[LoB]

How did they get Article # 121 (the prototype A12/SR-71) from the Lockheed Skunk Works plant in Burbank, CA to Groom Lake (Area 51) in Nevada?

They didn't fly it there . . . . .

This is fascinating Cold War history.

Lots of cool pictures also.

http://www.roadrunnersinternationale.com/transporting_the_a-12.html

Homepage of Roadrunners Internationale . . An incredible site dedicated to “The Sled” and the “Sled Drivers” . .

http://www.roadrunnersinternationale.com/index.html

 

[Albud3]

Beautiful aircraft. Fell in love with the SR-71/YF-12 waaaay back in the '60s when Revel brought out their 1/72 scale models of the SR-71/YF-12. I think I've built at least 10 models of each type since then. BTW,the A-12 had to be modified from a SR-71 model as no company molded an A-12 until Testors came out with an 1/48 scale model of the SR-71 in the 80's, big model!
There is an A-12 at the USS Alabama Memorial on static display. Looks like it's going Mach 3 even at rest. Wonder what would be built if they had go build one today, would we find out Aurora does exsist?

 

[XXIV Corps]

Any A-12/YF-12/SR-71 fans among us??

+1, a big fan since the 70's.


DI5

 

[Gearjammer]

There's an SR-71 at the U.S airforce Museum in Dayton Ohio, two things came to mind:

1. "Dang that thing is bigger than i thought!!"

2. The huge sign that said "Do not touch the aircraft with bare hands" apparently this is very bad for the stealth coating.

 

[six clicks]

The first thing I thought when i saw a sr71 up close was dang that things a lot smaller then I thought it would be.

 

[rscalzo]

dang that things a lot smaller then I thought it would be.

Exactly what I thought when I saw it on the Intrepid years back.

Read "Skunk Works" for a great inside look at the way those aircraft were developed.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Skunk-Works-Personal-Memoir-Lockheed/dp/0316743003[/ame]

 

[RAFTERMAN]

Sr-71

I lived for 5 years as a kid on Beale Air Force Base. My father was in the 9th recon . He worked in the test cell where they work on the blackbird's engines. It was pretty cool to see it take off at dusk!

 

[ericscher]

The link appears to have become corrupted.

Here it is in plain text:

http://www.roadrunnersinternationale.com/transporting_the_a-12.html

 

[2336USMC]

I lived for 5 years as a kid on Beale Air Force Base. My father was in the 9th recon . He worked in the test cell where they work on the blackbird's engines. It was pretty cool to see it take off at dusk!

I live near Beale. There's an SR-71 on static display there, along with a D-21 reconaissance drone. A few years ago when I drove by there were a bunch of airmen with ladders and paint rollers repainting it flat black...

 

[Clark]

I saw the SR 71 fly at the Sacramento Air Show way back in the late 80's I believe. She did a low speed pass,a high speed pass and then made a big loop and came back right at the crowd, air show center. Pulled up and hit the burners at what seemed like right above the runway. Out of sight in seconds.....the spell of the avaition gas was very obvious for 5 to 10 minutes after she left.

That was a great air show. It was held mid week and just about everything with an A, B, C of F in front of the number was either on static or flying. The first year I went, the show OPENED with a low level, high speed pass by a B-52.

 

[libertynow]

I saw Brian Shul speak at a conference had to attend. Wow. What a fantastic speaker. I ended up with his book, Sled Driver. I showed it to my little girl (8 y.o.) and read some passages, and she was in love with the "dragon lady". There is one at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, MI.

 

[RetiredNSmilin308]

I worked on Sherman Way near the Burbank Airport and had the privilege of working on the altitude instruments for that bad boy. It was the first altimeter I ever had to calibrate up to 100,000 feet !?!?!?

 

[GARRARD]

Ran across this picture today:

 

[RAFTERMAN]

SR71 Fan

I grew up at Beale AFB in the early 70's . It was pretty cool seeing those afterburners when the blackbirds took off at dusk. My dad worked in the test cell where they worked on the J58 engines.

 

[polygunner]

There's an old post around here titled "how slow can a blackbird go"

Good story.

pg
USA2

 

[jarhead714]

Pretty much the hottest bird ever. One of the great joys of my childhood is building models of all those great planes. All hanging from my ceiling with fishing line. Crazy how there's no single designer that stands out individually in the way people like Kelly Johnson and Ed Heinemann and the like did way back when.

 

[Wvuarmyeng]

i love this plane. did my senior paper on the stealth project read all the books i could get my hands on Kelly was amazing at his ideas adn theories

 

[BMWrider]

I saw Brian Shul speak at a conference had to attend. Wow. What a fantastic speaker. I ended up with his book, Sled Driver. I showed it to my little girl (8 y.o.) and read some passages, and she was in love with the "dragon lady". There is one at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, MI.

Brian Shul got to fly in the back seat of Blue Angel #7 as a photographer. I met him a couple of times and have a copy of his book "Blue Angels: A Portrait of Gold" signed by the CO.

I also worked for a former sled driver. His stories about those days were amazing. One time we introduced him to a USMC General who had flown the Space Shuttle. Rick said "I'm honored to shake the hand of someone who's flown faster than me". The General had a funny look on his face as he asked Rick what he flew. I'm sure he was half expecting a response like Phantoms, Eagles or Tomcats. When Rick said "Blackbirds", the General smiled broadly and was obviously impressed.

 

[howardhughes]

When I was going to a A&P school there was a ret AF Col that had a Mach 3+ shoulder patch on his flt jacket ...this was 1975.

 

[mf1160]

Skunk Works by Ben Rich is a great book if you like reading about the formative years of Skunk Works.

What these men achieved when they set their minds to it was nothing less than miraculous.