From: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V3 #3 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Friday, 6 August 1993 Volume 03 : Number 003 In this issue: SR-71 flight engineer forum at Osh 93 NASP task force findings! Re: NASP task force findings! See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Sam <@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU:WHITEMAN@IPFWVM> Date: Thu, 05 Aug 93 08:52:29 EST Subject: SR-71 flight engineer forum at Osh 93 I attended the SR-71 flight engineers forum at Oshkosh 93 convention. I came away forum on the with the following impressions and info. All omissions, errors, and/or misconceptions are mine. If there was anyone else there please correct my screw ups..... The forum was held at 08:30 on Sunday 1 Aug 1993. I found the timing to be remarkable in that a flight in an SR-71 must be a religious experience.:-) It was given by Marta Bohn-Meyer and I arrived early, sleeping on the ground makes me get up early. Bohn-Meyer and I spoke briefly and then she was called away for a briefing. Upon her return there were assembled about 45-50 folks and the crowd grew through out the presentation to about 75. Not bad considering the time. A bunch of hard-core airplane phreeks...... The presentation covered the following points: - -In Oct 1990 Air Force terminated the SR-71 program. Bohn-Meyer was on the transition team. - -Things obtained from AF in addition to 3 A/C were: 30 to 40 engines, Two 180,000+ sq foot warehouses of spares that didn't include all necessary spare parts; 1 million gals of JP-7, and a simulator, Enough stuff for 10 years of operation. The locations of these parts is Edwards and at Norton AFB, future plans include the consolidation of parts at Edwards. Also included was mission planning equipment. - -The group that supports SR-71 operations consists of 20 to 25 personnel, with 3 Mechanics, 3 Avionics Technicians, and others, the various specialities were enumerated but I didn't get them. The group is a self contained unit. - -The standard specs of the SR-71 were given. - -The J-58 engine was mentioned as 'this big around'(arms outstretched), and 20' long, the same engine in today's technology would be considerably smaller diameter and about 15' long and produce higher thrust. - -The A/C is 107'4" long and expands some 6" during extended supersonic flight. One of the Flight Engineer's jobs is to monitor changes in CG, Center of Gravity, due to this heat expansion. The trick is to keep the CG toward the aft limit, except during landing. - -Under the heading of advances that the SR-71 program produced are: - High flash point fuel, JP-7, min of 140F - Hydraulic fluid that could operate in the range -65F to 600F Note on hydraulic fluid: The oxygen content must be below 2% before flight. As it turns out O2 corrodes the titanium lines in the system in its normal operating environment. There is special equipment the accomplish this. - Large advances in synthetic lubricants. - High temp wiring insulation - -Construction of the SR-71 is 95% titanium and 5% composite - -Tires always look worn they are 22 ply, cords hanging out isn't a reason for change. - -The engine inlets are the magic. The movable spike and a inlet bypass is used for maintenance of a high pressure zone at the intake. Loss of the high pressure area will result in an unstart which is a rather unsettling experience. Work is continuing on this problem. - -The suit worn on missions is life support in the event of cabin depressurization. It also allows ejection at any mach at any altitude. Ejection has occurred at high mach speeds. The suit is awkward and increases the body volume by about 100%. Being small is an advantage in that the person can reach behind their back to accomplish tasks, which is necessary for a flight engineer. - -Preflight; load LOX and deoxygenate the hydraulic fluid, load Triethylborane (TEB) An aside on TEB: TEB is a pyro material that burns at 2000F, there is enough carried to light the afterburner (AB) 16 times, it is loaded through a panel located on the inside aft part of the engine nacelle, each unstart results in a TEB shot to relight AB, an unstart can result in engine damage - -Day of flight; preheat engine oil,the engine won't move without preheat due thickness of oil. Fuel topoff, everything you've heard about fuel leaks is true. The A/C can leak about 1,000lbs per hour and is due to heat stress on the fuel tank sealant. Fuel tanks are serviced with N2 for fire suppression, note that running out of N2 will result in limiting the A/C speed to Mach=2.2 due to heat build up in the fuel tanks. - -Engine start 45 minuets before takeoff; The engine is started with a cart that contains two automotive engines that have been coupled and runs a spline shaft that is inserted into the engine. The spline shaft turns the compressor and is removed on start. From the report the sound on the start cart is something to behold. - -Takeoff is 210kts, 6000 ft run, at 135,000 lbs - -Inflight refueling is accomplished at 310-320kts, takes about 12 minutes, and transfers 55,000 lbs of fuel. The refueling sequence burns 8,000lbs of fuel. - -Time to climb is 15 minuets to 70,000 ft, then slow climb to 80,000+ ft as fuel is burned off, first 70,000 ft takes 30,000lbs of fuel at M=3.0 - -It would seem that a tradition has been established in the form of a post flight party where the true story of the flight is presented to the group. That is the real story not the official version presented at the debriefing:) - As an aside there was a story told about a slight miscalculation that resulted in a flight to Mexico. - -The typical route is from Edwards to Canada and back, it requires 75 mi to execute a 90 degree turn at 2 G's, and the pilot must keep 200 mi ahead of the A/C. - -Cruse flight is 30nmi/min and 2,000lbs of fuel/100nmi. - -Landing 10,000 lbs of fuel remaining and touchdown at 155kts - -There are 35 emergency procedures, 25 of the must from memory - -There was a cockpit picture shown the layout is engine controls and instruments on the right, flight instruments, dominated by an artificial horizon, in the center, and inlet controls on the left. - -Fuel control is an auto transfer/sequence system that has a CG calculator involved, but, needs monitoring. - -Navigation is astro/inertial. The astro part is a star tracker that has a catalog of 61 stars, can track 3 at the same time, and can update the inertial system to .3nmi. The navigational system has 256 destinations, 256 fixed points and 1023 control points. Note the buttons on the panels are 1 inch square due to the size of the gloves worn by the crew. - -All flights are flown in the simulator before the actual flight. - -The flight engineer does all of the mission planning: - Flight are planned to avoid national monuments, towns, cities, and other noise sensitive areas. - Pilots can appreciate this: the flight planning is done the dining room table, with 1:1,000,000 scale maps and a pencil, there is a standard FAA IFR flight plan filed. It might be well to note that controlled airspace ends at 60,000 ft but they don't go VFR as a courtesy to FAA, kinda gives a whole new meaning to 'VFR on top':) - Crew briefing: fuel, takeoff weight speed distance, and navigation. - Under AF operations there was an office that took care of the mission planning. - -A list of experiments was displayed, I didn't get all of it but here is what I got: - Optical air data system, laser system to sense air speed and AOA - Low boom configuration, sonic boom research to lower 'startle factor' - Neural network inlet control system - Energy management and guidance algorithm - -Some questions were ask after the presentation: - Max structural limit is 2.5 G's - Max bank angle is 32 degrees - Max AOA is 6 degrees - The SR-71 is described as a robust aircraft - Aurora questions were referred to Av Leak - Some discussion about 'hot refueling' (inflight refueling from altitude and back). IFR done with 25-30,000lbs fuel reserve. - Flight schedule; July 1993 4 flights, June 1993 3 flights. - -Handouts included biographical data of Bohn-Meyer, SR-71 facts document, F-16XL facts document, and a Dryden Flight Research Facility facts document. - -BTW Marta Bohn-Meyer is the Project Manager and Flight Test Engineer on the F-16XL laminal flow project. I also attended the Hypersonic Flight - The Next Frontier Forum and post something later. | / MI What do I know, I'm a geology major. \ /___________________ Sam \_____/ | IBM Systems Programmer Chicago/ | * | O Indiana University - I | Ft. Wayne | H Purdue University at Fort Wayne L | 1794-1994 | Fort Wayne, Indiana USA ------------------------------ From: rakoczynskij%postoffice.agcs.com@agphx (Jurek Rakoczynski) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1993 15:43:46 -0700 (MST) Subject: NASP task force findings! From: Design News, Aug 2, 1993, page 18, Washington Beat *Copied without permission. Typo's are mine* ---cut here--- Increased R&D Urged on Hypersonic Plane Not enough information is available to allow immediate design of a hypersonic aircraft. That is the conclusion of the task force on the National Aerospace Plane (NASP). The American Society of Mechanical Engineers formed the group at the request of the House science committee. The task force reviewed the present NASP program and a competing proposal for a National Orbital Research Airplane (NORA). Air-breathing single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) "remains an exciting and potentially very valuable capability," the group's report states. But it adds that it is "very unlikely" that NORA will achieve SSTO capability. The group recommends, instead that the NASP goal of demonstrating an air-breathing vehicle be retained as a long-range objective. Prior to making the plane, the task force urges researchers to develop and fly one or more high-speed aircraft, which could provide vital data on suborbital, hypersonic flight. ---cut here--- Is NORA, Lockheed's proposal? - -- Jurek Rakoczynski, AG Communication Systems, POB 52179, Phoenix, AZ. 85072-2179 Inet: rakoczynskij@agcs.com Voice: +1 602 581 4867 Inet: JUREK.RAKOCZYNSKI@gte.sprint.com Fax: +1 602 581 4022 ------------------------------ From: larry@ichips.intel.com Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1993 18:05:45 -0700 Subject: Re: NASP task force findings! Thanks Jurek for the post! >Not enough information is available to allow immediate design of a >hypersonic aircraft. Well, I think they mean an SSTO one here, anyway. >The task force reviewed the present NASP program and a >competing proposal for a National Orbital Research Airplane (NORA). >it adds that it is "very unlikely" that NORA will achieve SSTO >capability. >The group recommends, instead that the NASP goal of >demonstrating an air-breathing vehicle be retained as a long-range >objective. I agree. The NASP people did too. >Prior to making the plane, the task force urges researchers >to develop and fly one or more high-speed aircraft, which could provide >vital data on suborbital, hypersonic flight. Yes. NASP was of course to be that airframe originally, but you can certainly build cheaper test vehicles that that. Herein lies the issue. I know you didn't argue anything about this so why don't I just shut up. >Is NORA, Lockheed's proposal? AW&ST did publish such a claim a short while ago, and it sure got a start out of Ben Rich when I asked him how real it was. So I would say ... Yes. Larry Smith ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V3 #3 ******************************* To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "listserv@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe skunk-works-digest in the body. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to either "skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu" or, if you don't like to type a lot, "prm@ecn.purdue.edu". 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