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A12 Blackbird
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:55 pm
by Niner
Visited Battleship park in Mobile today. They have a few airplanes there too. Here is one that is faster than a speeding bullet.
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:06 pm
by Woftam
Beautiful piece of machinery.
This followed the U2 as America's main spyplane did it not ?
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:39 pm
by Niner Delta
Yes, it took over many, but not all of the U-2 duties. There was also talk of using it in the role of a fighter, but that never came about. The most famous version of this is the SR-71 Blackbird, probably the most incredible plane ever built.
I saw one at an air show in California in the late '80s, he never landed, did a low pass and then poured on the power and went almost vertical and was out of sight in an instant. Yes, I was impressed.
On 3-6-1990, one flew from Los Angeles to Wash. DC in one hour and 4 minutes, average speed of 2,124 mph (3,418 kph).
How far can you go in 64 minutes?
Vern.
THE REASON WHY!!
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:18 am
by DuncaninFrance
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:57 am
by Woftam
Dead on Niner, it is as the SR-71 I remember it. Read an article on it years ago.
As to your question I don't think I could last 64 minutes at any one activity these days, let alone accomplish anything.
Now Duncan you're confusing your physics with your your logic again. It couldn't shoot itself down because by the time it caught up with the bullet (which was initially doing plane speed + lauch speed = bloody fast) gravity has kicked in and the bullet has very kindly dropped out of the flight path of the plane (bloody fast X wind resistance divided by the force of gravity = 27 feet per millisecond altitude loss = plane still flying).
The reason it wasn't used as a fighter was simply that at full throttle the window of opportunity for a shot was about equal to the attention span of a Californian.
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:57 am
by DSchnopp
Someone did fly through their own bullet stream and shoot themselves down back in the late fifties. They were flying a Grumman F-11A (F11F-1 back then) Tiger.
Dave
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:01 am
by Niner
What's even more interesting to me is that it couldn't take off with a full load of fuel because the tires couldn't support the weight of the load. Had to take off and have fuel added by a tanker.
What about that Vern? That isn't a Ripley Believe it or Not thing , is it?
Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:25 pm
by joseyclosey
