[Roadsters] OT Way cool garage wall art

[Gordon Glasgow]

Interesting. It may be legitimate. The number and art match what the records
show. See http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/tail001.html and
http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/tail008.jpg.

A few years ago I worked with a guy who had been a flight planner for the
Blackbirds. I once asked him if the real top speed was actually higher than
the official record. He said, no, when they're flying in that mode it is
basically an unthrottled ramjet, so it's actually flying at its max speed.

I've always loved that plane. For something that isn't even armed, it sure
looks wicked. Fortunately they've got one in the Museum of Flight here in
Seattle, so I have the opportunity to see one up close every so often.

Gordon Glasgow

-----Original Message-----
From: datsun-roadsters-bounces at autox.team.net
[mailto:datsun-roadsters-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Tim
Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2012 3:45 PM
To: datsun-roadsters: autox.team.net
Subject: [Roadsters] OT Way cool garage wall art

  Who has $1 million to spare?

evilbay auction: http://tinyurl.com/86vxr6x

evilbay item #160627539245



An SR-71 Blackbird Tail Fin Is for Sale On eBay for $1 Million
  A tail rudder from the fastest airplane in the world could be yours b for
a cool $1 million. The seller didn't say if it was a spare part, or if it
was once part of a functioning SR-71 Blackbird, which is an important
distinction given the cost.
When it debuted in 1964, the SR-71 Blackbird b the mean looking
surveillance aircraft that cruised high above the Soviet Union at speeds of
up to mach 3.5 b cost the U.S. Air Force $34 million per air frame.
Do you think this fraction of a supersonic spy plane is worth a fraction of
its original cost?
The eBay ad is scant on details, but it doesn't look like the seller,
stevessupercoolstuff, has much experience selling aircraft parts. The bulk
of his business appears to be lighted crochet hooks, with a smattering of
other goodies including a Lyrics of John Lennon book, a W.C. Fields Super 8
comedy film, and a Dwight D. Eisenhower commemorative medal, among other
trinkets. But none of the Steve's other merchandise is plastered with that
cool 3-foot-tall Lockheed Martin Skunkworks logo.
But whether or not you think the price is right, this orphaned rudder is a
window into a different time, a period in American history when the Cold War
was at its height and muscle cars were the way to get around.
It's fitting then that Lockheed Martin would have designed a spy plane whose
defense mechanism was pure speed. It's aviation's equivalent of the Pontiac
GTO b an airframe designed around two massive engines. If the Soviets
lobbed an anti-aircraft missile at one, the Blackbird's pilot could simply
out accelerate it.
And the strategy worked. Not one of the 32 SR-71s built in the mid-60s
succumbed to enemy fire. That didn't stop the odd training mishap, though.
Between 1966 and 1972, 12 were destroyed in crashes b with one pilot
fatality in 1966. The last one went down in the South China Sea in
1989 after its left engine blew up and damaged the plane's flight controls.
Its crew was rescued by a native fishing boat.
Full size

Compared to the embarrassment President Eisenhower suffered when the
previous generation spy plane b the U2, basically a high altitude glider
equipped with cameras b crash landed in Russia in 1960, the SR-71 was a
stunning success. General Curtis LeMay, of "We should bomb Vietnam back into
the stoneage" fame, didn't want another Francis Gary Powers-style imbroglio
(in other words, military brass couldn't trust the pilots to eat their
cyanide tablets like good boys when they were shot down by the commies, they
needed to rely upon good technology and gutsy flying).
The SR-71's development also spurred interesting innovations in everything
from flight suit and ejection seat design to engine technology. The
Blackbird is essentially a terrestrial spaceship, designed to fly at 80,000
feet above sea level b not quite outer space, but close to it. When parked
on the tarmac, the SR-71 leaked fuel because it was designed to be leak free
at altitude. Its pilots wore fully pressurized suits that could withstand
the pressure of ejecting at speeds exceeding 2,100 mph. In 1976, Capt. Eldon
W. Joersz and Maj.
George T. Morgan set the speed record for normally aspirated aircraft (i.e.
planes that weren't rocket-powered), hitting a blistering mach 3.5.
So if you're into muscle cars, Cold War memorabilia or just need a cool wall
hanger in your living room b and have $1 million to part with b maybe you
can grab this piece of aviation history.
________________________________________

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