM
The movie Firefox is loosely based on the SR-71 as well. Even in fiction, this plane is awesome.
Posted by Robert on July 5,2009 | 10:15AM
"My favorite factoid is that the standard evasive maneuver for the SR-71 to avoid enemy fire was to speed up. That's right -- missile fired? OK let's just go faster than the missile until it runs out of fuel."
This is actually one of the more memorable scenes in the movie Firefox.
BTW, the "Blackbird" at Exposition Park in Los Angeles (across the street from the Coliseum) is actually the only 2-seat A-12 ever built (it is the trainer). It never got the new engines, though. So it "only" flew Mach 2.0.
Now, it has no engines, but looks just as menacing as ever.
Posted by Robert on July 5,2009 | 10:25AM
When I was in Navy a sr-71 flew thru our airspace, two or three blips later on radar it was gone. wow
Posted by Jim on July 6,2009 | 07:35AM
I'm a tutor. Once I was talking to one of my (foreign) students about airplanes and somehow the Blackbird came up. He casually asked me, "the Blackbird is Russian, right?"
With genuine indignation I told him off: "Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, California, United States of America! And don't you forget it!"
Having grown up in a Bangladeshi household with a lot of fashionable anti-American sentiment, he just didn't think anything that cool could possibly come from the USA.
IMHO the SR-71 is definitely one of this country's greatest aerospace achievements, along with the Apollo program and the Boeing 747. I highly recommend reading "Skunk Works" not only to anybody even slightly interested in the plane, but to anyone with any interest in science, technology or engineering generally. The book is filled with amazing details; it is astonishing what Kelly and his boys accomplished with the technology available to them.
And I agree that there is a secret spy plane in a hangar somewhere, probably designed by Lockheed. It's just too unlikely that this country would give up the unique capabilities of fast spy planes (the main advantage over satellites is unpredictability; there is also a potential advantage in image resolution due to lower altitude).
I saw one once at an air show; not flying, but the experience was still unforgettable. The plane provokes awe even standing still. It's remarkable to see the jaw-dropping response it gets 45 years after its design - people are silent and respectful, like being in Darth Vader's presence.
Just awesome.
Posted by dave573 on July 7,2009 | 12:56PM
I had the privelege of walking through rthe SR71 hanger at Palmdale for many days working in a nearby hanger on U2's. It was always wet with fuel under the plane.
Posted by BobWright on July 8,2009 | 11:14AM
I believe I read that I read the real cause of the retirement of the SR71 was its operating cost. Something in the million dollars per flight range. It was not just the cost of fuel and maintenance, but in-flight tanker crews, ground support and all of the other stuff that went together to make a mission.
Posted by Gary Benack on July 8,2009 | 11:52PM
I witnessed one fly over of the SR-71 in Chicago ca 1981 and it was imply awesome in the real sense of the word. It has since and remains my favorite aircraft, followed by the the F-86 and P-51.
Posted by Jim Glass on July 10,2009 | 12:41PM
I first swa one "in the flesh" when I walked into the SAC museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. Outside is a colonnade of strategic missiles. So I was expecting that I would see the best of SAC aircraft (B-52, B-29, etc). You can imagine my surprise and my being taken aback by a Blackbird suspended from the ceiling pointing down at me as I walked into the building foyer. I walked up to it and was completely awestruck. Here it was, the fastest "conventional" jetplane ever built. And here I was, almost within arms reach, so it seemed, of the pointy end. I was staring straight at the pitot mounted on the nose. Beautiful. Fearsome. Awe inspiring. Thank You, Kelly, Ben and the Skunkworks team.
Posted by Linton Smith on July 13,2009 | 07:33PM
Stunned to see one fly out of Upper Heyford, in the UK, in the 80s - beautiful sight. Think I'm starting to fall for the F-22, though!
Posted by Seawolf on July 13,2009 | 08:27PM
The hoary USAF joke goes like this:
Pilot: ATC, request clearance to 65,000 feet.
ATC: Brother, if you can get there, it's all yours.
Pilot: Roger, descending to 65,000 feet.
Could be told of the U2 as well.
Posted by Geoff Brown on July 14,2009 | 02:34PM
I was at Edwards AFB CA Oct '64 working on the SR71, shipped to Beale AFB, retiring in '74. For a load of info go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR-71_Blackbird
Posted by Hank Henthorne on July 16,2009 | 02:26PM
I read with great enjoyment the article in the July "Smithsonian" about the SR-71 spy plane. As an engineer in college at the time, the little information that leaked out about it was fascinating. The push for it began after the Francis Gary Powers U-2 embarrassment. What a spectacle that was. As years went by and more and more came out about the plane many people stated mantra-like, "They designed the fastest airplane ever, Mach 3, and they used a slide rule! Not a computer!" I don't know whether that is true or not, but it was part of the aura from those 900 degree wings.
Posted by Louis Martin III on July 21,2009 | 07:50AM
My father was Col. Patrick R. O'Malley and he was the commander of the 2762nd Logistics Squadron (Special) AFLC. The squadron was responsible for the maintenance and modifications to the SR-71, U-2/TR-1, RC-135 fleet and special C-130's(One project was fitting the C-130 for in flight refueling). Dad was the Commander from 1971 to 1980 when he retired. Yes, a very long time in the same position. My SR-71 memory is actually of the YF-12. When they retired the YF-12 to the Air Force Museum dad was given the opportunity to fly in the backseat from California (Beale or Palmdale?). Much as he would have loved to do this the Flight Surgeon would not give him clearance due to his asthma and related ailments. Col. Richard Uppstrom (Ret.), director of the AFM was the lucky backseater. My memory was being allowed to get out of Baker High School for part of the day to watch the YF-12 fly a couple circles around the museum before landing. What a sight!!! I also recall being allowed on the ramp with the crew, my dad and some family before the general public. Finally, later on when my sons were 4 and 2, I took their picture in the nozzle of the engine of the YF-12 at the Museum (Yes, I know you're not supposed to do that). Dad, with Mom, is at Arlington National Cemetery after a 37 year career. What a great place to grow up, under the landing pattern of W-PAFB, near the AFM where Dad and Col. Uppstrom helped me get my first job in Restoration and the gift shop at the Museum.
Posted by Brian O'Malley on August 9,2009 | 10:40AM
There is a SK-71 outside the Virginia Air Museum, east of Richmond.
My father was a power systems engineer for GE in Waynsboro VA.
He designed the power system for the Blackbird. Something went wrong. There were mysterious phone calls in the middle of the night. ( We lived on a very remote farm in the Shenandoah Valley), car arrived, Dad left. Came back in the afternoon.
It took him 15 minutes to fix the problem in California. The plane was still there, he told the pilot to take him back to Virginia. He went to sleep.
He was wakened by a phone (radio) call from Waynsboro, " Where are you and why don't you fix the problem?"
My father said "I am over Iowa, and I have already fixed the problem, I maybe late at work today". And he went back to sleep.
This story was told to me by Tom Cabe, another EG engineer, after a Memorial Service for Fletcher Collins in Staunton Virginia. My father never talked about his work.
Posted by georg bergman on August 17,2009 | 04:45PM