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N535US Boeing 757-251(WL) Northwest Airlines 14 Nov 1995
C16Y144 2x PW PW2037 5635 WL fitted 10/2006
N535US Boeing 757-251(WL) Delta Air Lines 29 Oct 2008
C20W29Y150 2x PW PW2037 5635 tfd
configured "C24W18Y132"
re-configured "C20W29Y150" 04/2015
Preparing a night session using PhotoIRmote as intervalometer.
You can see how we configured the app. We took 20 photos of 35 seconds of exposure each. We set 5 seconds between each photo (enough time because we don't use the noise reduction camera option).
Note that shooting stars have been added using photoshop. The photoirmote setup is the needed one to get still stars in open sky at night. If shooting stars are bright enough they will be captured though :) We weren't so lucky :(
Get PhotoIRmote for your phone if you don't have it yet!
Hope you try it and have fun!
Seen in Kirkby Stephen is preserved Highland Scottish Alexander AYS bodied Leyland Leopard PSU3G/4R, L25 CAS 519W.
New in May 1981 and configured to C49F
As I was about to leave the house this morning, I paused and looked down at my camera bag (currently configured, it weighs 12 pounds-not counting the tripod and head) and decided to leave it there on the floor. Eight hours later, The hawk I have been stalking for months, flew by right in front of me, less than ten feet away. All I could do was to tell myself that there was a reason that I left the bag at home (it really wasn't the weight) even if I didn’t know quite what it was. It took a few minutes, but I believe that it has to do with a recurring reminder that has been manifesting in interesting ways over the past few weeks, and that reminder is to pay attention to things close by, be they insects, or flowers, or most importantly, the people I care about. Until I see them at home, the flowers will suffice.
The motorcycle is a very versatile platform; it can be configured in a multitude of ways to transport people and/or items. Like here.
The much re-configured plimsol line of the Ust Luga seen at Milford. This tanker is named for a port near the city we used to know as Leningrad. Whilst the city has changed it’s name students of trivia will revel in the fact that the surrounding district is still known as the Leningrad Oblast. Oblast being the Soviet term for an administrative district. One lives. One learns. Or that’s the theory anyhow.
The SSJ100's VIP interior is configured to carry 19 passengers in a cabin divided into several sections, including areas for relaxation and meetings.
N596AS Boeing 737-890(WL) Alaska Airlines C16Y147 2x CFMI CFM56-7B27 24. Apr 2008 596 configured "C16Y141"
sticker "Follow Apolo" Nov 2009 - Jan 2010
re-configured "C16Y147" 2014
Seen in Preston whilst working Route 43 to Royal Preston Hospital is Preston Bus Wrightbus Streetlite DF, 20160 SN68 AKA.
This was new to Diamond Bus North West in Jan 2019 and configured to B33F.
Currently one of 7 leisure configured Boeing 747-400's currently in service with Virgin Atlantic, these see regular service from major bases outside of London Heathrow, and with Caribbean services due to commence in preparation for the Winter 14/15 season will see these pushed further from not only London Gatwick but including Manchester, Glasgow and from next year, Belfast International.
Manchester is certainly a growing base for Virgin ever since the integration of Delta Air Lines who acquired a 49% stake of the airline from Singapore Airlines. Getting past the closure of its Little Red services from March 2015, the airline will acquire Delta's existing Manchester to Atlanta flights using Airbus A330-300's, whilst Delta will launch new flights from Manchester to New York-JFK.
With Virgin now taking delivery of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, rumours are much stronger that the airline is considering an order for the larger 787-10 Dreamliner to replace the leisure Boeing 747-400's which their leases are to expire by the end of the decade. The order may not be surprising where Virgin can operate its fleet around the 787 Dreamliner whilst maintaining their Airbus A330-300's until their leases expire.
Another of the birds Alitalia did not take-up, Hot Lips was delivered new to Virgin Atlantic in May 2001, currently leased from GECAS and she is powered by 4 General Electric CF6-80C2B1F engines. The name 'Hot Lips' is derived from the 1922 jazz single written by Henry Busse, Henry Lange and Lou Davis.
Boeing 747-443 G-VLIP 'Hot Lips' taxis onto Runway 23L at Manchester (MAN) on VS73 to Orlando-International (MCO), Florida.
Samantha shoved herself away from the desk and groaned. She’d been at this for hours, laying out different ways to configure the funding of her next enterprise, a newly legal ‘medical’ marijuana shop, and she still felt like she had a million questions. How much of a difference could there be in the total quantity grown and the amount sold in the shop before the police would notice? What taxes would be added, when they inevitably were? Since the shop would have to be a cash-only business, how much cash could she funnel off without being noticed? How much needed to stick around to make the thing look profitable but not robbable? And, worst of all, who was going to run the blasted thing?
She put her hands behind her neck, rubbing at a crick. Dmitri couldn’t do it because he was too irresponsible, and he didn’t need any new addictions. Nikola would give all the product away. Alex and Max would be efficient, but they lacked the caring side that medical customers would need. “Why couldn’t my family be lawyers?” she groused.
“If you were a lawyer, you wouldn’t need a bodyguard. Actually, depending how much of an asshole you were, you might need a bodyguard. But I certainly wouldn’t work for a lawyer,” said a low voice behind Samantha. Warm hands rested on her shoulders.
“And here I’d been telling everyone you were my stylist.”
“You’d definitely need a stylist if you were a lawyer. Gotta pick the right pantsuit. Don’t wanna wear the he’s-gonna-fry suit on a day when you need sensitive-misunderstood-lonely-kid.”
“Whereas now,” Samantha said, “I just wear the he’s-gonna-fry suit every day.”
“Gotta keep ‘em on their toes,” Sadaf said. “But really. You haven’t killed anyone in ages.”
“Uggghhhh. A little murder would be a relief right now.”
“What’s wrong?” Sadaf asked, ruffling Samantha’s bangs.
“Could you not?” Samantha huffed. Sadaf didn’t stop.
“I’ll rub your neck nicely if you tell me all your secrets.”
Samantha frowned. “You know all my secrets.”
“I’m sure I don’t.”
“You know where the bodies are buried.”
“That’s… not really the same. But. What I meant was…” Sadaf paused, shifting her hair fluffing into a scalp massage, “Why don’t you tell me so I can help? What’s the problem?”
“Math!”
“Don’t be silly. You can do math just fine. What’s the real issue?”
“The pot shop. There are so many variables,” Samantha said. “I think I’ve got a grasp of where I’d like our production to start, and we’ve got warehouses for growing, and protection staff. I’m going to start with production nearly matching sales and see how that goes. I think we’ll be set to shift some cash around after the first three months. I want to run through the numbers one more time, but--”
“None of what you’ve said is a real problem. Are you sure there’s nothing else?”
Samantha sighed. “I don’t know who’s going to run it. I can’t do it myself, but I don’t trust anyone else not to fuck it up.”
“Story of your life.”
“Mmm. If only I were a lawyer.”
“You know,” Sadaf said, “That gives me an idea.”
“Hire a lawyer?”
“No. But my cousin Cyrus is a doctor, and his brother is a lawyer. Their dad was a lot more stereotypical immigrant dad than mine. But my uncle died a few months ago. Cyrus hates his job, and he’s a total pothead. But he is a doctor. He could write prescriptions and they’d actually be real. And you could probably just pay him in weed. Well, cash and weed.”
“How could we trust him?”
“This would give him a way out of being a general practitioner, which he doesn’t like. You’d be paying him a reasonable salary for much less work, but he’s not hurting for money regardless. And, due to some incidents in our teenage years, I’m pretty sure he’d never cross me.”
Samantha raised an eyebrow.
“See?” Sadaf smirked. “I don’t know all your secrets. I have no idea what you were like as a teenager.”
“I had a 4.0 unweighted and the highest score at the target range every week.”
“That’s… probably what I would have guessed.”
“Let me think it over. Call him in the morning and invite him to dinner this week,” Samantha said. “I’m not saying yes.”
“I’d have been surprised if you did,” Sadaf replied. “Say yes to coming to bed, though.”
Samantha leaned forward, disengaging Sadaf’s fingers from her hair. “Not yet.”
“You’re going to look awful at your morning meeting tomorrow.”
“I don’t have a morning meeting tomorrow,” Samantha replied.
“Are you sure? Could have been rearranged…”
“I just need to work a little more. I’ll go to bed soon.”
Sadaf frowned. Samantha’s eyes were already back on her laptop.
“Okay, you can stay up,” she trilled, “but you don’t know what you’re missing…” She circled around the desk, showing off her sheer negligee to best advantage.
Samantha didn’t look up.
This Hydroplane was modeled after the 1950's style Gold Cup speed boats and was completely hand crafted by Mr. Storoz. John was a tool and die maker in the Detroit area and he started this project in his basement in 1954. It measures about 50 inches long, 24 inches wide, 10 inches high at the engine, and 17 inches high from the bottom of the rudder to the top of the tail fin, which doubles as a fuel tank. His custom engine is 11 inches long, 8 inches wide, and 6 inches high with a bore of 1-1/8 inch and a stroke of 7/8 inch for a total capacity of 7.2 cu in (118 cc). The engine is connected to the propeller shaft by a chain just ahead of the flywheel that houses a centrifugal clutch. The flywheel is configured for rope starting.
Mr. Storoz began by making patterns, molds, and castings for the engine and then machined the components on a small Atlas horizontal milling machine, lathe, and drill press. It appears he finished the project in the early 1960's.
The radio controls include throttle, rudder, and spark advance via a three-channel Schmidt tube-type radio transmitter and receiver.
See More Model Boat Engines at: www.flickr.com/photos/15794235@N06/sets/72157641089388694/
See More V8 engines at: www.flickr.com/photos/15794235@N06/albums/72157663468409191
See Our Model Engine Collection at: www.flickr.com/photos/15794235@N06/sets/72157602933346098/
Visit Our Photo Sets at: www.flickr.com/photos/15794235@N06/sets
Courtesy of Paul and Paula Knapp
Miniature Engineering Museum
Approaching Pepper Ave West Colton with new UP2625 approaching off the Palmdale cutoff . Today this heavy train was configured 3X2X1 21st Jan 2016
Seen at Royal Preston Hospital is East Lancs bodied Scania N94UD, 40414 YV03 PZZ.
This was new to Metrobus in August 2003, numbered 434 and configured to B45/29D.
I saw shot a shot of this pop up on the stream from a contact, and thought maybe I should revisit the ones I have.
I did not travel up on the train, as my friend thought it too expensive, so we drove up, but to add to the excitement I did lock the car keys inside the car at the top of the mountain.
Anyway, we had lots of time to wait and admire the train whilst we waited for the park ranger to come with a jimmy to force open the car door.
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The Mount Washington Cog Railway is the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway (rack-and-pinion railway). The railway is still in operation, climbing Mount Washington in New Hampshire, USA. It uses a Marsh rack system and one or two steam locomotives and five biodiesel powered locomotives to carry tourists to the top of the mountain. Its track is built to 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm) gauge, which is technically a narrow gauge, as it is a 1⁄2-inch (12.7 mm) less than 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.
It is the second steepest rack railway in the world after the Pilatus railway,[2] with an average grade of over 25% and a maximum grade of 37.41%. The railway is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long and ascends Mt. Washington's western slope beginning at an elevation of approximately 2,700 feet (820 m) above sea level and ending just short of the mountain's summit peak of 6,288 feet (1,917 m). The train ascends the mountain at 2.8 miles per hour (4.5 km/h) and descends at 4.6 mph (7.4 km/h). It takes approximately 65 minutes to ascend and 40 minutes to descend although the diesel can go up in as little as 37 minutes.
Most of the Mount Washington Cog Railway is in Thompson and Meserve's Purchase, with the part of the railway nearest to Mt. Washington's summit being in Sargent's Purchase.
The railway was built by Sylvester Marsh[3] who grew up in Campton. Marsh came up with the idea while climbing the mountain in 1852.[4] His plan was treated as insane. Local tradition says that the state legislature voted permission based on a consensus that harm resulting from operating it was no issue — since the design was attempting the impossible — but benefits were guaranteed. He was putting up $5,000 of his own money, and that (plus whatever else he could raise) would be spent locally, including building the Fabyan House hotel at nearby Fabyan Station to accommodate the expected tourists. The railway is sometimes called "Railway to the Moon" because one state legislator remarked during the proceedings that Marsh should be given a charter—not merely up Mount Washington but also to the moon.
Marsh obtained a charter for the road on June 25, 1858, but the American Civil War prevented any action until May 1866.[4] He developed a prototype locomotive and a short demonstration section of track, then found investors and started construction.
Despite the railroad's incomplete state, the first paying customers started riding on August 14, 1868, and the construction reached the summit in July 1869.[4] The early locomotives all had vertical boilers, like many stationary steam engines of the time; the boilers were mounted on trunnions allowing them to be held vertically no matter what the gradient of the track. Later designs introduced horizontal boilers, slanted so that they remain close to horizontal on the steeply graded track.
Sylvester Marsh died in 1884 and control of the Cog passed to the Concord & Montreal Railroad, which ran it until 1889 when the Boston & Maine Railroad took over.[5][6]
Control by the Teagues began in 1931 when Col. Henry N. Teague bought the Cog. He died in 1951, and Arthur S. Teague became general manager, then gained ownership in 1961. (Arthur Teague was the colonel's protégé but no relation.) After he died in 1967, the ownership passed to his wife Ellen Crawford Teague who ran the Cog as the world's first woman president of a railway. In 1983, Mrs. Teague sold the railway to a group of New Hampshire businessmen. Since 1986, the Cog Railway has been controlled and owned by Wayne Presby and Joel Bedor of Littleton, New Hampshire. The Bedor and Presby families also owned the Mount Washington Hotel and Resort in Bretton Woods for the period 1991-2006. In 1995, the railway appointed Charles Kenison the General Manager. These individuals were responsible for a complete revitalization of the railroad, with the assistance of Al LaPrade, a mechanical engineer whose career began at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.[1][5][7] The Cog has been in continuous operation since 1869, with service interruptions only during the World Wars.
In the summer of 2008, the Cog introduced its first diesel locomotive. The Great Recession and the 2000s energy crisis led to fewer passengers, and the Cog sought to cut costs with the diesel, which could make three round trips for the cost of one steam train round trip. In 2014, the railroad carried the most passengers in its history, marking the third record year in a row.
In the early days of the railway's construction, the workers wanted to minimize time when climbing and descending the ramp, so they invented slideboards fitting over the cog rack and providing enough room for themselves and their tools. These boards – no two were exactly alike – were approximately 90 cm (35 in) long by 25 cm (9.8 in) wide, made of wood with hand-forged iron and with two long hardwood handles usually attached at the down-mountain end. The average time for the descent of the mountain using these boards was about 15 minutes. The record was 2:45, an average speed above 100 km/h (62 mph).[1]
The "Devil's shingles" were banned in 1906 after the accidental death of an employee. Later, the design of the rack was changed so that the old braking mechanism could no longer grip.
The first of two major accidents in the railway's history occurred in 1929, involving locomotive #1 (first named Hero and later Peppersass because of its vertical boiler's resemblance to a pepper sauce bottle). This locomotive was used to build the railway and was lost for many years, as it had been moved about the country and placed on display at numerous exhibitions. The owners of the railway at the time (the Boston & Maine Railroad) decided to restore Peppersass and make a commemorative trip for the railway's 60th anniversary. During the ascent, however, the locomotive's front axle broke and the locomotive began descending the mountain at high speed. All but one of its crew jumped to safety (though some suffered broken bones), but one man did not escape and died. The locomotive broke into pieces but the boiler did not rupture, and the pieces were later reassembled to reconstruct the locomotive for static display. It is now located at the Cog Railway Base Station.[9]
On September 17, 1967, eight passengers were killed and seventy-two injured when Engine #3 derailed at the Skyline switch about a mile below the summit. The engine rolled off the trestle while the uncoupled passenger car slid several hundred feet into a large rock. An investigation revealed that the Skyline switch had not been properly configured for the descending train. The railway nonetheless has a solid safety record, having taken over five million people to the summit during its existence.
The cog railway designs and builds all of its locomotives and passenger coaches at the company shops located at the base of Mt. Washington.[11]
Each train consists of a locomotive pushing a single passenger car up the mountain, descending the mountain by going backwards. Both locomotive and car were originally equipped with a ratchet and pawl mechanism engaged during the climb that prevents any roll-back; during descent, both locomotive and car are braked. Recent improvements in design have replaced the ratchet (gear and pawl mechanism) with sprag clutches and disc brake assemblies. Most of the locomotives were made by the Manchester Locomotive Works.[12]
The cog or rack and pinion system that allows the locomotive to climb Mt. Washington. Located in the museum.
The rack rail design used is one of Marsh's own inventions, using a ladder-like rack with open bar rungs engaged by the teeth of the cog wheel. This system allows snow and debris to fall through the rack rather than lodging in it.[13] A similar design called the Riggenbach rack system was invented by engineer Niklaus Riggenbach in Switzerland at about the same time. The Swiss Consul to the United States visited Marsh while constructing the railway up Mount Washington, and his enthusiastic reports persuaded the Swiss government to commission Riggenbach to build the Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn on Rigi Mountain, which opened on May 21, 1871.[14]
Initially, there was no way for two trains to pass one another on the Mount Washington Cog Railway. In 1941, a nine-motion switch was invented, and two spur sidings were added, each long enough to divert two descending trains so that climbing trains could continue to the summit, enabling more round trips per day.
A switch (transfer table) of Mount Washington Cog Railway
In 2004, work was completed replacing the lower Waumbek Switch and Siding with an 1,800-foot (550 m) passing loop equipped with electric and hydraulically powered automated switches. These switches are powered by batteries and recharged by solar panels. One switch is located at each end of the loop, allowing ascending and descending trains to pass one another.[15]
In 2014, work began on another switch and siding at the summit of Mt. Washington. When completed, the new switch will allow trains to pass one another at the summit of the mountain.
In 2008, work began on the first diesel locomotive to be powered with biodiesel, with the assistance of a retired mechanical engineer from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.[16] By 2013, the railway had completed the construction of five of these locomotives. Work is underway on a sixth diesel to be completed by 2016.
Oman Air A330-243 A4O-DC touching down on 23R as WY105 from Muscat. 08/07/17.
c/n 1049 first flew at Toulouse Blagnac on the 2nd of October 2009 as F-WWKL. The aircraft was delivered to AWAS on the 26th of October 2009 and was immediately leased to Oman Air as A4O-DC. The aircraft was re-configured from C20Y196 to C30Y196 during October 2016. Current. July 2017.
A wonderfully broad and random topic, indeed. There were so many pithy quotes.
Unfortunately, I am in the throes of spring cleaning and trying to sort and configure a new computer... so here's my last minute entry. I'm 'sliding' it in here on Sunday...
...because it can also be a Sunday slider: played around a bit with some various software that had been buried on the old computer. HSS!
Blogged on ☛ HoloChromaCinePhotoRamaScope‽ as: Bye bye, Miss American Pie.
• • • • •
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.
This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.
Transferred from the United States Air Force.
Manufacturer:
Designer:
Date:
1964
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 55ft 7in. x 107ft 5in., 169998.5lb. (5.638m x 16.942m x 32.741m, 77110.8kg)
Other: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 107ft 5in. x 55ft 7in. (5.638m x 32.741m x 16.942m)
Materials:
Titanium
Physical Description:
Twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airframe constructed largley of titanium and its alloys; vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite (laminated plastic-type material) to reduce radar cross-section; Pratt and Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) turbojet engines feature large inlet shock cones.
Long Description:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71 Blackbird. It is the fastest aircraft propelled by air-breathing engines. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War. The airplane was conceived when tensions with communist Eastern Europe reached levels approaching a full-blown crisis in the mid-1950s. U.S. military commanders desperately needed accurate assessments of Soviet worldwide military deployments, particularly near the Iron Curtain. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's subsonic U-2 (see NASM collection) reconnaissance aircraft was an able platform but the U. S. Air Force recognized that this relatively slow aircraft was already vulnerable to Soviet interceptors. They also understood that the rapid development of surface-to-air missile systems could put U-2 pilots at grave risk. The danger proved reality when a U-2 was shot down by a surface to air missile over the Soviet Union in 1960.
Lockheed's first proposal for a new high speed, high altitude, reconnaissance aircraft, to be capable of avoiding interceptors and missiles, centered on a design propelled by liquid hydrogen. This proved to be impracticable because of considerable fuel consumption. Lockheed then reconfigured the design for conventional fuels. This was feasible and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), already flying the Lockheed U-2, issued a production contract for an aircraft designated the A-12. Lockheed's clandestine 'Skunk Works' division (headed by the gifted design engineer Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson) designed the A-12 to cruise at Mach 3.2 and fly well above 18,288 m (60,000 feet). To meet these challenging requirements, Lockheed engineers overcame many daunting technical challenges. Flying more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external aircraft surfaces, which are enough to melt conventional aluminum airframes. The design team chose to make the jet's external skin of titanium alloy to which shielded the internal aluminum airframe. Two conventional, but very powerful, afterburning turbine engines propelled this remarkable aircraft. These power plants had to operate across a huge speed envelope in flight, from a takeoff speed of 334 kph (207 mph) to more than 3,540 kph (2,200 mph). To prevent supersonic shock waves from moving inside the engine intake causing flameouts, Johnson's team had to design a complex air intake and bypass system for the engines.
Skunk Works engineers also optimized the A-12 cross-section design to exhibit a low radar profile. Lockheed hoped to achieve this by carefully shaping the airframe to reflect as little transmitted radar energy (radio waves) as possible, and by application of special paint designed to absorb, rather than reflect, those waves. This treatment became one of the first applications of stealth technology, but it never completely met the design goals.
Test pilot Lou Schalk flew the single-seat A-12 on April 24, 1962, after he became airborne accidentally during high-speed taxi trials. The airplane showed great promise but it needed considerable technical refinement before the CIA could fly the first operational sortie on May 31, 1967 - a surveillance flight over North Vietnam. A-12s, flown by CIA pilots, operated as part of the Air Force's 1129th Special Activities Squadron under the "Oxcart" program. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U. S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version of the aircraft designated the YF-12A. The Skunk Works, however, proposed a "specific mission" version configured to conduct post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. This system evolved into the USAF's familiar SR-71.
Lockheed built fifteen A-12s, including a special two-seat trainer version. Two A-12s were modified to carry a special reconnaissance drone, designated D-21. The modified A-12s were redesignated M-21s. These were designed to take off with the D-21 drone, powered by a Marquart ramjet engine mounted on a pylon between the rudders. The M-21 then hauled the drone aloft and launched it at speeds high enough to ignite the drone's ramjet motor. Lockheed also built three YF-12As but this type never went into production. Two of the YF-12As crashed during testing. Only one survives and is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The aft section of one of the "written off" YF-12As which was later used along with an SR-71A static test airframe to manufacture the sole SR-71C trainer. One SR-71 was lent to NASA and designated YF-12C. Including the SR-71C and two SR-71B pilot trainers, Lockheed constructed thirty-two Blackbirds. The first SR-71 flew on December 22, 1964. Because of extreme operational costs, military strategists decided that the more capable USAF SR-71s should replace the CIA's A-12s. These were retired in 1968 after only one year of operational missions, mostly over southeast Asia. The Air Force's 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (part of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) took over the missions, flying the SR-71 beginning in the spring of 1968.
After the Air Force began to operate the SR-71, it acquired the official name Blackbird-- for the special black paint that covered the airplane. This paint was formulated to absorb radar signals, to radiate some of the tremendous airframe heat generated by air friction, and to camouflage the aircraft against the dark sky at high altitudes.
Experience gained from the A-12 program convinced the Air Force that flying the SR-71 safely required two crew members, a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). The RSO operated with the wide array of monitoring and defensive systems installed on the airplane. This equipment included a sophisticated Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system that could jam most acquisition and targeting radar. In addition to an array of advanced, high-resolution cameras, the aircraft could also carry equipment designed to record the strength, frequency, and wavelength of signals emitted by communications and sensor devices such as radar. The SR-71 was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude. It could operate safely at a maximum speed of Mach 3.3 at an altitude more than sixteen miles, or 25,908 m (85,000 ft), above the earth. The crew had to wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts. These suits were required to protect the crew in the event of sudden cabin pressure loss while at operating altitudes.
To climb and cruise at supersonic speeds, the Blackbird's Pratt & Whitney J-58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner. While this would appear to dictate high fuel flows, the Blackbird actually achieved its best "gas mileage," in terms of air nautical miles per pound of fuel burned, during the Mach 3+ cruise. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. Each time the SR-71 refueled, the crew had to descend to the tanker's altitude, usually about 6,000 m to 9,000 m (20,000 to 30,000 ft), and slow the airplane to subsonic speeds. As velocity decreased, so did frictional heat. This cooling effect caused the aircraft's skin panels to shrink considerably, and those covering the fuel tanks contracted so much that fuel leaked, forming a distinctive vapor trail as the tanker topped off the Blackbird. As soon as the tanks were filled, the jet's crew disconnected from the tanker, relit the afterburners, and again climbed to high altitude.
Air Force pilots flew the SR-71 from Kadena AB, Japan, throughout its operational career but other bases hosted Blackbird operations, too. The 9th SRW occasionally deployed from Beale AFB, California, to other locations to carryout operational missions. Cuban missions were flown directly from Beale. The SR-71 did not begin to operate in Europe until 1974, and then only temporarily. In 1982, when the U.S. Air Force based two aircraft at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall to fly monitoring mission in Eastern Europe.
When the SR-71 became operational, orbiting reconnaissance satellites had already replaced manned aircraft to gather intelligence from sites deep within Soviet territory. Satellites could not cover every geopolitical hotspot so the Blackbird remained a vital tool for global intelligence gathering. On many occasions, pilots and RSOs flying the SR-71 provided information that proved vital in formulating successful U. S. foreign policy. Blackbird crews provided important intelligence about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, and pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 raid conducted by American air forces on Libya. In 1987, Kadena-based SR-71 crews flew a number of missions over the Persian Gulf, revealing Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.
As the performance of space-based surveillance systems grew, along with the effectiveness of ground-based air defense networks, the Air Force started to lose enthusiasm for the expensive program and the 9th SRW ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress revived the program in 1995. Continued wrangling over operating budgets, however, soon led to final termination. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retained two SR-71As and the one SR-71B for high-speed research projects and flew these airplanes until 1999.
On March 6, 1990, the service career of one Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird ended with a record-setting flight. This special airplane bore Air Force serial number 64-17972. Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and his RSO, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Vida, flew this aircraft from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging a speed of 3,418 kph (2,124 mph). At the conclusion of the flight, '972 landed at Dulles International Airport and taxied into the custody of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. At that time, Lt. Col. Vida had logged 1,392.7 hours of flight time in Blackbirds, more than that of any other crewman.
This particular SR-71 was also flown by Tom Alison, a former National Air and Space Museum's Chief of Collections Management. Flying with Detachment 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Alison logged more than a dozen '972 operational sorties. The aircraft spent twenty-four years in active Air Force service and accrued a total of 2,801.1 hours of flight time.
Wingspan: 55'7"
Length: 107'5"
Height: 18'6"
Weight: 170,000 Lbs
Reference and Further Reading:
Crickmore, Paul F. Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1996.
Francillon, Rene J. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987.
Johnson, Clarence L. Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.
Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. Leicester, U.K.: Midland Counties Publishing Ltd., 1995.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird curatorial file, Aeronautics Division, National Air and Space Museum.
DAD, 11-11-01
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Space Shuttle Enterprise:
Manufacturer:
Rockwell International Corporation
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 57 ft. tall x 122 ft. long x 78 ft. wing span, 150,000 lb.
(1737.36 x 3718.57 x 2377.44cm, 68039.6kg)
Materials:
Aluminum airframe and body with some fiberglass features; payload bay doors are graphite epoxy composite; thermal tiles are simulated (polyurethane foam) except for test samples of actual tiles and thermal blankets.
The first Space Shuttle orbiter, "Enterprise," is a full-scale test vehicle used for flights in the atmosphere and tests on the ground; it is not equipped for spaceflight. Although the airframe and flight control elements are like those of the Shuttles flown in space, this vehicle has no propulsion system and only simulated thermal tiles because these features were not needed for atmospheric and ground tests. "Enterprise" was rolled out at Rockwell International's assembly facility in Palmdale, California, in 1976. In 1977, it entered service for a nine-month-long approach-and-landing test flight program. Thereafter it was used for vibration tests and fit checks at NASA centers, and it also appeared in the 1983 Paris Air Show and the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans. In 1985, NASA transferred "Enterprise" to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.
Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• • •
Quoting from Wikipedia | Space Shuttle Enterprise:
The Space Shuttle Enterprise (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) was the first Space Shuttle orbiter. It was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform test flights in the atmosphere. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, and was therefore not capable of spaceflight.
Originally, Enterprise had been intended to be refitted for orbital flight, which would have made it the second space shuttle to fly after Columbia. However, during the construction of Columbia, details of the final design changed, particularly with regard to the weight of the fuselage and wings. Refitting Enterprise for spaceflight would have involved dismantling the orbiter and returning the sections to subcontractors across the country. As this was an expensive proposition, it was determined to be less costly to build Challenger around a body frame (STA-099) that had been created as a test article. Similarly, Enterprise was considered for refit to replace Challenger after the latter was destroyed, but Endeavour was built from structural spares instead.
Service
Construction began on the first orbiter on June 4, 1974. Designated OV-101, it was originally planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on Constitution Day, September 17, 1976. A write-in campaign by Trekkies to President Gerald Ford asked that the orbiter be named after the Starship Enterprise, featured on the television show Star Trek. Although Ford did not mention the campaign, the president—who during World War II had served on the aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26) that served with USS Enterprise (CV-6)—said that he was "partial to the name" and overrode NASA officials.
The design of OV-101 was not the same as that planned for OV-102, the first flight model; the tail was constructed differently, and it did not have the interfaces to mount OMS pods. A large number of subsystems—ranging from main engines to radar equipment—were not installed on this vehicle, but the capacity to add them in the future was retained. Instead of a thermal protection system, its surface was primarily fiberglass.
In mid-1976, the orbiter was used for ground vibration tests, allowing engineers to compare data from an actual flight vehicle with theoretical models.
On September 17, 1976, Enterprise was rolled out of Rockwell's plant at Palmdale, California. In recognition of its fictional namesake, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and most of the principal cast of the original series of Star Trek were on hand at the dedication ceremony.
Approach and landing tests (ALT)
Main article: Approach and Landing Tests
On January 31, 1977, it was taken by road to Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, to begin operational testing.
While at NASA Dryden, Enterprise was used by NASA for a variety of ground and flight tests intended to validate aspects of the shuttle program. The initial nine-month testing period was referred to by the acronym ALT, for "Approach and Landing Test". These tests included a maiden "flight" on February 18, 1977 atop a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) to measure structural loads and ground handling and braking characteristics of the mated system. Ground tests of all orbiter subsystems were carried out to verify functionality prior to atmospheric flight.
The mated Enterprise/SCA combination was then subjected to five test flights with Enterprise unmanned and unactivated. The purpose of these test flights was to measure the flight characteristics of the mated combination. These tests were followed with three test flights with Enterprise manned to test the shuttle flight control systems.
Enterprise underwent five free flights where the craft separated from the SCA and was landed under astronaut control. These tests verified the flight characteristics of the orbiter design and were carried out under several aerodynamic and weight configurations. On the fifth and final glider flight, pilot-induced oscillation problems were revealed, which had to be addressed before the first orbital launch occurred.
On August 12, 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise flew on its own for the first time.
Preparation for STS-1
Following the ALT program, Enterprise was ferried among several NASA facilities to configure the craft for vibration testing. In June 1979, it was mated with an external tank and solid rocket boosters (known as a boilerplate configuration) and tested in a launch configuration at Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A.
Retirement
With the completion of critical testing, Enterprise was partially disassembled to allow certain components to be reused in other shuttles, then underwent an international tour visiting France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. states of California, Alabama, and Louisiana (during the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition). It was also used to fit-check the never-used shuttle launch pad at Vandenberg AFB, California. Finally, on November 18, 1985, Enterprise was ferried to Washington, D.C., where it became property of the Smithsonian Institution.
Post-Challenger
After the Challenger disaster, NASA considered using Enterprise as a replacement. However refitting the shuttle with all of the necessary equipment needed for it to be used in space was considered, but instead it was decided to use spares constructed at the same time as Discovery and Atlantis to build Endeavour.
Post-Columbia
In 2003, after the breakup of Columbia during re-entry, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board conducted tests at Southwest Research Institute, which used an air gun to shoot foam blocks of similar size, mass and speed to that which struck Columbia at a test structure which mechanically replicated the orbiter wing leading edge. They removed a fiberglass panel from Enterprise's wing to perform analysis of the material and attached it to the test structure, then shot a foam block at it. While the panel was not broken as a result of the test, the impact was enough to permanently deform a seal. As the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panel on Columbia was 2.5 times weaker, this suggested that the RCC leading edge would have been shattered. Additional tests on the fiberglass were canceled in order not to risk damaging the test apparatus, and a panel from Discovery was tested to determine the effects of the foam on a similarly-aged RCC leading edge. On July 7, 2003, a foam impact test created a hole 41 cm by 42.5 cm (16.1 inches by 16.7 inches) in the protective RCC panel. The tests clearly demonstrated that a foam impact of the type Columbia sustained could seriously breach the protective RCC panels on the wing leading edge.
The board determined that the probable cause of the accident was that the foam impact caused a breach of a reinforced carbon-carbon panel along the leading edge of Columbia's left wing, allowing hot gases generated during re-entry to enter the wing and cause structural collapse. This caused Columbia to spin out of control, breaking up with the loss of the entire crew.
Museum exhibit
Enterprise was stored at the Smithsonian's hangar at Washington Dulles International Airport before it was restored and moved to the newly built Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, where it has been the centerpiece of the space collection. On April 12, 2011, NASA announced that Space Shuttle Discovery, the most traveled orbiter in the fleet, will be added to the collection once the Shuttle fleet is retired. When that happens, Enterprise will be moved to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City, to a newly constructed hangar adjacent to the museum. In preparation for the anticipated relocation, engineers evaluated the vehicle in early 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft once again.
By Young Photography on 500px.com
Week no. 25 : On SAL2470z
I like the way Sony has taken the camera apart so that it can be configured from the scratch. Cutting away from the pentaprism and the mirror, the body itself is compact and yet, it is really tactile. With the Tri-Control within the reaches of the thumb, it can be re-configured and programmed to suit. It is not as small as the previous NEX-3 or NEX-5 but, it still is easy to carry.
This is how I have NEX-7 figured currently... ...it needs a big, proper lens to go with its big, proper specs.
With 2 big Gs spent on Zeiss and a mirror A mount adaptor, I'm trying to make the most out of it though I must admit it's not a forgiving lens. It is heavy and needs steady hands at all times even with faster shutter speed. As precise as the lens is, it has me standing on tip-toe at times.
Some examples of recent portrait shots,
The runner up, but ur smile isn't...
And the first place goes to...
Both taken at pre run-up event to the this year's Miss Korea to be held in Seoul later this year.
My Canon RP has been giving me grief lately and I need to configure out how to get it shoot worthy again. In the meantime I took my new Pixel 6a out on a beautiful Southern Ontario October day to see how well it works. I’m a studio shooter usually but I need to learn to “see” landscape shots. I played around with some angles and perspectives, ran them through Lightroom, and got these.
The Pixel6a produces nice results on the small screen of the phone but lots of detail is lost when you enlarge them on the desktop. They’re fine for snaps though.
Seen in Kirkby Stephen is preserved Stagecoach Midland Red Alexander PS bodied Volvo B10M-55, 202 M202 LHP.
New in May 1995 and configured to DP48F
QantasLink (National Jet Systems) VH-YQS Boeing 717-2BL c/n 55178 in the 'New Roo' livery at Sydney International Airport.
This aircraft was ordered new by Midwest Airlines, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Construction completed at Boeing Long Beach plant January 2004. It was configured to seat 100 passengers. First flown at Long Beach 12 February 2004 as N916ME powered by BMW Rolls Royce RB715A-130 turbofan engines.
Sold to Midwest Airlines Incorporated 17 March 2004 and subsequently sold to US Bank Na Trustee, Seattle. Certificate of Airwothiness issued 19 March 2004 and entered onto the United States Aircraft Register as N916ME registered to US Bank Na Trustee, Seattle. Leased to Midwest Airlines as the registered operator. Operated its final Midwest revenue service October 2008. Ferried Milwaukee - Victorville as MEP7616 for storage after being returned to lessor 10 October 2008.
10 December 2009 sold to Boeing Equipment Leasing Corporation, Seattle and registered to Boeing Equipment Company Corporation, Seattle 11 February 2009. Prepared for lease to Mexicana Click. Cancelled from the United States Aircraft Register 18 June 2009 and entered onto the Mexican Aircraft Register as XA-CLE. - June 18, 2009 Registered to Boeing Equipment Company Corporation, Seattle Leased to Mexicana Click as the registered operator. 28 August 2010 Mexicana Click ceased operations and the aircraft was stored at Mexico City. Cancelled from the Mexican Aircraft Register January 2011 and entered onto the United States Aircraft Register as N406BC 19 January 2011.
Prepared for lease / sale to Qantas Airways Ltd. 23 September 2013 departed Jacksonville on the ferry flight to Australia in the QantasLink livery as SXI1078. Cancelled from the United States Aircraft Register 27 September 2013 and entered onto the Australian Aircraft Register as VH-YQS 1 October 2013. Registered to BCC Equipment Leasing Corporation, Seattle and leased to National Jet Systems Pty Ltd as the registered operator. Operated its first revenue service Brisbane - Canberra as QF1545 19 November 2013. Registered to Qantas Airways Limited, Sydney (Mascot) 13 July 2017 and leased to National Jet Systems Pty Ltd, Adelaide, South Australia as the registered operator. Operated its final revenue service Sydney (Kingsford Smith) - Canberra (18:08) as QF1511 26 October 2024.
This was the last service operated by a QantasLink Boeing 717.
My Canon RP has been giving me grief lately and I need to configure out how to get it shoot worthy again. In the meantime I took my new Pixel 6a out on a beautiful Southern Ontario October day to see how well it works. I’m a studio shooter usually but I need to learn to “see” landscape shots. I played around with some angles and perspectives, ran them through Lightroom, and got these.
The Pixel6a produces nice results on the small screen of the phone but lots of detail is lost when you enlarge them on the desktop. They’re fine for snaps though.
G-EUNA / An all-business class configured (32 seats) "SPEEDBIRD 001" taxing for a departure from London City Airport to New York via Shannon. "BA 001", used to be BAs fastest service to New York from London. Today, it is their slowest service, since the supersonic Concorde was taken out of service.
This picture is a partial collection of my guitar rig that has been grouped together for photos sake. My guitar amplifier was configured hastily yet impeccably thought out and was assembled from a gutted out late1970's Fender Princeton amplifier cabinet fitted with a Vin-tech Audio X73 single channel strip preamp / equalizer. The muscle comes from David Manley's (VTL) Vacuum Tube Logic mono 100 Watt power amplifier connected to a 12" Tannoy Gold Monitor series Dual Concentric Loudspeaker with a modified Tannoy crossover control box. The amplifier is protected by a homemade regulated isolation transformer. This amplifier is extremely quiet, very powerful and with out a doubt the best Guitar amplifier that I have ever owned or played through. The Gizmos include an original Roland VG-8 Guitar system, a Boss GS-10 GUITAR EFFECTS SYSTEM and a Roland GR-30 Guitar synthesizer. the red Guitar on the left is one of four Line 6 Variax 300's that I own. This Variax 300 has a fender squire Srat replacement neck and Roland GK-2 pickup and the light blue guitar to the right is a fender Squire Strat with a roland GK-3 pickup.
•Fender Princeton amplifier cabinet (late 1970s) fitted with:
* Vin-tech Audio X73 single channel strip preamp / equalizer
* David Manley's (VTL) Vacuum Tube Logic mono 100 Watt power amplifier
* Tannoy Gold Monitor series 12" Dual Concentric Loudspeaker
with a modified Tannoy crossover control box.
* homemade regulated isolation transformer
* Roland GR-30 Guitar Synthesizer
• Roland VG-8 V-Guitar System
• BOSS GS-10 Guitar Effect System with USB Audio Interface
• Modified Line 6 Variax 300 with Roland GK-2 pickup
• Squier Stratocaster with Roland GK-3 pickup
In the current article, we will review the required configuration setting of Force TLS in Exchange on-Premises environment, for a scenario in which we want to ensure that: E-mail message that sent by Exchange on-Premises to a specific destination (specific domain name), will be encrypted +...
o365info.com/configure-force-tls-on-exchange-on-premises-...
Space shuttle Enterprise on the back of the 747 that is configured to transport it, seen at Stansted in June 1983.
_26K2264
A4O-GR Boeing 767-3P6(ER) Gulf Air 13 Dec 1991
2x GE CF6-80C2B6
N156DL Boeing 767-3P6(ER)(WL) Delta Air Lines
21 Jul 1997 C26Y200 2x GE CF6-80C2B6 1506
configured "C30Y189"
re-configured "C26Y200" 10/2013
WL fitted 10/2013
Silk Way West Airlines cargo configured Boeing 747-4R7F 4K-SW888 arriving at Birmingham Airport on 6th February 2025. This aircraft was first delivered to Cargolux as Boeing 747-400F LX-NCV in 1999.
Note the airport marshaller, dwarfed by the Azerbaijan jet, in charge of guiding the aircraft towards its parking slot.
My Canon RP has been giving me grief lately and I need to configure out how to get it shoot worthy again. In the meantime I took my new Pixel 6a out on a beautiful Southern Ontario October day to see how well it works. I’m a studio shooter usually but I need to learn to “see” landscape shots. I played around with some angles and perspectives, ran them through Lightroom, and got these.
The Pixel6a produces nice results on the small screen of the phone but lots of detail is lost when you enlarge them on the desktop. They’re fine for snaps though.
MBTA PCC Car 3327 Work Car configured for MoW service. Double-end car built by Pullman-Standard for Dallas in 1945. Acquired by MBTA in 1959. It is now at the Seashore Trolley Museum.
MA016
iss065e148860 (June 28, 2021) --- (From left) Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) and Commander Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) configure the vestibule in between the Unity module and the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter the day before the U.S. cargo craft's departure.
The initial test flight of Lockheed Martin’s second T-50A configured aircraft occurred July 25, 2016. The T-50A is Lockheed Martin’s aircraft offering in the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Pilot Training (APT) competition. lockheedmartin.com/us/products/t50A.html
Cleaned out airlock, packed tool bags and configured our cameras. Space suits are ready.
Luftschleuse ausgeräumt, Werkzeugtaschen gepackt und unsere Kameras konfiguriert. Raumanzüge sind fit.
892_2397
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.
This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.
Transferred from the United States Air Force.
Manufacturer:
Designer:
Date:
1964
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 55ft 7in. x 107ft 5in., 169998.5lb. (5.638m x 16.942m x 32.741m, 77110.8kg)
Other: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 107ft 5in. x 55ft 7in. (5.638m x 32.741m x 16.942m)
Materials:
Titanium
Physical Description:
Twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airframe constructed largley of titanium and its alloys; vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite (laminated plastic-type material) to reduce radar cross-section; Pratt and Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) turbojet engines feature large inlet shock cones.
Long Description:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71 Blackbird. It is the fastest aircraft propelled by air-breathing engines. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War. The airplane was conceived when tensions with communist Eastern Europe reached levels approaching a full-blown crisis in the mid-1950s. U.S. military commanders desperately needed accurate assessments of Soviet worldwide military deployments, particularly near the Iron Curtain. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's subsonic U-2 (see NASM collection) reconnaissance aircraft was an able platform but the U. S. Air Force recognized that this relatively slow aircraft was already vulnerable to Soviet interceptors. They also understood that the rapid development of surface-to-air missile systems could put U-2 pilots at grave risk. The danger proved reality when a U-2 was shot down by a surface to air missile over the Soviet Union in 1960.
Lockheed's first proposal for a new high speed, high altitude, reconnaissance aircraft, to be capable of avoiding interceptors and missiles, centered on a design propelled by liquid hydrogen. This proved to be impracticable because of considerable fuel consumption. Lockheed then reconfigured the design for conventional fuels. This was feasible and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), already flying the Lockheed U-2, issued a production contract for an aircraft designated the A-12. Lockheed's clandestine 'Skunk Works' division (headed by the gifted design engineer Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson) designed the A-12 to cruise at Mach 3.2 and fly well above 18,288 m (60,000 feet). To meet these challenging requirements, Lockheed engineers overcame many daunting technical challenges. Flying more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external aircraft surfaces, which are enough to melt conventional aluminum airframes. The design team chose to make the jet's external skin of titanium alloy to which shielded the internal aluminum airframe. Two conventional, but very powerful, afterburning turbine engines propelled this remarkable aircraft. These power plants had to operate across a huge speed envelope in flight, from a takeoff speed of 334 kph (207 mph) to more than 3,540 kph (2,200 mph). To prevent supersonic shock waves from moving inside the engine intake causing flameouts, Johnson's team had to design a complex air intake and bypass system for the engines.
Skunk Works engineers also optimized the A-12 cross-section design to exhibit a low radar profile. Lockheed hoped to achieve this by carefully shaping the airframe to reflect as little transmitted radar energy (radio waves) as possible, and by application of special paint designed to absorb, rather than reflect, those waves. This treatment became one of the first applications of stealth technology, but it never completely met the design goals.
Test pilot Lou Schalk flew the single-seat A-12 on April 24, 1962, after he became airborne accidentally during high-speed taxi trials. The airplane showed great promise but it needed considerable technical refinement before the CIA could fly the first operational sortie on May 31, 1967 - a surveillance flight over North Vietnam. A-12s, flown by CIA pilots, operated as part of the Air Force's 1129th Special Activities Squadron under the "Oxcart" program. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U. S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version of the aircraft designated the YF-12A. The Skunk Works, however, proposed a "specific mission" version configured to conduct post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. This system evolved into the USAF's familiar SR-71.
Lockheed built fifteen A-12s, including a special two-seat trainer version. Two A-12s were modified to carry a special reconnaissance drone, designated D-21. The modified A-12s were redesignated M-21s. These were designed to take off with the D-21 drone, powered by a Marquart ramjet engine mounted on a pylon between the rudders. The M-21 then hauled the drone aloft and launched it at speeds high enough to ignite the drone's ramjet motor. Lockheed also built three YF-12As but this type never went into production. Two of the YF-12As crashed during testing. Only one survives and is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The aft section of one of the "written off" YF-12As which was later used along with an SR-71A static test airframe to manufacture the sole SR-71C trainer. One SR-71 was lent to NASA and designated YF-12C. Including the SR-71C and two SR-71B pilot trainers, Lockheed constructed thirty-two Blackbirds. The first SR-71 flew on December 22, 1964. Because of extreme operational costs, military strategists decided that the more capable USAF SR-71s should replace the CIA's A-12s. These were retired in 1968 after only one year of operational missions, mostly over southeast Asia. The Air Force's 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (part of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) took over the missions, flying the SR-71 beginning in the spring of 1968.
After the Air Force began to operate the SR-71, it acquired the official name Blackbird-- for the special black paint that covered the airplane. This paint was formulated to absorb radar signals, to radiate some of the tremendous airframe heat generated by air friction, and to camouflage the aircraft against the dark sky at high altitudes.
Experience gained from the A-12 program convinced the Air Force that flying the SR-71 safely required two crew members, a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). The RSO operated with the wide array of monitoring and defensive systems installed on the airplane. This equipment included a sophisticated Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system that could jam most acquisition and targeting radar. In addition to an array of advanced, high-resolution cameras, the aircraft could also carry equipment designed to record the strength, frequency, and wavelength of signals emitted by communications and sensor devices such as radar. The SR-71 was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude. It could operate safely at a maximum speed of Mach 3.3 at an altitude more than sixteen miles, or 25,908 m (85,000 ft), above the earth. The crew had to wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts. These suits were required to protect the crew in the event of sudden cabin pressure loss while at operating altitudes.
To climb and cruise at supersonic speeds, the Blackbird's Pratt & Whitney J-58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner. While this would appear to dictate high fuel flows, the Blackbird actually achieved its best "gas mileage," in terms of air nautical miles per pound of fuel burned, during the Mach 3+ cruise. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. Each time the SR-71 refueled, the crew had to descend to the tanker's altitude, usually about 6,000 m to 9,000 m (20,000 to 30,000 ft), and slow the airplane to subsonic speeds. As velocity decreased, so did frictional heat. This cooling effect caused the aircraft's skin panels to shrink considerably, and those covering the fuel tanks contracted so much that fuel leaked, forming a distinctive vapor trail as the tanker topped off the Blackbird. As soon as the tanks were filled, the jet's crew disconnected from the tanker, relit the afterburners, and again climbed to high altitude.
Air Force pilots flew the SR-71 from Kadena AB, Japan, throughout its operational career but other bases hosted Blackbird operations, too. The 9th SRW occasionally deployed from Beale AFB, California, to other locations to carryout operational missions. Cuban missions were flown directly from Beale. The SR-71 did not begin to operate in Europe until 1974, and then only temporarily. In 1982, when the U.S. Air Force based two aircraft at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall to fly monitoring mission in Eastern Europe.
When the SR-71 became operational, orbiting reconnaissance satellites had already replaced manned aircraft to gather intelligence from sites deep within Soviet territory. Satellites could not cover every geopolitical hotspot so the Blackbird remained a vital tool for global intelligence gathering. On many occasions, pilots and RSOs flying the SR-71 provided information that proved vital in formulating successful U. S. foreign policy. Blackbird crews provided important intelligence about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, and pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 raid conducted by American air forces on Libya. In 1987, Kadena-based SR-71 crews flew a number of missions over the Persian Gulf, revealing Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.
As the performance of space-based surveillance systems grew, along with the effectiveness of ground-based air defense networks, the Air Force started to lose enthusiasm for the expensive program and the 9th SRW ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress revived the program in 1995. Continued wrangling over operating budgets, however, soon led to final termination. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retained two SR-71As and the one SR-71B for high-speed research projects and flew these airplanes until 1999.
On March 6, 1990, the service career of one Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird ended with a record-setting flight. This special airplane bore Air Force serial number 64-17972. Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and his RSO, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Vida, flew this aircraft from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging a speed of 3,418 kph (2,124 mph). At the conclusion of the flight, '972 landed at Dulles International Airport and taxied into the custody of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. At that time, Lt. Col. Vida had logged 1,392.7 hours of flight time in Blackbirds, more than that of any other crewman.
This particular SR-71 was also flown by Tom Alison, a former National Air and Space Museum's Chief of Collections Management. Flying with Detachment 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Alison logged more than a dozen '972 operational sorties. The aircraft spent twenty-four years in active Air Force service and accrued a total of 2,801.1 hours of flight time.
Wingspan: 55'7"
Length: 107'5"
Height: 18'6"
Weight: 170,000 Lbs
Reference and Further Reading:
Crickmore, Paul F. Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1996.
Francillon, Rene J. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987.
Johnson, Clarence L. Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.
Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. Leicester, U.K.: Midland Counties Publishing Ltd., 1995.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird curatorial file, Aeronautics Division, National Air and Space Museum.
DAD, 11-11-01
A VIP configured Boeing 767-200, this aircraft started life as VH-RMF with Ansett Airlines in 1983. It brought the Manchester City Football Club (soccer!) team back from the USA where they had been on a pre-season tour.
First flown with the Boeing test registration N8287V, this aircraft was delivered to Ansett Airlines as VH-RMF in Jun-83. Ansett Airlines was renamed Ansett Australia Airlines in Jan-91.
In Oct-01 Ansett grounded all their Boeing 737's and 767's and the aircraft was transferred to Ansett Aviation Equipment Pty and stored at Melbourne (Ansett ceased all operations in Mar-02).
At one point it was to be sold to Kras Air as P4-ABA but the deal fell through and it remained stored at Melbourne for 4 years before it was sold to AeroTurbine Inc in Jul-05. By now it was 22 years old and after 4 years in storage it was thought it would be scrapped.
However, AeroTurbine spent months making it airworthy and it was re-registered N767AT in Feb-06 and ferried to Victorville, CA, USA in Mar-06. It was ferried to Miami, FL, USA in Jun-06, repainted into Gadair European Airlines (Spain) livery and leased to Gadair in Jul-06. However, it never left Miami and Gadair ceased trading.
It was ferried to Goodyear, AZ, USA in late Aug-06 and returned to AeroTurbine the following month. The aircraft was sold to MLW Aviation LLC in Feb-07 for VIP use and the interior was refurbished with all First Class seating.
In May-07 it was re-registered N767MW, leased to Pace Airlines and operated on behalf of the Dallas Mavericks Football Team. It was returned to MLW Aviation in Apr-10 and stored at Phoenix, AZ, USA.
In Nov-10 it was leased to Swift Air (USA), returning to MLW Aviation in Jul-13. In Sep-13 it was leased to Atlas Air and continues in service in its VIP role painted in an 'Executive' livery.
The aircraft was stored at Tampa, FL, USA in Sep-20 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and returned to MLW Aviation in Feb-21 when it was transferred to Marana, AZ, USA for further storage.
It was sold to Wyatt Aviation in Apr-21 and was permanently retired at Marana. It was broken up there in 2023. Updated 03-Aug-25.
c/n 003
Built 1972 as the third prototype T-2. Later converted into the CCV (Control-Configured Vehicle) and used for computer controlled research. It was finally used for test-pilot training until retired in 2002.
Kakamigahara Aerospace Science Museum
Kakamigahara City,
Gifu Prefecture, Japan
15th March 2019
The following info on the T2-CCV is from the fascinating j-hangarspace.jp website:-
“First delivered on July 6, 1972, the third prototype T-2 trainer was naturally initially assigned to the type’s test programme from Gifu AB and then, from April 6, 1982, to the JASDF Air Proving Wing (APW). Converted to investigate flight stability achieved by computer control, the data from which would later be utilized in the development of the Mitsubishi F-2, the single-seat T-2 CCV was first flown from Nagoya on August 9, 1983, and again, this time with a fly-by-wire system installed and its distinctive canard wings fitted, on February 16, 1984.
At the end of the two-year joint TRDI*-APW programme, during which 137 flights were completed, the aircraft was utilized for additional research and test pilot training at Gifu, where it remained in store for airing on base open days following its withdrawal from use on October 31, 2002. Reportedly a target for the museum from the start, arranging the loan of an aircraft that is certified for preservation by the JASDF took time and patience on the part of the Kakagamihara City authorities, but those efforts were eventually rewarded.
(*) The Technical Research and Development Institute of the then Japan Defense Agency, now the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency under the Ministry of Defense”