As you probably know the SR-71 Blackbird was the fastest plane in the world, at least when we do not take rocket planed into account (otherwise the winner would be the X-15). There is a funny story about the Blackbird – coming from “Sled Driver” – a sold out book by Blackbird pilot Brian Shul. We don’t really know if it’s true, but it makes for a great story anyway:
SR-71 Blackbird
There were a lot of things we couldn’t do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane. Intense, maybe. Even cerebral. But there was one day in our Sled experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be the fastest guys out there, at least for a moment. It occurred when Walt and I were flying our final training sortie. We needed 100 hours in the jet to complete our training and attain Mission Ready status. Somewhere over Colorado we had passed the century mark. We had made the turn in Arizona and the jet was performing flawlessly. My gauges were wired in the front seat and we were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves, not only because we would soon be flying real missions but because we had gained a great deal of confidence in the plane in the past ten months. Ripping across the barren deserts 80,000 feet below us, I could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet. I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Walter in the back seat. There he was, with no really good view of the incredible sights before us, tasked with monitoring four different radios. This was good practice for him for when we began flying real missions, when a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital. It had been difficult, too, for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my entire flying career I had controlled my own transmissions. But it was part of the division of duties in this plane and I had adjusted to it. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however. Walt was so good at many things, but he couldn’t match my expertise at sounding smooth on the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with years in fighter squadrons where the slightest radio miscue was grounds for beheading. He understood that and allowed me that luxury. Just to get a sense of what Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit briefly), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally would not talk to them unless we needed to descend into their airspace. *Continue reading below*
We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot asked Center for a readout of his ground speed. Center replied: “November Charlie 175, I’m showing you at ninety knots on the ground.” Now the thing to understand about Center controllers, was that whether they were talking to a rookie pilot in a Cessna, or to Air Force One, they always spoke in the exact same, calm, deep, professional, tone that made one feel important. I referred to it as the ” Houston Center voice.” I have always felt that after years of seeing documentaries on this country’s space program and listening to the calm and distinct voice of the Houston controllers, that all other controllers since then wanted to sound like that, and that they basically did. And it didn’t matter what sector of the country we would be flying in, it always seemed like the same guy was talking. Over the years that tone of voice had become somewhat of a comforting sound to pilots everywhere. Conversely, over the years, pilots always wanted to ensure that, when transmitting, they sounded like Chuck Yeager, or at least like John Wayne. Better to die than sound bad on the radios. Just moments after the Cessna’s inquiry, a Twin Beech piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed. “I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed.” Boy, I thought, the Beechcraft really must think he is dazzling his Cessna brethren. Then out of the blue, a navy F-18 pilot out of NAS Lemoore came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Navy jock because he sounded very cool on the radios. “Center, Dusty 52 ground speed check”. Before Center could reply, I’m thinking to myself, hey, Dusty 52 has a ground speed indicator in that million-dollar cockpit, so why is he asking Center for a readout? Then I got it, ol’ Dusty here is making sure that every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows what true speed is. He’s the fastest dude in the valley today, and he just wants everyone to know how much fun he is having in his new Hornet. And the reply, always with that same, calm, voice, with more distinct alliteration than emotion: “Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground.” And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done – in mere seconds we’ll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die now. I thought about all of our Sim training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn. Somewhere, 13 miles above Arizona, there was a pilot screaming inside his space helmet. Then, I heard it. The click of the mic button from the back seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no emotion, Walter spoke: “Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?” There was no hesitation, and the replay came as if was an everyday request. “Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground.” I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that Walt and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most fighter-pilot-like voice: “Ah, Center, much thanks, we’re showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money.” For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the Houston Center voice, when L.A. came back with, “Roger that Aspen, Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one.” It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable sprint across the southwest, the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of being a crew. A fine day’s work. We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast. For just one day, it truly was fun being the fastest guys out there.
My gawd, that was freaking awesome.
What an era that was, rocketing those beautiful Blackbirds against the edge of space. Ever since they were permanently retired (again,) it still amazes me that there was never a successor to the ’71, because it was such an effective platform for what it did. Could we even produce a faster jet today, maybe one even stealthier or more fuel-efficient? It’s hard to say, because we haven’t even tried. We keep hearing about new ramjets, Scramjets and the like, but I haven’t heard of anything dethroning the undisputed king of air-fed jet flight just yet. The King is dead, long live The King!
As nice as it would be, the military looks more at capabilities than record breaking. We can put the stealthier comment away, the SR-71 was not stealth. Official sources have come out saying it has 30% stealth reduction compared to what it would have had without chines etc, which equates to 0.81% less range of enemy radars. To support that there are multiple stories of SR-71 pilots coming out and saying they had been locked up by allied and enemy nations at multiple hundreds of miles away warning people in the area of the “unknown fast contact”. That aside, high speed is an incredibly expensive affair and particularly maintenance intensive. The SR-71 required a shocking amount of work and money to keep in the air, and frankly 10 stealthy drones can do the exact same job better, cheaper, and with less risk compared to one SR-71 aircraft, hence the replacement.
In the past the speed was required to evade hostile missiles. Today with ballistic missile defence systems an enemy can easily fire at a target with a higher speed than the SR-71, and automated firing systems can also cut down on crew response times. However as of late there has been another capability speed has offered. The much talked about SR-72 (officially mentioned enough to all but confirm its prototype existence) aims to use speed to allow it to be based in US mainland and fly to enemy hotspots and back in a short amount of time. It is expected to fly Mach 6, and exceptionally high allowing it to stretch its fuel. The only downside being it is a drone (far cheaper and less risky) so there won’t be the fun stories and romance of the SR-71. We can also expect it to be incredibly expensive, and only a handful be built.
So for the foreseeable future the SR-72 is the only ultra high speed aircraft projected, and the Mig-31 is the only manned aircraft with similar speed to the SR-71. As much as its a shame, reality has shown speed to be less useful than hoped. Still, we have plenty of stories from the past and many more incredible stealth-oriented stories are coming out today. I’m sure something else will overtake at some point, but that’s warfare for you.
As an old ‘last of the real fighters’ jock (the F-86”), as well as of the ‘first of the real twin supersonics’ (the Soviet MiG-19), I laid down a brilliant phrase to help me cope with those rapid advancements in military aviation. It went…. “nostalgia is not what it used to be”.
I still miss my primitive thundering juggernaut of the 70s and 80s where the sky was seldom the limit.
John Carapiet
Gp Capt (R)
Pakistan Air Force
Totally agree – Super awesome time in history for engineering.
But “we haven’t even tried” is not true. Pratt Whitney, Lockheed – they are always considering options, testing boundaries, and definitely working on a successor, but it’s a quantum leap up and thats a hard jump to make, because they aren’t making a successor of the blackbird.. they are making a successor of the answer to the solution. These are two fundamentally different ways of thinking.
Quickly, also, the issue is not a higher top speed – the sr71 could go wAYYY faster with less fuel efficiency.
The real problem being solved for then and now is – How to complete the mission while avoiding enemy fire!
Hyper sonics were not an issue back then.
They are now.
The successor to the blackbird, if there is one, will likely be unmanned and look completely different in order to cope with hyper sonic avoidance.
We are working on an sr 72
noice
epic
That is amazing
If you are a true SR-71 aficionado, go look up Brian Shul’s complete video presentation on his Blackbird experiences. It is a real special treat that you won’t soon forget. I believe it’s on YouTube.
Love Love Love this story. I 9nly wish I could hear it as told, in his voice, by Brian Shul. I heard him tell it. Nothing is better. Ive read it to others and it just isn’t as cool as when he tells it.
How do I find it?
With regard to the SR71.It was the American AirForces version of the CIA’s A12 Oxcart.Curtis LeMay wanted it and got it.A12”s flew higher,faster and at least ten years earlyer.Being a Black Project no speed records are noted for A12”s.SR71(is a god of the sky),because its airforce and a public known.I love it to bits.Now think what the Skunk Works has made since!….Kelly J,was a GOD….Aurora ring a bell?.And all that was last centuary….WOW.
I never flown in none of these beauties,but wishes one day looks forward in getting that rush. NOW WHO CAN HELP ME OUT ON THIS…
I wish one day to get a chance to fly in a fighter jet.
The SR71 Skunk works was pretty advanced of its time. I often wonder what it could do refurbished with todays modern jet engines. As I recall 12+3 is in the mullbag. Nasa had a couple for high altitude test at Dresden. 32 was produced including 4 or 5 trainers. “Kelly” Johnson and his team did something that only have in my opinin been followed b2 sprit and planes designed by Paul Allen and Burt Rutan ex the Stratolaunch.