SR-71B Blackbird Walkaround with its former Crew Chief
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ส.ค. 2022
- The Air Zoo is a world-class, Smithsonian-affiliated aerospace and science museum, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with over 100 air and space artifacts, inspiring interactive exhibits, full-motion flight simulators, indoor amusement park rides, a theater and over 100 education programs!
It is, simply put, the most beautiful machine man has ever made.
This is a wonderful video which conveys a lot of important SR-71 information in a clear and straightforward manner. MSgt David Burns is a great example of the expertise and sheer talent held by all of the military maintenance personnel who were chosen to work on the SR-71. Although Dave hasn’t worked on this aircraft in more than 40 years, his instant recall of specific facts is a testament of his depth of knowledge. Dave Burns was the crew chief of the SR-71 when I first flew the airplane, and I was always confident in his integrity and skill!
Oh wow
I agree with you BC Thomas. Sensor Systems Specialist (Photo) troup 75-77.
I was at the 2022 Black Bird Association Reunion. If you were there in a group photo session, I took a photo and shared it with some other pilots and RSOs.
Thank you for your service Sir. All those that flew in the SR-71 are truly some of the bravest people to walk this earth.
@@brianhusted3909 Thanks, Brian!
I totally 👍👍 agree. Great job Dave and thank you for sharing so much good information. I was also in Kadena with Dave Masters and I enjoyed his leadership.
I own a black jumpsuit with "sr-71 test team" stitched on the back and the name "joe" and Nasa on the front chest in red thread.
This man is amazing.. He discusses advanced topics in plain language.
I was fortunate enough to have worked on the J-58 engine. I actually went to school on the engine in East Hartford, CT because the Air Force did not have schools set up yet. My classmates and I wore civilian clothes and stayed in hotels for that trip. I had already been to SR-71 classes at Lockheed in Burbank, CA. I was one of the first few men in the 4200 SRW at Beale AFB back in January 1965. We got our first SR-71 in January 1966 and had changed our unit number to the 9th SRW. We learned something every day on that bird and engine package. Been a long time.
thank you for your service on this great airplane.
Air zoo should definitely get an interview with you, I bet you have some really good stories about learning to service this amazing aircraft. I imagine it was quite an experience because there really wasn't anything like it before or since!
How often were engines changed out?
Well thank you very much. I just asked about maintenance a couple guy’s up. I’m glad that there putting stories up about keep ‘em flying. There’s gotta be a lot of stories out there. That can be told now. Since the statute of limitations has passed.
Thanks to all that are interested. I was a jet engine mechanic and spent most of my time in the shop. I can tell you that when the J-58 engines first came out, the fuel lines were all gold plated in an attempt to reflect some of the intense heat from the airframe. When we first got the SR-71 in January 1966, they were being started by start carts that consisted of two Buick wildcat engines that had been souped up to put our 300 HP each. It required 600 shaft horsepower to start each engine. They had strait pipes and we engaged the J-58 engine thru a right angle gearbox in the bottom of the engine. We then powered the two Buicks with strait pips up to 6000 rpm to get the J-58 up to starting speed. If I remember correctly it had a very high idle speed like 80%. Spark igniters were NOT use but it took a squirt of a pyrophoric liquid we called TEB. It gave off a green flame and burst into flame as soon as it hit the air. I have so many more memories but I admit I was discharged in July of 1966 so was only working on the engine for 6 months at Beale.
Mr. Burns and all other people working on this airplane are and were extremely intelligent and talented individuals! They had to resolve thousands of problems and challenges! And all this in the 60s and 70s without the aid of modern CAD and computer simulation! My highest respect! I can not understand how they were able to accomplish this! Super-humans! And now he explains all this in a modest and huble way! This is fantastic! Thank you for sharing this interview!
It was a pleasure to work with Dave at Kadena from 1980 to 1981! Great guy and a top-notch crew chief.
Hello David.
On behalf of my entire generation, let me just say it was a pleasure to be the benefactors of your years of service and commitment. You literally put us on top of the world Your video about your history with the SR-71 is next on my playlist. Kudos legend. You, Dave and so many others have left some really big shoes to fill.
@@dutchfpv7010 the funny thing is that Dave Burns actually shot a lot of the footage I include in my video! All credit to him and the Detachment Commander Raphael Samay, who allowed him to even shoot the video in the first place. I’m glad he did it, and I’m glad I have been able to share it.
I think the SR-71 was so successful because the crews, pilots and engineers were so passionate about what they were doing!
I can listen to this all day the amount of information that is not covered in any of the SR-71 BlackBird documentary’s out the and to get it first hand for someone with such a high level of experience on the aircraft is amazing.
Thanks The Air Zoo.
Thanks for watching and that's EXACTLY why we filmed this video. Books and documentaries can only tell you so much!
Thankyou for the video diary
Love visiting the Air Zoo and petting the SR-71.
He knows the blackbird inside and out and it's awesome. I've never heard the aircraft talked about in this much detail
I swapped to Beale in 1985 to work on my dream aircraft, SR-71. Worked test cell on the J58, have a lot of awesome pictures of the engine glowing cherry red in full afterburner on the cell. We had night runs, people would come out to watch the engine run, show and tell. The engine shop forgot to put in the #5 bearing seal, during the run in afterburner, the #5 bearing cover, Nick name spaghetti strainer melted as the missing seal caused the hot gases to go thru, not around it and melted it. The hot metal went over the blast fence and started a grass fire. Windy that day, so we ended up burning 2000 acres of grass. Nice aerial photo on the local paper showing the burned grass. A lot of great memories. Got orders to Kunsan Korea once they announced the SR-71 retirement on 1989. Still have a polished 1st stage compressor blade, going away gift.
I was fortunate enough to have calibrated the J-58 test cell back in 1990 when I first got to Beale.
9 AMS/PMEL
I may have polished that blade in the j-58 shop!
Did some construction work on the SR-71 hangers at Beale AFB in the mid 80's. Really enjoyed watching the SR-71 come and go and meeting many of the Pilots at the Tower Snack Shop
Only 2 of the SR hangars still stand.
I was so fortunate to have been stationed at Kadena AB 82-83 ( 961st AWACS)as a ECS technician near the SR-71 on the SAC side of the base so I had a very close relationship with the Habu during my tour because our AWACS planes was parked on the same side of the reventments. I will never forget the very first time I watched it go AB on my way to work on the shuttle bus and the beautiful blue afterburners of the SR-71 . A truly amazing aircraft.
I kept trying to get an assignment to Kadena, but being a TSgt they said it was a SSgt slot. So they sent me to Avord, France after the war. What a dump, but at least we had new airplanes.
I worked with dave at midcoast at KCPS. Great guy. I was 21 and dumb. Took me under his wing and taught me a lot of things. We even used to talk about the black machine some. Would love to meet up and talk to him again. Im 37 now and still remember working titanium screws on challenger floor boards with him
Wow! I was at Beale 80-82, retired in 98, then also worked with Dave at Midcoast on the government end. Prob new you also.
@@murfrirhke4557 i was there in 07-08 right before they did the mass layoff and became jet. Wish i had a way to get a hold of Dave
@@murfrirhke4557 you go by Dave Murphy by chance?
Yup, that’d be me. I left in the coast in 2000 & left the aviation world to make beer.
@@murfrirhke4557 you were before me then a bit. You prbably knew Dan Brauhn then. He was one of my instructors at the college I graduated from
Bro is a National Treasure. My respects to him! Also excelent video it's great to see not only the history being preserve but also the tales and experiencies of those behind it!
@@rydplrs71 I just an internet colloquialism, believe me in person I will treat him with the utmost respect his person deserves.
@@rydplrs71 Have a nice day and good riddance then, take care.
The perfection of this aircraft is amazing. These guys are extremely smart and talented.
Wow, I have personally seen your work in action. I lived next to Beale AFB from 67 to 75 and saw SR71s in the air very often. Seeing a Blackbird in full Afterburner at dusk is a sight that I will never forget. Thanks for your service.
I WAS AT BEALE FROM 73-75 LOVE THE NIGHT FLIGHTS
I worked on them I think about 1975. I was an autopilot tech. Were you there when they broke a naval anchor chain while doing a max engine run? That was pretty wild. The autopilot has two functions. The first was SAS or stability augmentation system. It dampened high rate vibrations sort of like a shock absorber. The actual autopilot had a number of features. Basically when you turned it on what ever atitude, altitude, and heading was configured by the pilot was engaged. The computer had three channels. Two active and not monitor channel. If a active channel differed from the monitor channel it would it would be disengaged. The switch would physically click to the off position. If the monitor channel went bad both active channels would kick off and your day went to hell instantly. You lost you SAS and AP. It happened once and the pilot was fighting the stick with both hands and so couldn't flip the switches back on. The pilot fought it down to an altitude and air speed he could control it. To fix the issue they moved the switches to the resource operators location. Fail safe fail operational. The internals were both electrical mechanical and transistors. This was early sixties tech. An operational check was done after parts were replaced. It took eight hours with your supervisor watching every thing. You ran a pressure line and vaccuum line to the inlet tubes and observed where the indicator told you was the right altitude and air speed. The indicators were a three foot long u shaped tube of glass with a colored liquid in it. They were called manometer. Very accurate but lab equipment. Hey it was state of the art and leading edge technology at the time. It was also quite reliable.
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"You can go a long way in 12hours"......AMEN TO THAT, fantastic interview thank you.
The lore of this plane is really amazing. The SR-71 it´s more than just a flying machine, it is an aviation icon. Built to fly higher and faster than any other aircraft, which has pulverized all records to date. Put together with real ingenuity, when the economic cost was less important than proving that you could do it while others don´t.
A trully masterpiece of engineering of the Cold War.
Exactly. It has a living aura and a superiority of the forward thinkers that brought from dream, to reality, into Legend.
I don't get starstruck, but the first time I walked into a room with the 71 I was in awe. All my life the stories I've read, the interviews I've heard, there it was in the flesh in front of me. It's more than metal, there is a soul in there.
As a tanker pilot refueling the Habu, this crew chief’s tour was spot on. I didn’t know all the details about the aircraft, but he confirmed things I had always wondered about. Great video, well orchestrated and executed.
the lights back on......edina "jamjar"..
I love hearing stories from people that had to maintain them! You only hear stories from the pilots. There are 2 stories that need to be told.
I absolutely love that this guy just seems like a good ole boy. He's so intelligent and a gifted presenter, but you can tell he's humble and would be great to sit down and have a beer with! Men like him are what made this country so great.... Thank you for your service sir.
This guy does a phenomenal job of explaining all these systems in such an easily understandable way.
I was fortunate to see one of the operational units fly back in the early 80's. I was at an airshow at NAS Pt. Mugu on the CA coast in Ventura County and it so happened there was an Air Force airshow happening at the old George AFB near the CA high desert about 200 miles east/southeast. The pilot was kind enough to radio over to Pt.Mugu and asked to do a quick demo at Pt. Mugu before he scooted home back to Beale AFB in NorCal, a totally unscripted event that was a surprise to the show. The Blackbird came in on a very long extended final and just cruised by a few hundred feet off the deck. He did it again while holding a knife edge on the next pass so we could view the entire top of the aircraft and again so we could view the entire bottom. Then he did several high speed passes and really got jiggy wit it as he flew by. His last pass was right down the centerline a couple hundred feet off the deck and about half way down the runway's length, went completely vertical and just absolutely put the throttles to wood! The noise was incredible and unbearable and he held his attitude in the unrestricted climb into the clear sky and literally disappeared from sight, straight up over our heads. You could hear the aircraft roaring for a solid several minutes after it disappeared. NO idea what altitude he achieved on that last maneuver but the whole thing was incredibly BITCHIN! and I will never forget it as long as I'm alive! I never had the opportunity to see it again after that event.
SR pilots would do touch and go's at NAS Lemoore just to show the F-18 pilots who's the real boss!
What a tremendously brilliant man.I was privileged to see one in person in aircraft museum. It was an incredible machine.
Someday I am going to have to get up to Michigan. As a former F-117A Crew Chief, I'd love to see how the Air Zoo put Shaba back together and relay a few fun stories of my many years on F-117A's with the staff.
I'm sure you're delighted to hear about how a handful of them are still up and flying to this day. 40+ years of continual service is no joke, clearly you guys knew what you were doing!
When I was based at Kadena 75/76, I loved the startup sound when they had the 2 V8 engine starter. It sounded like a drag race, and then you heard jet noises. Ahh, those gloryous days of yester year.
Thank you for taking the time to create this video. As this airframe ages, so does the hard working men and women that made her fly. We need to document and cherish these amazing people as the airplane will be around long after they are gone. Thank you for your service Dave Burns!
I watched every moment of this. That man is a genius and humble. Respect to him
So much has been written and filmed about the pilots and the missions, none of which would have happened without the “maintainers.” The mechanics and crew chiefs don’t fly the plane, but the plane doesn’t fly without the essential work they perform. Good video!
And for every hour a pilot flew this beast, there was a whole crew working days and days and days worth of man-hours.
Another behind the scenes hero with the sr71. I wish I could hear more of the stories he has experienced
Great to hear from an SR crew chief. I’ve watched all the interviews on YT with the pilots that I could find (Rosenberg, Thomas, Shelton, Murray, Graham) and I still learned a lot of new things. That mixer assembly is like a beautiful Swiss watch!!
Guys like this are a national treasure!
I refer to myself sometimes as an SR71 Orphan. My Dad worked for the Lockheed Skunk Works from the end of WWII until his retirement in the mid 1970's. He would leave Burbank Monday morning and return Friday afternoon. That went on from when I was in about 6th grade to until I got out of the Army years later. During that time I never knew where he went or what he was working on. Only knew that he was going to "The Area." One tell-tail sign was that he would come home with silver dollars. Humm, where would one get silver dollars then? Neighbors would mention that "Government Men" would ask them questions about us.
Good lord my guy worked on like 8 different planes, that’s insane lol. That’s awesome!
🇺🇸🇵🇪🇵🇷😎 thanks for sharing great video..I was lucky enough to be working in a KC135 on UTIPOU Thailand in 1968 when a SR-71 came to visit..It was a thrill to behold..
Wow, Luis... I was one of the guys from the engine shop that was sent over to Utipou to recover the plane you are talking about. I can't remember what we exactly did to the plane, engine swap, component remove & replace, but it was exciting to be there for a couple of days; it was Over 54 years ago. Came in from Okinawa. We worked our butts off for many hours and then rested a bit. I did go into town for a few hours with a buddy with me that had been stationed there. Very interesting. I am glad you were fascinated with the plane as we all were. Engines 1966 to 1970.
He choked up when he said "this is my baby, this is my hog" and walked back, I felt that
A honour to hear MSgt David Burns talk on this icon of powered flight. Thank you Sir.
Likely the most beautiful machine ever built.
HA HA " ... and it's a good airplane" Understatement of the CENTURY !!! People like this Gentleman are the Real Wealth of a Nation !
The most beautiful bird ever built and a marvel of engineering before computers and although not economical it would still be in my mind the greatest of all time .
The start carts were built by a small company in Glendale. In the early 70's I worked in a small engine rebuilding show where one day a pickup truck full of Buick heads showed up for us to rebuild. They were to be spares for these old start carts.
*_Amazing how this ol' boy retained the details on this Bird._*
What a fantastic and unique view of the SR-71 from a man who maintained it. Sooo awesome! He even dropped some of the nickname for parts of the plane his crew probably used. Like the Go Fast aka the throttle. Thank you
Holy cow! This guy has an amazing memory.
#956 memories, Always bumping my head on those darn lower stabilizers. Getting hot feet climbing on a hot post flight.
I saw one of these in person at the Smithsonian in DC. The size and design of this thing was unreal. Couldn't believe the altitude and speed these things operated in, all 60 years ago 🤯
Fascinating video! Some years ago a neighbor of ours had been on SR71 ground crew, but she was sworn to secrecy and wouldn't talk about it at all.
I particular got a kick out of hearing the phrase "poke the bear". My dad piloted USAF refueling tankers in the late 1950s, flying out of England and doing 8 to 12 hour missions over Finland, near the Russian border. They were there to refuel the NATO aircraft patrolling the area. At least one tanker was in the air there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Much of their time was spent just flying a large lazy loop or figure 8 waiting for someone to need fuel. Occasionally when they got really bored they would "accidentally" stray over the border a little ways into Soviet airspace, causing the Russians to scramble interceptors. He called it "poking the bear", too.
Made the pilgrimage to see the SR71, Would love to go again.
Went to the Smithsonian downtown Washington, Arlington and all the other Iconic sites I could.
sR71 was pretty cool.
I flew OA-37's at DM. Thanks to dedicated men like MSgt Burns I never had an a/c abort.
I was POL at Mather AFB from 85-89 before I x-trained to PMEL. I refueled T-37s daily for several years. Actually got to see an OA-37 in 88. Hard to imagine a tweet with guns
I was in the squadron when we converted to the OA37, prior to my PCS to Hurlburt Field. Hydraulic Shop 2/80-6/82 27 TASS 23TASS 602 TACW.
After Hurlburt with AC130 & MC130, I PCS'd to Det 1 9SRW and the SR71 11/83-4/86..
The AF didn't have an SEI for the SR71, which I found to be interestingly funny.
@@tsb-2489 I was there 3/81-3/85. First with the O-2As and then the OA-37. I remember writing up (positive) a female O-2A crew chief. The commander read it to everyone at Commanders Call. Happy she received the recognition she well deserved.
Started at P&WA in '78 at 19 yrs. old. Proud to have been an inspector for several different parts. Turbine shaft, burner can, diffuser case and inlet case. Knowing that I helped the world's fast jet
The pride and enthusiasm for this amazing aircraft is clearly evident.
This is the most beautiful aircraft in EXISTENCE
One of the best sr 71 footage I've found 👏
Thank you Sir for your service . It was a privilege watching and listening to your presentation about the Mighty Blackbird.
wow from 0A-37 to the SR-71,
I worked aviaoncis on the OA-37B.
I could listen to a man like this all day any day.
You know you've got a manly engine when it takes two 454's to start it!
Wow retired. but you can tell by his great attitude this plane was a BIIIIG part of his life impressive
So great to hear from those that actually worked with these beautiful planes. I could listen to these stories all day.
Thank you MSgt Burns!
Excellent brief on the Blackbird.
A 30ton bird built with light weight materials. Incredible machine!
Incredible aircraft and the JP 58 also had unique metal. The turbine had a metal with all the crystal structures facing the same direction. Making the part superior in the direction of the crystal structure.
About 1985, an SR 71 lost an engine over the Gulf of Mexico, and landed at Alvin Calendar Field, Naval Air Station, in Algiers, LA. At the time, I had several engineering design projects at the NAS, and the NAS project manager called me late one afternoon, excitedly exclaiming, " I NEED YOU to come make a job inspection NOW !" I replied that I had a full commitment now, but could come in the morning. "NO, I NEED YOU HERE NOW", he INSISTED. "Tomorrow will be too LATE !". I said, "I cannot get there today, see you in the morning at 7 am"..... the front page headlines in the next morning's paper read "SR71 Blackbird loses engine, replaced at NAS overnight". I called the NAS project manager and calmly asked, "Is todays headline what you needed me there for yesterday ?" .... "Yes...... I could have gotten you a close look in the cockpit, and a talk with the pilot. They left two hours ago". .... I have kicked myself several thousand times since then.
thank you Sir...favorite plane for 30 yrs... I've never seen such an intimate review loved the peek into the mechanical feedback system for the piolet ... the machining was almost organic... amazing what they were getting done back then... so cool, i come from line of maintainers ... appreciate ya.... cant imagine the grin you had touching those birds in the middle of the night...
I was a sensor system tactical avionics technician in the Air Force for 23 years. I never got to work on the SR-71, so found this extremely interesting. Thank you.
"It's a good airplane". Preach, brother.
I would have loved to service this aircraft. What an amazing job. 👏
Every person involved in the oral history of this aircraft...crew chief, technician, pilot, designer, engineer or tech from P&W or Lockheed...all contribute greatly to the body of knowledge about its history...well done, Chief!
„It‘s a good airplane.“ - The understatement of the century 😅
THE SR 71 WAS THE ULTIMATE FLYING MACHINE FOR THAT TIME!!!!
Just think all built before super computers. Just amazing
I would pay a lot for a tour like this. Amazing
Thank you for making an Ole man smile again..... Holy cow I love this mistress.
'It was a good aeroplane '
You can certainly say that again!!!
Saw this plane in Pima air and space museum, such an incredible bird.
I’m loving all this SR-71 content. Would love to visit one day!
This was amazing!! The SR is my favorite plane!
So I’ve seen multiple videos of SR pilots give a tour. But this crew chief I learned way more about the airplane. (Naturally, most pilots know very little about the aircrafts workings). This is awesome! Great video! Love the crew chief tour.
Wow! I grew up near Kalamazoo and was stationed at Futenma - 1st Marine Air wing HQ- on Okinawa in 1981-82. I remember looking out my barracks window and seeing a Blackbird coming into Kadena. I still remember that moment of WHAT IS THAT?
Glad to know that you were "just down the road" keeping these beautiful beasts in the air.
Thanks, David.
Dude I slept under the wing of this beautiful plane in cub scouts! Great to see it online.
Thanks for the video. I was stationed at Kadena in 1985/86; my first base. I remember hearing them being started. I did not know that there was two motors in the starting unit; no wonder they were so loud. One time I seen one take off at night. The blue rings, seven I think, were cool to see. It looked like he went vertical right after take off. I worked on the F-4's and F-15's.
You can’t beat the knowledge of the Crew Chief! Great video, thank you for sharing!
Excellent video and guest. A+++. Thoroughly enjoyed.
You had me at "Took 2 454's just to crank it"
A terrific look into this extraordinary airplane. I viewed a whole lot of high altitude recce film of N Vietnam taken by the SR-71. He did an excellent job taking us through this.
What an excellent video! I enjoyed every second of dialog this gentleman so gracefully provided us with. It is a true honor to hear these types of details from someone so intimately familiar with this truly historic aircraft.
19:58 the Buick wildcat engine was a 400 cubic inch and the Chevy was 454 cubic inches.
"right side is the same as the left, its a good airplane" lol great last words to a great video
Great work Crew Chief, you know your stuff!
I can tell you as an avionics guy working on the SR-71 was a pain in the azz! I much preferred the U-2. That being said nothing more exciting than riding in the launch truck at zero dark thirty and watching her take off from the hammerhead area!! This was after I assisted in getting 3 "Q" model KC-135 tankers in the air for that first aerial refueling he talked about. (@Beale AFB 76-78)
Cool beans. A Cold War Warrior from the same time-frame as me, 71-95. A maintenance guy like me (electronics), TACumcised. Fascinating and informative talk. Kudos.
Fascinating video. Thanks so much to MSgt Burns. I could read all day about stats and figures and what not about this airplane, but I wouldn’t learn half of the day to day what it’s like to live and work with it. Thanks again for filming him and just letting him talk about the airplane and his time with it.
One of the most amazing things of the SR, is how ahead of it’s time it was, watching video of that plane roll out of the hangar from the 60’s it looked like it rolled off the production line the day before. Then you see the cars of the day to distinguish when it was recorded. Most people still don’t know what that plane is to this day, so if you put it back into service tomorrow they’d swear they’ve never seen anything like it. Incredible
This is amazing. Thanks for such a detailed account from such an experienced person!
I love how so many procedures are familiar when you get down to the nuts-and-bolts level of a complex machine like this.
This was arguably the best presentation of the SR-71 I've ever seen or heard. The Air Zoo was so incredibly fortunate to have this man as a docent for this exhibit and how incredible fortunate we all are that you recorded and posted it online. There's so much nonsense, myth and guesswork online about the Blackbird family of planes and this video went a long way to correcting a lot of falsehoods. Thanks.
Mr. DAVID BURNS, your are more priceless than that beautiful bird you describe so well! BRILLIANT MAN! 🤗😁😀😎
This plane IS THE GRAIL of air breathing planes!!!
I think the way they start these engines is incredible