SR-71 Blackbird: How the World's FASTEST Plane Became Irrelevant
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Published 2023-05-27
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All Comments (21)
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Thank you Squarespace for sponsoring this video. Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/megaprojects for 10% off on your first purchase.
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A mega projects about how they procured the Titainium off the Russians would be awesome. Please Simon.
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Getting titanium for your super secret spy plane from the people you're spying on has got to be one of the ballsiest moves in history.
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Even after being retired for ~30years, it still looks like it came from 100 years in the future. What a sexy machine 😍
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The black paint was not intended to absorb heat, quiet the opposite, actually: it was meant to radiate heat away from the aircraft. Triethylborane was not "mixed in" the fuel, it was used as "liquid sparkplug" during startup of the engines and for igniting the afterburners, since it is hypergolic (burns sponaneously in contact with air).
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I'll never get tired of hearing about the blackbird
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I worked on The SR-71 in the late 70's at Beale AFB. I even sat in the cockpit once and ran the flight controls. We had to get ALL the air bubbles out of the Hydraulic Fluid.
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I was at Kadena air force base in Okinawa when they had the last operational SR-71. When it was leaving the base for the last time they let people on the base know so we could all see it. It was impressive seeing it take off just after sunset.
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one of the most beautiful planes ever built, and the fact that they managed to build the SR-71 in a time before computers makes it even more impressive
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This plane is just enormous in person. It must've looked like a spaceship to the people who saw it for the first time.
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This Jet is one of the greatest achievements of mankind.
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R.I.P. Brian Shul. Not just a hero but a great storyteller. Watch what you can find from him if you’re a blackbird fan or an aviation fan.
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So sad that one of the pilots, Brian Shul, passed earlier this week. His story of the speed check from the LA flight tower is epic. RIP Mr Shul and Blackbird 😢
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The Sr71 was the most beautiful plane ever built.
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My Uncle flew SR-71s in Vietnam and out of Area 51. He liked to talk about how he could go wheels up at 6:00 AM in Nevada, cross the Mississippi River, and be back before lunch. "It took three states to turn around" was a favorite quote of his. He eventually became commander of Area 51. Amazing history.
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This plane seems almost cutting edge today but it was built 60 YEARS AGO!!! Such an amazing aircraft!
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Great video! RIP Brian Shul, Blackbird pilot who stated they got the SR over M3.5 and 100,000 feet evading missile(s) over Libya. Fastest operational claim from a pilot I know of.
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The book "Sled Driver" by Brian Shul is excellent - and written by someone who actually flew/RO'd blackbirds. It is a good read and glimpse into the operational experience. Unfortunately the book is quite expensive these days, so finding a digital copy is necessary if you don't want to shell out hundreds of bucks. Having seen several of these planes in person - it is amazing they were designed mainly by humans - not computers. As Brian Shul said - "the hottest of all the hot-rods."
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The LA speed check is one of the best military stories ever told.
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What’s insane is that it was built in 1964, retired between 1998-99, and still holds the record for the fastest plane ever built, that we’re aware of.. Which is both a interesting and TERRIFYING fact. There is something faster out there (or was, and is also being replaced) and it is doing its job VERY well.
