From: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V4 #117 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, 14 January 1994 Volume 04 : Number 117 In this issue: Blackbird getting trucked upto Seattle... Re: Blackbird getting trucked upto Seattle ride offered-Groom Lake trip-Jan. 15 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: Corey Lawson Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 12:03:02 -0800 (PST) Subject: Blackbird getting trucked upto Seattle... I happened to see it! I was cruising down I-5, down by Tukwila. There is this string of 3 oversized load trucks. Hmm...those loads look funny. Hey! Those are the engine nacelles for an SR-71! Hey! That's the fuselage of an SR-71! Too bad they had to cut the wings off. That's one Blackbird that will never fly again. Anyways...I think it's on display now at the Museum of Flight, along with a restored B-29. - -Corey Lawson csl@stein.u.washington.edu or alfalfa@booster.u.washington.edu ------------------------------ From: larry@ichips.intel.com Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 14:18:01 -0800 Subject: Re: Blackbird getting trucked upto Seattle Corey writes: >I happened to see it! Unfortunately, I missed it! But I got to help restore the M-21 for display. >I was cruising down I-5, down by Tukwila. There is this string of 3 >oversized load trucks. Hmm...those loads look funny. Hey! Those are >the engine nacelles for an SR-71! Hey! That's the fuselage of an SR-71! >Too bad they had to cut the wings off. That's one Blackbird that will >never fly again. No they didn't cut the wings! I'm not trying to get bent out of shape about it, but SMOF (Seattle Museum of Flight) went to great pains, and against the prevailing custom of museums picking up Blackbirds at Palmdale at the time, to NOT cut the wings. They were unbolted. It wasn't too bad in fact to unbolt them. Unfortunately other museums didn't bother to take the time to check this out before cutting. There are lots of neat stories about that trucking job. For those of you unfamiliar with the west coast, I-5 is the major interstate connecting Washington, Oregon, and California. There was one So. bound motorist, who when she saw the bird coming up North bound on I-5, stopped her car and jumped out briefly to take a picture, much to the horror of the caravan carying the blackbird, who thought she was about to be run over. They had big TOP SECRET signs hung all over it, if I recall. >Anyways...I think it's on display now at the Museum of Flight, along with >a restored B-29. Yes it's currently on display. It's the only A-12 family member, actually the designation of #940 will be changed to M-21, that is displayed in natural titanium with black leading edges, the early colors. I prefer the early colors personally. I'd love to see the first A-12 finished in just natural titanium, like its first test flight. I love the video and photos of that first CYGNUS. By the way, I've been sworn to silence about the D-21 that SMOF has that will soon be mounted on the back of the M-21. I've gotten a chance to help restore that one as well. More on that later. Give em about two more weeks. It's complete, except for the reconaissance gear. Larry ------------------------------ From: TRADER@cup.portal.com Date: Thu, 13 Jan 94 23:08:34 PST Subject: ride offered-Groom Lake trip-Jan. 15 I've still got a couple of seats left in a minivan that I rented to go to the Groom Lake party (??) this weekend. I'm going to be leaving around 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM Friday Jan. 14th, 1994, from Costa Mesa, CA. If you live in Southern California, and can make it to Costa Mesa by no later than 7:30 PM, please let me know right away!! I can be reached by email or you can phone (714) 557-2400 (my work number - STM) and have our operator track me down. Paul McGinnis / TRADER@cup.portal.com ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V4 #117 ********************************* 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. 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