From: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V4 #22 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Saturday, 25 September 1993 Volume 04 : Number 022 In this issue: Thanks F-117 & SR-71 SR-71 start carts 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: dougt@u011.oh.vp.com (Doug Tiffany) Date: Wed, 15 Sep 93 13:53:18 EDT Subject: Thanks I just wanted to take a minute and thank you guys for all the information. I recently purchased the "Kelly's Way" video that was reccommended and I just ordered the Skunkworks book that you told me about. My system is still not on the "net" yet, so I can't get into your archives (#&*$%). That's something I know I'd enjoy. At any rate, thank you again!! - -- ------==========**********==========------ Douglas J. Tiffany u011.oh.vp.com Varco-Pruden Buildings 1202 Industrial Drive Van Wert, Ohio 45891 (419)238-9533 Fax: (419)238-2267 ------------------------------ From: dougt@u011.oh.vp.com (Doug Tiffany) Date: Tue, 21 Sep 93 16:30:52 EDT Subject: F-117 & SR-71 I recently made a trip down to the Air Force Museum in Dayton and they had one f-117 and two blackbirds on display. The F-117 was not roped off, so I got as close as humanly possible without being called a pervert. It felt and sounded like it was made out of plastic. So much that I had convinced myself that it was a replica, or a fake if you will. Until, that is, I bought the book they have showing every aircraft that they have on display. The book says that the F-117 they have is an old trainer that the Air Force retired. As I said, they also have two blackbirds on display. The first one I encountered was in the section they call "Modern Aircraft". This one was roped off so you could not get close enough to touch it. But they did have the set-up of Pontiac racing engines that they used to start it. The other SR-71 was in a different hangar that I had to ride a shuttle bus to get to. The hangar doors were in the process of being re-done so everything inside was kind of a mess and dirty. There must have been thirty aircraft in this hangar (actually two hangars), and not a single one was roped off. So I decided to take advantage of the situation. I was standing up inside the landing gear, peeking inside the rear of the engines. Unfortunately, I did not have a way of checking out the cockpit (my girlfreind is not strong enough to lift me). The blackbird did feel more like metal, though. - -- ------==========**********==========------ Douglas J. Tiffany u011.oh.vp.com Varco-Pruden Buildings 1202 Industrial Drive Van Wert, Ohio 45891 (419)238-9533 Fax: (419)238-2267 ------------------------------ From: ron@habu.stortek.com (Ron Schweikert) Date: Fri, 24 Sep 93 12:13:12 MDT Subject: SR-71 start carts >From: dougt@u011.oh.vp.com (Doug Tiffany) >Subject: F-117 & SR-71 >I recently made a trip down to the Air Force Museum in Dayton and they >had one f-117 and two blackbirds on display. The F-117 was not roped . . . > As I said, they also have two blackbirds on display. The first > one I encountered was in the section they call "Modern Aircraft". > This one was roped off so you could not get close enough to touch > it. But they did have the set-up of Pontiac racing engines that ^^^^^^^ Really!? We always called them "Buick's"!! Although I don't know if they had Pontiac or Buick engines, the start carts were called "buicks" and we were told they were Buick 440 Wildcat engines. BTW, they were unmuffled with cool headers. When the light was low and they were going full-tilt (just before the engine was running on its own) you could see the flame shooting out the side pipes and hitting the floor. Very unnerving when there was fuel on the floor! Thank skunk works that they were using JP-7 and not JP-4. We had more than one visitor freak out when they saw the flame and fuel combo! Also, in about 1980 we started phasing the buicks out. Instead we used compressed air (except when we were at the trim pad for engine testing or remote). I hated the air compressors. The connecting turbine was heavy and more than once the hoses popped off. Very scary. Give me two buick 440 wildcats running full-tilt any day. Quite a rush. Ron ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V4 #22 ******************************** 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". 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