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Could your rigger handle this wide load?

I think that qualifies as a wide load...

A few years ago I saw a blackbird at a museum in Oregon. It was a lot smaller in real life than I had thought it was from looking at pictures.

Amazing machinists figured out how to make those planes.
 
Sweet post, thanks.

The A-12 eventually led to the SR-71. These planes built in the 1960's have set performance records that have NOT been beat.

On it's final flight #972 set speed records on its way to the museum. I think this says it all.

When building these planes and working with the titanium the skunk works had to come up with everything to machine it.

This summer we are taking a trip to the DC area and it will be my first time to see this beast in person!!
 
My first thought was, why didn't they just fly it from the Skunkworks to Area 51. In the pictures, it appears the plane (prototype?) was not yet fully assembled, which makes sense if it is the prototype used for radar testing. But the text seems to imply that a good many other planes were transported this way. Surely they would have fully assembled them at the Skunkworks?? And if so, why carry them on a truck when you can fly them there?
 
The blackbird (especially early stuff) always makes my heart go pitter patter… which would be another “you know you’re a machinist when” post…
The most interesting thing is that these phenomenal feats of engineering were done on dinosaur machinery… what could we (or have we) built today??? I noticed these doc’s were dated 1961… I’m sure I have seen dates back to ’57 on related design info!

O, but wait.... Area 51 didn't exist yet...:rolleyes5:
 
awake said:
My first thought was, why didn't they just fly it from the Skunkworks to Area 51. In the pictures, it appears the plane (prototype?) was not yet fully assembled, which makes sense if it is the prototype used for radar testing. But the text seems to imply that a good many other planes were transported this way. Surely they would have fully assembled them at the Skunkworks?? And if so, why carry them on a truck when you can fly them there?
Click to expand...


All about secrecy, they did not want to fly those out over Los Angeles. Did the same thing with the F117 IIRC.
 
There is a SR-71 in the lobby of the strategic air and space museum in Ashland Nebraska just of I-80 a little west of Omaha NE. It is a neat exhibit with the plane set up in a banked turn. The history of the aircraft is even more impressive as well as the technology that had to be developed to manufacture the aircraft. Custom welding, casting, machine tools, after the program was decommissioned I believe all the special equipment had to be destroyed.
 
I've been fascinated by the A-12 because the fact that both existed has to point to massive of inter-service overlap, scope creep and all that other good stuff. I know there's wikipedia entries about these thing but I'd love to know the inside poop. One thing about secret projects is there is that much less oversight, so that much more scope for dubious decisions like making two almost identical spy planes. Then again maybe they were so identical it didn't actually cost more.....

RC
 
These planes built in the 1960's have set performance records that have NOT been beat.
Click to expand...
That we know of, and there is no reason the public should know about the most advanced military current military tech. "Entertainment" doesn't count. :D
 
Whilst as a citizen of the uk i should not know the detailed performance specks of what our milatery can really achieve, i still expect them to spill enough info to reassure me they have there respective job in hand and that im getting value for the taxes i pay :-)

Hence i don't need to know the top speed or maximum depth our nuclear subs can achive, but it sure is neat and reassuring to know there out there and see the od tv documentary about what they are preprepared to make public :-) That certainly makes me a lot less concerned about what idiots in north Korea can really achieve :-)
 
Impressive post, thank you for sharing.



Some of the most impressive parts I have ever seen came out of an old German run shop on Long Island. Complex shapes, extremely tight tolerances in tricky materials and not one CNC or CMM on site...not even a DRO. Owner had passed away,wife was selling off the equipment after a few years of trying to keep it going. But one by one her talented staff died, retired or left and with nobody to fill their shoes orders dwindled till it didn't make sense anymore. She had enormousness pride in what they did...showing me part after part, handing me micrometers, and gauges along the way to show how every part was just right dead center in the mean... beautiful blends on compound radius's.
All I kept saying was...you did this here??
Seeing the Talent of True Craftsmen just gives me goosebumps...
 
cash said:
Sweet post, thanks.

The A-12 eventually led to the SR-71. These planes built in the 1960's have set performance records that have NOT been beat.

On it's final flight #972 set speed records on its way to the museum. I think this says it all.

When building these planes and working with the titanium the skunk works had to come up with everything to machine it.

This summer we are taking a trip to the DC area and it will be my first time to see this beast in person!!
Click to expand...


For all of you interested in the lockheed martin skunkworks, I recommend the book "Skunk Works" by Bill Rich; he started as an engineer there and eventually ran the place; the book is an account of his time there, and he talks about developing and building the SR-71 as well as the F-117, U-2 and several other aircraft. It's a good read.

Cash, have fun in DC, I lived there for several years and there is a LOT to see and do! The Air & Space museum is a favorite of mine, I've been to the main building on the Mall countless times, but only made it out the the Uvdar Hazey annex (where they have the Enterprise, an SR-71, and conchord) once, it is amazing!
 
I had the pleasure of visiting the Uvdar Hazey annex a while ago. Lots to see, if you could get past the "dramatic" Hollywood inspired lighting. Trying to look into details of many displays resulted in spotlights in the distance shinig directly into your face. Cut-away radial engines were consigned to a poorly-lit spot under a staircase. 28 cylinder engines had a LOT of "stuff" going on in them.
 
All this cold war stuff is amazing. About ten years ago I was working with a welder newly immigated from Khazatstan. In casual conversation it turned out that he worked on the Shkval rocket torpedo development. He was on the rocket engine team. After Glasnost everything was packed up and shipped to Moscow leaving empty shells of buildings.. The older not steerable torpedoes were sold off to China. Scary stuff. I hesitated to believe him until I looked things up on internet on this info as well as other incidents and situations that the Western population never knew about.
 
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