From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #133 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Wednesday, 13 July 1994 Volume 05 : Number 133 In this issue: Re: missing SR-71 articles Re: missing SR-71 articles SR-71 personal experiences resend part 3a SR-71 personal experiences resend part 3b GBU-28 Bunker Buster LGB SR-71 personal experiences part 6a SR-71 personal experiences resend part 6b SR-71 personal experiences resend last a 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: John Regus Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1994 07:55:56 -0500 (CST) Subject: Re: missing SR-71 articles Thank you for those wonderful series of articles... it probably cost you a fortune in online connect time... If someone can, I suggest those articles, along with the recent "Black horse" articles be archived at the skunks ftp... John F. Regus | (713) 960-0045 | SYS/370/390 SYSTEM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING WUI:REGUSHOU | ------------------------------ From: Mary Shafer Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1994 13:44:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: missing SR-71 articles I did send these again and they still haven't appeared. I didn't get any bounce messages, either, so I think I'll resend them in smaller pieces, on the hopes that they're just too long. Regards, Mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... On Tue, 12 Jul 1994, Ron Schweikert wrote: > Mary, thanks for posting the articles, looked like some of them didn't > make it out of the hanger! :-) > > > >Hey ! > > > >I seemed to have missed parts 3, 6, and 7 of that interesting article. > > > >Did anyone get them, that can forward them to me ?? > > > > > >Thanks > > > >+---------------------------------------+++---------------------------+ > >: MARK S. ROGERS RRT,RCP,BSRT : - BITNET - : > >: : RSPMRO@LLUVM : > >: LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER : : > >: DEPARTMENT OF RESPIRATORY CARE : ;-) : > >: LOMA LINDA, CALIFORNIA 92350 : : > >+---------------------------------------+++---------------------------+ > > Ditto. > > Thanks! > > Ron ------------------------------ From: shafer@ferhino.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 10:48:47 PDT Subject: SR-71 personal experiences resend part 3a From: ron@eatdust.uswest.COM Newsgroups: rec.aviation Subject: SR-71 Personal Experiences - Inst. 3, launch prep (LONG) Date: 4 Apr 90 13:31:18 GMT Reply-To: ron@eatdust.uswest.COM () Organization: U S WEST Advanced Technologies Hello! As promised, here is installment 3 of (?) regarding my personal experiences with almost 6 years of hands-on with the SR-71. Thanks to those who have responded by mail with encouragement. I'm glad you are enjoying them. So far I've only had one question posed to me to answer, so I'll do it here. All the postings I've made (or plan to make) regarding the SR-71 are completely declassified. There is nothing that I've posted so far that couldn't have been seen by anyone taking the normal flight-line tour at Beale, had they been there at the right time. Additionally, some of the detailed information I have regarding the inlet operation, ECM stuff etc. has come directly from Aviation Leak and Space Technology, as well as Air Progress! People liked to put the airplane's secrecy right up there with the Los Alamos project :-) but actually most is completely declassified. People just liked to keep it mysterious. I'm sure there are many in net-land who know MORE than I do about it in some specific areas. My postings are made primarily to 'personalize' the aircraft. It was a great experience from an aviation freak's point of view, but I wouldn't risk jail for it! :-) ------- Installment 3 -- Launch Preparation The launching of the plane was definately the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of working on it. If you were on day shift and the plane was scheduled for an early launch, ie: 0830, you had it made. The swings and midshift crew had the responsibility for pre-flight and servicing. You come from roll-call with your cup of coffee, get your briefing from the mid-shift, and mostly just wait for the aircrew to arrive. Power and air conditioning to the equipment bays is being provided by *noisy* equipment between the hangers. There probably are a few specialists still wrapping up the loose ends of their paperwork, but for the most part things are quiet. Typically about now one or two carloads of spectators have arrived and are milling about. Sometimes they'll come up to us and ask questions, but usually are guided by someone who hasn't got a clue as to what's going on! When they would ask questions, or if they were hanging around looking like they were hoping you'd come up to them (and if you indeed had the time) it was fun to talk to them and give them a very close up look (yes, touch the plane, it's not hot...yet!). Launches on swings and mid-shift were more laid back. Usually there weren't any spectators. Preparations included accounting for all tools (through a 'chit' system of checking out each tool), making sure the intercom from the crew chief to the aircrew worked, making sure engine heaters hadn't run out of gas (for spring, fall and 'winter' launches) and making sure the launch truck was properly positioned behind the neighboring hanger. When the aircrew arrived their support personnel (PSG) would take care of them. It was kinda fun. They come out in the little yellow trucks (sort of like a mini rv) that you see on shows like 'The Right Stuff'. They were modified Gemini space suits so 'launch' really does seem an appropriate term. They don't hand-carry air conditioning as they're plugged in in the van. If there's a delay getting hooked up to the air in the plane though, watch out...el grumpos. :-) The PSG personnel will assist the pilot and RSO into their seats, attach shoulder and foot straps, air vents etc. BTW, they wear little foot attachments where inertial reel cables attach to the heels (as well as their shoulders). In the case of an ejection, the first order of business would be a FAST rewind of both, bringing in their legs, tucked in tight against the seat (would be a bummer to have their legs still extended under the instrument panel). Their shoulders are also brought in tight so they'll be in proper position for ejection. They use a Martin-Baker ejection seat which is rated for 0/0 (0 speed, 0 altitude). In other words, if they had to, they could (more or less safely) eject while on the ground (hopefully not while still in the hanger..). After being strapped in, I would make contact with the pilot to ensure ground comm is working, ..."Ground's with you sir"..."Roger". He then has about 10 minutes of pre-flight checklists himself. When he's ready for you he'll say he's ready for engine start and will have turned on the red rotating beacons (anti-coll. lights). We again check for FOD (foreign objects) in front of the appropriate inlet, inlet and exhaust covers removed and spectators to the front of the hanger. By this time the start carts ('buicks') have been rolled into position and connected. We had two methods of starts, the buicks and air starts. Buicks were the main method while I was there, but about 1980 started phasing in air starts which I HATED. They were more automated and much more scary from my personal point of view, as I've seen the hoses blow off and whip around (before the cut-off had full effect). Very scary as well as difficult to hold the connector. More about that later. The buicks were two Buick 440 wildcat engines, unmuffled with headers. The engines connected to a common shaft which we would extend via hydraulics up to the engine, where a male gear would connect to the engine's female socket. When the pilot was ready, I'd tap the person running the buick on the shoulder. (Forget any kind of conversation from here on out, except between myself and the aircrew). The operator would slowly rev up the buicks. As the engine speed reached about 1500 rpm, the pilot would move the throttles from the detent. This would inject 50cc of TEB (liquid ignition system) into the #3 burner can. A ball of flame would fly out the tail pipe, and then disappear. Hopefully the fuel would stay lit. We would continue to hold the buicks now at full rpm. The noise was tremendous! Not only the whine of the jet engine, but the two buick's going full tilt. As the rpm reached idle speed, the pilot would say "disconnect ground" or something to that effect. I'd slap the operator on the shoulder and he'd simultaneously hit the cut-off switch (to hydraulically disconnect the start arm) and slam the throttle to idle. There would be the commensurate 'blat blat blat' of backfiring from the cart. It would be pushed out of the way, and the operator would put the start panel cover on, ensuring he stayed out of the way of the fuel manifold dump about 24 inches behind him. If there was an overspeed, overheat etc. the pilot would cut the engine (without warning) and the HOT fuel in the manifold would come out under pressure. By now I would have walked to the back of the plane. We would do a flight control check, checking full travel of the elevons and rudders. I would also check the hydraulic pressure (from accumulators located in the wheel wells). If all was ok, we'd proceed to start the next engine n the same fashion. We would alternate which engines started each launch. BTW, if there was an excess amount of fuel on the floor in the intake area, you would see a 'whirlwind' or 'tornado' vortex as the fuel was sucked up into the intake. It REALLY made you aware of how critical your inspections for foreign objects loose on the hanger floor were! There was really an air of expectancy now, things were moving fairly quickly. I would now walk up to the stairs leading to the cockpits. I would visually inspect the air refueling port (directly behind the INS window, behind the rear cockpit). We would check lights on/off, toggles in/out (the toggles that grab the air refueling boom) and finally "door closed". I would then close the front canopy, leaning my weight on it while he fastened it from inside (a slide handle on the left side of the canopy rail). I'd do the same for the rear. The pilot would now have a few more clean up duties. I'd walk back down the steps and to the main landing gear and pull the safety pins which keep the gear from retracting on the ground (after "pull pins" from aircrew). I'd walk forward, and pull the main nose gear pin. (By now, someone would have pulled the stairs back away from the cockpit and moved it outside of the hanger to one side and secured it's brakes). ------------------------------ From: shafer@ferhino.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 10:49:25 PDT Subject: SR-71 personal experiences resend part 3b When the pilot seemed done, I'd let him know I "have the pins". He'd look at me, see the three pins and then say something to the effect that everything's ready. I'd walk back into the wheel well (all this by the way was kind of eerie. You couldn't hear a thing except through headsets so you were kind of always looking around out of the side of your eyes to make sure something dumb wasn't happening (like someone walking behind the plane, or whether or not you've forgotten something etc.). I'd signal a ground maint. person to kill the air conditioning, and when I noticed the tube go limp (you couldn't hear) I'd disconnect it from inside the well, and put on it's cap. I'd disconnect my intercomm, button up the intercom panel, and disconnect the ground line from me. A maint. person would grab it, roll it up and head for the ground support truck waiting behind the hanger. Everyone's watching you, so you try to make sure you haven't forgotten anything since all you'll get now is hand signals. You walk (very sharply) to a mark about 120 feet in front of the hanger (boy it's quiet, I can feel everyone watching me!!!) and then do a smart about-face, stand and face the hanger with my hands crossed over my head in an 'x' to tell the pilot to hold the brakes. I would wait there (usually only for about 15 or 20 seconds) until the pilot flashed his landing light on and off once to let me know he'd gotten clearance to taxi. At this point I bring my arms down, and with thumbs pointed out, move my arms from in front of me, out to the sides (signally the ground people waiting by the main gear to pull the chocks). I'd then put my hands back over my head in the 'x' until the chocks were pulled and the ground people were out of the way. They would pull the chocks, walk smartly to the front of the hanger, do an about-face, and then at-ease. At this point I would give the signal to the pilot to begin to taxi. Those two standing by the hanger were there to make sure the wingtips would clear all obstructions. It was kinda funny when the plane moved. Often the people watching would be standing off to the side and you'd kinda watch them step backwards farther away as the engines reved up. Was it awe? or fear? :-) When the plane cleared the hanger, I would direct him to turn right or left depending on which runway we were using, as he started to turn I was required to snap to attention and salute. (Sheesh, day shift!). At nights we'd just kinda tip our hats (unless there were spectators). Anyone standing on the side he turned from would scramble for cover as even the idle blast of the engines was very hot and strong! The ground launch crew now ran to the truck which was pulled up from behind the hanger, jumped in, and then raced up to pick me up. We then followed the plane off to one side as it taxied to the end of the runway. ----------- Sorry to cut this off. Next installment, end of runway checks and actual launch. This was getting kind of long... get back to work!! :-) :-) :-) Ron ------------------------------ From: FMK2%mimi@magic.itg.ti.com Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 15:43:38 CDT Subject: GBU-28 Bunker Buster LGB To: Msg to Internet M2I From: Buddy Knight FMK2 Subj: GBU-28 Bunker Buster LGB FROM: fmk2@msg.ti.com SUBJ: Bunker Busters The GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" was a joint development of Lockheed and Texas Instruments. The warhead was a 4,000+lbs penetrator made from the aforementioned artillery barrels. The guidance was provided by a modified Paveway III LGB kit, producing the GBU-28. The weapon was developed, tested, delivered, and used in combat in only 17 days!!! The platform during the Gulf War was the F-111. To my knowledge there was not an 8,000lb version. Also, the bomb does not have a rocket. Regards, Buddy Knight Supplier Manager Paveway Programs fmk2@msg.ti.com NOTE: The opinions in this e-mail are mine and do not reflect those of Texas Instruments. ------------------------------ From: shafer@ferhino.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 14:48:35 PDT Subject: SR-71 personal experiences part 6a From: ron@eatdust.uswest.COM Newsgroups: rec.aviation Subject: SR-71 Personal Experiences, Inst. 6, VERY LONG Date: 26 Apr 90 13:36:35 GMT Reply-To: ron@eatdust.uswest.COM () Organization: U S WEST Advanced Technologies Hello, here's number six in the series of personal experiences. Today I'm just going to ramble a bit about different aspects of maint., overseas work etc. Next installment (which will most likely be the final) will be an attempt to answer any questions you may have, so let me know if there's some information I may help you with. WARNING, this is VERY LONG!! Make sure your coffee is warm! Ron. --- One thing you learn after awhile working on the plane, is that the excitement can quickly fade into a routine. I suppose part of it has to do with your adjustment to military life (me speaking with the perceptions of a person fresh out of high school, coming from a 'sheltered' middle class home in Boulder, Colo.) Not only were there adjustments to being away from home, but also meeting the incredible variety of other people from other backgrounds different from mine. These all mixed in with the initial excitement of working on the famed 'Blackbird'. After awhile however, the military lifestyle (about two years down the road) started shadowing the other aspects. Another factor in diminishing excitement was the reality of day to day operations on the plane. Sure, the launches were fun, as were giving flight line tours to those who visited, but other than that it did become rather routine. (After all, the only ones who were really excited about it anymore were the brand new people, and those taking tours.) Most of the time, I approached the flightline for the start of duty with mixed emotions. Walking onto the line and seeing the planes in the hanger always kinda of perked me up, they're magnificent just sitting there. However as I got closer and could hear the ground equipment running, people pulling panels etc., I'd just start to wonder "how much did dayshift get done on 962, I hope they at least got the panels off for..." or whatever else needed doing. If they were just sitting around you'd get kinda peeved. "We can't do anything until the hydro people get that line replaced in the spike...". Great. A lot of our time was spent 'babysitting' while waiting for some specialist to complete a task before we could go on. "The engine guys were delayed, working on a problem on 956, when they're done, we can get going.." etc. etc. When we were working, one of the other things that would quickly remove any mystique of the thrill of working on this plane were the access panels. They must've been designed either by personnel well-trained in the art of contortion torture, or engineers (is 'contortion torture 101' part of the engineer curriculum? :-) ) Some internal access panels were a royal pain. Even external panels could be if the person who put the screws in didn't cook them first. Yes, all screws that went into the plane were dipped in a solution (I cannot recall exactly what it was now) that covered them (and our hands when handling them) with a covering sort of like lead. They were then cooked in an oven for about two hrs. at a very high temperature. If you failed to do this, the screws would come back *welded* into the nut plates, requiring a specialist to come out and drill them out. ------ Some parts of the maint. were interesting. We occasionally had to pull the engine spikes, either to fix a hydro leak/problem inside with the actuator, or perhaps for access to the bleed air doors inside the nacelle. Was kinda fun being right up inside 'where the action is'. You really had to watch what you were doing so you didn't leave behind anything loose. To this day, it seems strange (in comparison to looking at 'typical' engines) how small the opening was into the engine. There was only about a 5 or 6 inch 'ring' of room around the nacelle leading into the engine. Of course I know that was because most air bypassed the engine (via the shock trap and bypass doors), but still... If an engine needed changing for some reason, there was a bit of interesting work here too. The engine specialists would come out and attach a very clever 'jack' to the wing (which was hinged near the top of the nacelle). The wing would be raised up, which made the plane look kind of like a duck with a broken wing. Very fast looking on one side, very ugly on the other. If both wings were raised, then it *definately* looked like a duck that was trying to flap his wings and get away. Anyway, a special engine jack was then raised up and attached to the engine. The engine mounts were then disconnected, and the engine VERY slowly lowered down. There wasn't much room for error either way. "Oh NO, you crimped/smashed/tore one of the fuel lines!!??" Here though I have to give the designer's credit. From a maint. standpoint, things were pretty straight forward. After the engine was repaired or replaced, it was time for a 'trim' pad run. The plane was towed down to a trim pad at the end of the runway (over a mile away). BTW, everytime the plane was towed, you had one man in the cockpit (for brakes if towbar broke), a man walking at each wingtip for clearance (holding small metal chocks) and the tow 'leader'. This made sense when maneuvering out of the hangers, but once you were into the wide open, that trim pad walk was a long hot one. Anyway, once there, we positioned the plane and placed huge metal chocks in front of the tires. The chocks had two inch wide, 18 inches long spikes holding it into the ground. Also, we attached VERY HEAVY tie down bars to the underside of the nacelle, where we bolted in a tie-down bar anchored in the concrete behind the plane. All this was needed so that we could do a FULL AFTERBURNER runup on the ground to test all system components. After all the setup, that was fun. The engine people did all the work. Believe me, it gets the adrenalin pumping to stand 5-10 feet away from the tail of the engine when it's running FULL TILT (do I have to add the obvious note that we were standing to the *side* ?? :-). At night was really great. The flame is approx. the same length as the whole plane (107' 4.5"). You can count the shock waves in the exhaust. The ground literally shook, as did your insides. It was exhilirating (and a bit scary) being so close to so much power. The noise could be heard for miles too. When you were at the main part of the base (about six miles from the flightline) you could hear them working out there. We once (on night shift) took a very heavy rock and tossed it up into the air so as to land directly on top of the flame. It shot backwards about 100 feet before it even started to arch downward. (yes, we made sure no one was back there, it was only blast fence and ground barriers). --- The plane has a deserved reputation for being a fuel-leaking hog. Some planes were worse than others. When they got real bad, we sent them to Palmdale for total fuel cell rework, otherwise, a lot was done at Beale. In defense of the designers again, it must be very difficult to design a sealant that can withstand such great temperatures, plus expand and contract from one inch to about 11 inches. Working in the fuel cells was also kinda fun. The sealant was replaced by fuel cell specialists, but we would sometimes have to check lines in there etc. Anyway, since the plane is mostfly fuel tanks from the aft cockpit and back (including the inboard wings) it was kind of fun getting up inside. (Yes, they were fully drained and fresh air was pumped in while someone was working inside. They never worked alone.) When I first got to Beale and saw all the fuel around, I was concerned. In tech school, even a drop of fuel was bad (they often said JP-4 could be ignited by breathing on it :-)) so when I saw the hanger floor, plus the maint. personnel soaked in it, well, it was weird. Anyway, JP-7 has a very high flashpoint. They say (but I never saw anyone try :-)) that you could try to light it with a match, and be unsuccessful. That's why the plane uses a chemical ignition system. It was always interesting to see the concern (or terror!) on visitors faces when they came out for a launch and saw fuel dripping from the wings. "Aw, that's okay, just don't smoke.." ---- After replacing any hydraulic lines, or having to do any flight control checks, gear extension checks etc. we hooked up a very powerful ground unit which supplied the hydraulic power. This was a double pain. When taking it off, there was always pressure in the lines. As you unscrewed the connections, the hydraulic fluid would run down your arms, and sometimes squirt in your face. Combine this with being fuel soaked, and you weren't the most popular person to sit with in the chow hall :-). Again, the mystique wears thin :-) ------------------------------ From: shafer@ferhino.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 14:49:18 PDT Subject: SR-71 personal experiences resend part 6b --- I'd never been out of the country before joining the Air Force (well, Tijuana Mexico :-)) so going to Okinawa (the *first* time) was fun. The flight over though was definately third or fourth class. We rode in the KC-135 tankers, sitting sideways on webbed seats (sort of like lawn chairs) packed elbow to elbow. No place to stretch out initially. All our baggage, ground support equipment etc. etc. was tied down in the middle of the plane. No leg room. The tanker was not sound insulated, so you wore ear plugs and/or headgear the whole time. There was also only one small 4" window, plus the windows at the door to look out of. Oh well, nothing to see anyway. Was VERY noisy. Once you were cruising, you could walk around. Typically you'd have brought a sleeping bag with you, or something else soft. Some people would climb on top of the cargo and try to catch some Z's, others would stretch out under seats, or just wherever you could. There was always a couple of card games going on. I liked to go down into the air refueling pod. You could look down at the ocean which was interesting. I tried to envision an SR or some other plane scooting up underneath for refueling. One thing we could do that was fun though was visit the cockpit. The only restriction was how long you were in there (if others were waiting, only one person at a time). The pilot's were more than happy to show you around, but the part I found most interesting was the inertial navigation system. Too bad we couldn't sit in the jump seat for takeoff or landing, typically some high ranking officer would get that privelege. The trip was long. 5 hours to Hawaii, lunch, then back on, with typically 9-10 hours to Okinawa. During the winter, we'd hoof it up through Alaska rather than Hawaii. Getting off the plane in Okinawa the first time was weird. We landed at night. Ground people didn't get power hooked up right away, so we sat in the dark for about 5 minutes. It was eerily quiet. They then opened the side cargo door. Man oh man, it was HOT AND MUGGY!!! Yech, I hate humidity! And this was late at night!!! Overseas was fun as I said though. The difference between the base and the outside was stark. Right outside the gate there was the usual low-life bars and restaurants. Low-life, yeah, but fun! No checking for id :-). Kadena was like a city, I believe there were 30,000+ people living there. They had a beautiful golf course right on the ocean. I'd LOVE to go back for that. During the summer, there was always an 'air' about the place. Very humid, with the smell of the jungle that surrounded portions of the base. The SR-s were kept on the 'far side' of the base, but not totally isolated. The navy planes and tankers were near us. We sometimes had a lot of fun in the bars listening (quietly) to the Marines and others who had interesting 'facts' about the Habu (the SR-71 nickname, comes from a local, highly aggressive and poisonous snake). "Did you know they have elevators in those hangers where the SR's are!? They have an underground tunnel leading to the end of the runway for security." (us..) "Really? Wow!" We heard lots of rumors. No, we didn't start the engines with the hanger doors closed (be serious, think about it!). No elevators, no secret passage to the end of the runway. As an observer however (if you couldn't get on the flightline) it may seem that way. There is a hump in the runway (and taxiway). If you were parked at the end of the runway to watch planes taking off, *all* planes, not just the SR, would sort of 'appear' suddenly at the end of the runway. No, tires weren't concrete, just painted silver (Goodrich(year!?)) Silver Crowns, 22 ply, 415 psi nitrogen. The plane did have a 'persicope', but didn't fly underwater. Seriously folks, we heard some wild ones. The periscope sticks up about six inches from the pilot's canopy and allows him to view what's happening behind him, typically for rudder alignment etc. Anyway, summer operations at Kadena were a bummer. 98 deg., 98% humidity. Soaked in fuel and hydro fluid, whoa, are we having fun yet? At least we had hangers and were out of the rain. Fun experience in a new culture. First time we were over there, my good friend and I decided to venture well away from the base and get 'a real Japanese meal in a real Japanese restaurant'. We couldn't read the menu, had no idea what it cost, and since the waitress didn't speak English, all we could do is point, do some hand gesturing etc. We finally conveyed something, and she scampered off, returning shortly with something weird looking. (I later found out it was octopus or something from a friend who was stationed there and did understand the language). Anyway, we proceeded to try our hand at chopsticks. Must've been humorous as others in the restaurant were giving us smiles and chuckles. We then looked around and noticed most people using forks. Aw well... ---- Mildenhall in England was really fun. We rode over there in real airline seats (on a MAC flight). Got to visit the cockpit too, and spend as much time as you wanted (unless someone else was waiting, we had to take turns). We rode in a C-5. Fascinating. Arrived in England at night, got checked into our quarters ('hotel') and proceeded to go exploring. Fog, everywhere. It was great. We stumbled into a pub and met some really wonderful people. As a matter of fact, everywhere we went in England we met charming, fun people (even if some of them couldn't understand or speak 'English' :-) :-)). If you ever get a chance, go there. London was fabulous (I'm a history buff). Transportation is good, just don't miss the last train. (Hmm, good theme for an ELO song :-) ). If you go, don't skip Cambridge either. We had no problem hitching rides, ever (except once at night, in the fog). Even had a policeman pick us up. Was fun talking to him. Told him we'd been to the tower of London, seen the crown jewels etc. etc. He related how he'd never been there. Strange huh! Well, actually I see the same thing here in Colorado. Talk to some tourists who've been places we never have (I still haven't been to the Denver mint or Seven Falls, or...). Can't say too much (obviously) about our missions at either place. First of all, they didn't consult me often (:-)). We do know some though. (No secret here). We used to photograph the Eastern bloc war games, with no violation of airspace. (Won't delve into when or if we *ever* did, there's been plenty of speculation in this group already on that). Anyway, we'd fly on the border, bank the plane, and we could see inland farther for many miles. It is true that the plane was shot at many times. As maint. people, we also knew when the ECM (electronic counter measures) gear failed. First part of maint. coming back was fixing it! They hooked up a big yellow box with lots of wires and electronically 'shot' missles at the plane (with some covering attached to the nose of the plane). --- Whoa, this is getting long and a few of you have fallen asleep. Time to post it now I guess. Next (and possbily final) installment: perceptions wrap-up, and answers to questions sent to me. Have a good day! Ron ------------------------------ From: shafer@ferhino.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 14:54:47 PDT Subject: SR-71 personal experiences resend last a From: ron@eatdust.uswest.COM Newsgroups: rec.aviation Subject: SR-71 Personal Experiences -- Questions Date: 10 May 90 18:36:49 GMT Reply-To: ron@eatdust.uswest.COM () Organization: U S WEST Advanced Technologies As promised earlier, I would answer questions people had about the SR-71 to the best of my ability. Here's answers to the ones received. Thanks to all who have written with encouragement. It is nice to know the effort was appreciated. Ron ---- (1) What is the difference between JP-7 and JP-4 and JP-5? What properties does JP7 have that make it necessary for the SR-71? I'll have to defer part of this to other experts, but I'll do my best. JP-4 is your 'conventional' jet fuel. Highly flammable, low flashpoint. JP-5 is used in the U-2's. I don't know what makes it different than JP-4. JP-7 for the SR has very high flashpoint. Has additional materials inside for lubrication (some sort of teflon derivitive) (?). Other engines can use it, if their ignition systems could light it. In fact, on our overseas trips, the tankers would take off with JP-4, but then switch tanks to the JP-7. (better gas mileage?). (2) Are there any hardware/systems differences between the KC-135Q and the standard KC-135A/B/R, or is the type of fuel carried the only difference? Sorry, not sure. I know that the standard KC-135 can utilize the fuel carried in its transfer tanks. Can the Q model do this, or is JP-7 incompatible with the tanker's engines? Yes, the tanker can burn the JP-7, and does after takeoff. (3) I've seen a few pictures of Blackbirds surrounded by maintenance per- sonnel right after landing (I assume), and there's always a guy underneath each engine, opening an access panel with a speed handle. What are they doing, and why don't they wait until the plane cools off? They're opening the access panels primarily to service oil while the oil is still hot, or take oil samples. They don't want to wait because the oil cools quickly, also in a hurry to go to lunch :-). (4) In Part 3 of your series, you talked about the ground crew being very crisp and military in their behavior, saluting, doing crisp about-faces and the like. Is that common in the Air Force, peculiar to the SR-71 community, or just what Beale's day shift was like? (The Coast Guard wasn't at all like that!) I had a friend in the Air Force in England. They were not like that at all. As a matter of fact, I went over to Mildenhall on a TDY with the plane, and he came and picked me up (he was from Chicksands (sp?)). We hadn't seen each other in two years, and so he proceeded to show me every pub in the area (or so it seemed). We got back at 0-dark-thirty and he was in no condition to work (I had the weekend off). He called his supervisor and told him the situation...no problem! At Beale, we'd have heard a knock on our barracks with the Security Police ready to either escort us to work, or to jail. I'm not kidding. That's one of the things I really had a problem with. As an aside, you couldn't be sick either. You were either at work, or in the hospital. No calling in sick with the flu. If you couldn't make it in, you had to report for sick call. Was a royal pain if you lived off base, trying to make a dash for the hospital inbetween bouts of you know what. They didn't care for the troops much at all, hence my extreme disillusionment after a few years (and a couple of legitimate cases of sickness). It wasn't like this on all shifts though. Depended upon who you worked for. (5) Would the the planes fly at unusually high speeds while in transit to their operating areas during actual missions from Beale (to reduce crew fatigue or for any other reason), or would they wait until they got close to the operating area? Normal cruise speed. (6) I once saw a Blackbird doing touch and goes at Palmdale, which is an airfield with very high security. Were the crews restricted to such unusually secure bases for practice missions, or did they ever visit more run-of-the-mill bases like, say, Travis, Moffett Field, North Island, etc., during training flights? Never for training flights, although there were many bases equipped to handle them in an emergency. (7) Does the plane have a fighter-style control stick, or a yoke like the U-2/TR-1? Fighter style. Key grip with nosewheel steering switch in front, pitch and yaw trim thumbwheel. Thanks, -- ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #133 ********************************* To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@mail.orst.edu". 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