There's also one where the SR-71 requested a lane at 70k, Tower laughed and responded with 'if you can reach it, then its all yours', to which the blackbird responded 'descending to 70,000'.
In 1974, a SR-71 set a speed record flying from New York to London in 1 hour 54 minutes and 56 seconds, for an average speed of 1,806.96 mph. After about 10 days at the Farnborough Air Show that same aircraft flew from London to Los Angeles, a distance of 5,446.87 miles in just 3 hours, 47 minutes, 39 seconds.
If the readers will go to the Brian Shul video on TH-cam (LLESA Author Series / Sled Driver) at the 39:45-40:00 mark there is an overhead picture of that SR-71 on display at that show
Cool SR-71 fact… when the plane is sitting on the tarmac, it leaks fuel. Only when it reaches high speeds and the air friction heats the airframe, do the engines expand and seal off the leaks. The engineers factored this in over 60 years ago.
I read a story years ago where they interviewed an SR-71 pilot. They were talking about how the heat from the air friction heat treated the aircraft every time it flew. He also stated that to heat their meal packets on long missions they would just hold them against the window and let that heat warm them up.
I totally forgot about that fact, thanks for sharing! What an amazing aircraft. To think that it can cruise at almost 3x the height of commercial jets...
I've heard this story at least 20 times, and I'm never tired of it. I always have a smile on my face at the end of it. "the navy had been flamed and a new crew had been forged." It just does not get any better than that. On a nice sunny autumn afternoon.
It's nice that now that the SR-71 has been declassified these pilots can finally tell these kind of stories, even though most if not all actual missions are still classified
Yeah my dad worked on this plane but never told me until about 6 years ago. There’s a Blackbird that he saw get buried at the end of the runway at Beele after it’s brakes failed and it over ram the tarmac filing the landing gear and finishing on its belly in the grass. It was apparently cheaper and faster to just bury it than repair the whole under side of the plane. I can find every other airframe on record but that one.
Brian is a motivational speaker. His military career was outstanding but not always glamorous. He survived a shoot down in Vietnam and was not expected to live or even walk or talk ever again. But he found the strength to survive and continue his awesome career in the USAF. I'm glad to have watched his videos of him speaking. 🇺🇲
SR-71s used to fly out of RAF Mildenhall in the UK when I was stationed there in the 1980s. You could feel the ground shake from a mile away when one took off.
I grew up in Sacramento. In the 80s when the plane was still in operations you could see it flying over all the time when it would land and take off from the AF base in the city. Super loud and as a kid really awesome to see all the time.
What's absolutely crazy is the first SR71 project was called "Archangel" and began in the second quarter of 1958, first flew in 1964 and has exceeded mach 3.24 or 2486 miles per hour! As a comparison, the Gatling cannon on an A10 fires the bullets that spit out at a mere 2266Mph!
Once, my daughter and I had gone on one of our many weekend road trips, this one to Death Valley. We were coming home at night via Trona and Pinnacles. We had the radio on and we’re driving about 70mph. Didn’t notice at first, but a jet had pulled up what seemed right next to us. I’m sure it made noise but we didn’t hear it. How it was flying so slowly I do not know, unless it had vector control. We couldn’t really see the plane, only the lit cockpit. The pilot was just looking at us, probably at my teenage daughter, and not long after we noticed him, the jet just accelerated and disappeared. We never noticed any noise. That’s near China Lake, a notorious testing area. I’m pretty sure this pilot was out doing a night joyride, getting in his dark hours. 15 years later, we still talk about those 15-20 seconds.
Brian Shul has a bunch of content on TH-cam. He was shot down over Vietnam and was horribly injured. He recovered and beat the odds by becoming a Blackbird pilot. Amazing man.
Ain't it the truth. I believe it was Shul that did the target verification over Libya after we took a shot at Col Gaddafi. After being lit up by every SAM site in the area and getting the pictures they needed, he maxed out the Blackbird in De-assing the area. "Said he saw Mach numbers he'd NEVER seen before." Never said what those Mach numbers were...
@@seanwilson5516 Exactly. It just took the pilot's direction and went. The pilot just had to be careful not to let the temps get too high on the engines and such, but yeah, effortless power
As far as I know, the British military did order 50 or so F-35Bs so y'alls carriers will actually have stealth strike fighters (also replacing harriers and such). But I think the most well known domestic development is paced for 2040-50 to replace the typhoons.
That talk was to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Ca. It is well worth listening to him give a 60 min or so talk to the engineers there. A true hero! RIP Brian!
Check out some of the SR-71 pilot videos, where they talk about their non-recon roles. They were apparently used one night in Vietnam to signal prisoners in Hanoi to escape by their sonic boom. Also they were apparently used by some US presidents to give a political signal with the sonic booms letting a country's leaders know that "HEY, we're watching you". Great stuff
This is a clip from a great video, " From Butterflies to Blackbirds" Brian Shul speaking at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories. It is too long ( just over an hour ) to do a reaction, but anyone that has not seen it needs to watch it. He does a really great job keeping it interesting and amusing. Even my wife, who is not into aviation ( even though I was an aviation mechanic in the Marines for 21 years ) loved the whole thing.
I agree with those who've heard this before and are commenting it's fun to hear it again at times. I worked the SR while in England and yes, it's every bit as cool as you could imagine.
Many years ago I worked at NASA Dryden which is now NASA Armstrong, we had an SR 71 (dual seater/family model) on site. I knew a few of the pilots and the flight suits looked more like spacesuits. That is my favorite airplane. The rumble you feel in your chest when it’s doing a flyby is incredible.
I worked with Captain Brian Shul at Beale AFB, CA. All of the SR-71 crewmembers were pretty cool. Beginning with the pre-flight physical, it was all business and a professional relationship. After years at Beale AFB, Kadina AFB and RAF Mildenhall, the SR-71 never became "routine." Both the aircraft crewmembers and groundcrew knew that they were making a difference.
Brian is quick to point out that Walter is the guy on the left. He also states that Walter was the only African American engineer pilot to fly the sr-71.
Here's the crazy thing about the SR71. Even though it has the official speed record for an airplane, that's not even remotely how fast it can go. Remember, most of everything surrounding the SR71 is still classified. And the last thing they'd want anyone to know is how fast it can really go.
Unlike most aircraft, available engine power isn't what limits its top speed at all, it's engine overheating. These problems probably start to crop up after the official top speed is exceeded, but with a careful eye on the gauges and relatively brief acceleration beyond official specs, who knows what they're capable of?
@@Morrigi192 not so much engine overheating but the air friction on the surface of the aircraft is what limits its speed potential simply going to fast in atmosphere can cause the aircraft to burn up and disintegrate, until we manufacture or find new materials there will always be a limit for craft like the blackbird
Lots of aircraft can go faster than their "record" speed. A LOT faster.... that is... if the structural integrity of the aircraft holds up. The SR-71 could technically probably go above 3k knots.... would the plane stay in one piece? That's a different story and not even the most grizzled pilot would want to tempt that fate.
Great story. I live in Fresno, CA. Several times during the day we hear the jet fighters from the Lemoore base go overhead so his story made me chuckle because i never once thought that maybe those pilots are just trying to impress us civilians on the ground.
Saw the Blackbird at UK air shows many times in the '80s. It was and always will be the greatest. Nothing like it before or since. Brian Shul was at RAF Mildenhall when the SR71 was based there. This film is from a talk he gave about his career and how he nearly died following being shot down, not in a Blackbird. Find the whole talk and listen to an amazing story. He says a rifle bullet exits the muzzle at 3100 feet per second. The Blackbird could accelerate at 3200 feet per second...in a climb. It's one of the best aviation stories you'll ever hear. Enjoy! If you want to see one close up, there's one in the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. And you can reach up and touch it, something you could never do when it was in service.
When you consider that this plane was designed and built in mid 60's makes it even more incredible. Essentially a flying fuel tank. I consider it to be the greatest plane ever built. Bravo Skunkworks.
There's an SR-71 in a museum close to me in Virginia. There's so much cool stuff there - from early flight to spaceships. But nothing is nearly as stunning as the Blackbird. It's the prettiest and sleekest vehicle I've ever seen
I remember being stationed at Camp Hanson on Okinawa. The Habu ( the SR-71 based at Kadena AFB flew over the camp a few times - always so quiet as it passed overhead. Like 10 seconds later, ROARRRR!, as the engine noise caught up. . . Always a sight!
We live in Palmdale, CA, about 5 miles from the FAA L.A. Center, and near USAF Plant 42 where the SR71 was built at Lockheed Skunk Works. I saw a Northrop Grumman U2 spy plane fly around at very low altitude a few weeks ago. It was pretty awesome.
Ive had the pleasure of seeing to sr71's. One was on display at the NASA space camp in huntsville alabama circa 96 or 97. There was also one on display for a bit at the aviation museum in Mobile, Al at battlefield park, where the USS Alabama is docked as a museum.
I saw these flying from Kadena Air Base when I was stationed on Okinawa a million years ago. Cool story, too. I would've made the ATC guy repeat his speed.
Just checked the conversion and 2000 knots is 2301.559 mph or 3704 kph. I've been a fan of the SR-71 since I was a kid. I got my draft card in 1975. So that's a long time. Beautiful bird, simply amazing in its capabilities, and just damned sexy. LOVE this story. I have to go back and listen to it fairly often. Yes, he is a great storyteller. I'm an old Army guy, but I think the SR-71, the A-10 Warthog, and that classic bird, the C-130, are just awesome and very capable aircraft.
Brian is not just talking to military recruits, he is a motivation speaker and photographer speaking mostly about his life, including recovering from severe burns when his jet crashed over Vietnam. His entire speech is about an hour long, and his speeches with his backseater is about 90 minutes long. Both had obstacles to overcome and both preach positive outlook on life.
You guys do have stealth. You bought the F-35C Lightning II from the U.S, which is currently deployed aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth along with a US Marine Corps F-35C Squadron.
There exists an hour long video of where he came from. The absolute hell he experienced as a pilot before setting foot in an SR71. I cannot remember the name of said video however searching his name on TH-cam should work. Pretty fascinating man
Brian schull has a 52 minute video about him being in Vietnam being shut down being badly burned almost retiring out of the Air Force and then working his way back into the Air Force and become an SR71 pilot fascinating video you gotta do a 2 part series on that because it's 52 minutes Video. You Won't Regret it!!!
Y'all could do a few posts on this guy COL Brian shul, he has a great story and talks about his career in the USAF and how he buzzed the tower in California and got in trouble by his Commanding officer because people were diving under desks and the whole building is shaking.He also has funny stories about the lenghts he went to legally photagraph this majestic top secret airplane.
My father got to see the sr71 on a regulat basis.....he was/is a marine and was stationed in japan during the 80s.......the locals called the sr 71 "habu" after the snake in okinawa......hes told me very little about it but did state that it was stored in a underground runway that would open up
If you want to hear a truly inspirational story check our Brian Shul's long speech, From Butterfly to Blackbird. It's the story of how he recovered from life threatening burns as a Vietnam fighter pilot to flying the SR-71. About an hour as I recall, but well worth it. The guy is smart and funny as hell. He also has published photos from and of the Blackbird. Amazing aircraft and and a remarkable man.
I had heard a corollary to this story where after the SR-71 called for a speed check a faint radio broadcast came through and Space Shuttle Discovery on approach to landing called in for an air speed check. Nothing moves faster than something falling out of orbit.
Thats part of an hour or so long talk he did. The video is on youtube. What that guy overcame in his career, crashing and getting badly burnt...coming back to be able to fly the SR71. You need to watch the whole thing. That guy is a serious inspiration
50's tech...nuts! Got to see one at Dayton Ohio at the United States Air Force Museum. As you can imagine, it was, the place place is incredible. To do it "Wright" 2 days is optimal, split the tour up so to be able to take time to do the interactive exhibits.
Yes, the UK has stealth aircraft. The Royal Navy and RAF are both operating the F-35 B, and the UK is one of the original development partners in the program.
I was talking with a guest SR-71 pilot at the Museum of Flight in Seattle a few years back. He said they had body guards in Vietnam because they knew so much classified information... turns out years and years later he found out his "body guard" was ordered to shoot him if he is being taken prisoner.
My dad was a scientist who worked on the SR-71. He also worked on the A-12 Oxcart. Genius Kelly Johnson designed it so it leaked fuel on the runway before takeoff so they'd have to fuel it just before takeoff. The aircraft's plates would heat up and expand to fill the gaps after it got up to speed. F-35 is stealth.
One of my favorite SR stories is about their replacement crew coming in to Kadena AFB so they meet up for have a Friday night drink go to bed, get up Saturday to fly back to California and land in California in time to have a Friday night drink in California landing before they left Kadena.
Here's something to think about, the SR71 'Blackbird' was designed in the early 1960's, at the time there was no computer design, it was all done with slide rules.
100 Knots = 115mph so 2K knots would be 2300mph or 3705 kilometers per hour. I attended the "Official" USAF retirement tour of the SR 71 at the Boeing Museum of Flight in Sea-Tac around 1987. Brian Shul was the presenter. He was injured so badly in a Shootdown over Vietnam they told him he'd never Fly again. Brian is the type of guy who just gets more motivated when you tell him he'll never be able to do something again. This next bit has been disputed but he did say, near the end of his presentation, that the SR 71 was actually capable of Mach 4.5. True Story. The creator of this record holding Aircraft was the Lead Aeronautical Engineer @ Lockheed Martin's "Skunkworks", Kelly Johnson. He created some of the most successful & unique A/C the U.S. Military & CIA ever operated. The "Connie" was a fav of mine. The Lockheed Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use.
Hey office blokes, you do have stealth. You have the F-35 now. And for the record I had the pleasure of a RAF pilot being on our team back in the days of the F-117.
Brian Shul is retired and has 2 books published with his own photographs of the SR-71. The plane has been retired since the mid 1990’s and can be seen in numerous museums, including one in England.
Because of the curvature and topography of the earth, air speed doesn't equate to ground speed 1:1. So when air traffic control gives the ground speed it's in the form of the equivalent air speed so that's why they use knots (air nautical miles) rather than miles to convey how much ground they are covering. It's close, but not exact. (In this case, they are travelling much faster than 1992 miles per hour.)
the fastest thing with a pilot is actually the X-15 at 4,520 miles an hour but it was also developed in the 60. It is probably fair to say the SR-71 is the fastest piloted jet though
My dad was an engineer/ design told me during a test flight of sr - 71 it took off from Nellis AFB out of Las Vegas. It went off radar almost immediately. Bakersfield California/ Edwards AFB. couldn't find it on radar neither could Northern California. It was so fast it already back in Vegas
There's actually kind of a part two to that and it's called SR-71 permission to buzz the tower... It's a pretty funny story as well
Please do this one next lol
th-cam.com/video/xTJYNq4GQAE/w-d-xo.html this is buzzing the tower
YES.
It's a segment from an hour speech he gives about his career from pilot to photographer
There's also one where the SR-71 requested a lane at 70k, Tower laughed and responded with 'if you can reach it, then its all yours', to which the blackbird responded 'descending to 70,000'.
In 1974, a SR-71 set a speed record flying from New York to London in 1 hour 54 minutes and 56 seconds, for an average speed of 1,806.96 mph. After about 10 days at the Farnborough Air Show that same aircraft flew from London to Los Angeles, a distance of 5,446.87 miles in just 3 hours, 47 minutes, 39 seconds.
Those included having to slow down to refuel! Crazy
That's crazy
If the readers will go to the Brian Shul video on TH-cam (LLESA Author Series / Sled Driver) at the 39:45-40:00 mark there is an overhead picture of that SR-71 on display at that show
2,000kts is roughly 2,300mph
Nice cruise huh?
Cool SR-71 fact… when the plane is sitting on the tarmac, it leaks fuel. Only when it reaches high speeds and the air friction heats the airframe, do the engines expand and seal off the leaks. The engineers factored this in over 60 years ago.
I read a story years ago where they interviewed an SR-71 pilot. They were talking about how the heat from the air friction heat treated the aircraft every time it flew. He also stated that to heat their meal packets on long missions they would just hold them against the window and let that heat warm them up.
I totally forgot about that fact, thanks for sharing! What an amazing aircraft. To think that it can cruise at almost 3x the height of commercial jets...
I’ve heard this story many times and it always makes me smile. 🤗
I've heard this story at least 20 times, and I'm never tired of it. I always have a smile on my face at the end of it. "the navy had been flamed and a new crew had been forged." It just does not get any better than that. On a nice sunny autumn afternoon.
It's nice that now that the SR-71 has been declassified these pilots can finally tell these kind of stories, even though most if not all actual missions are still classified
Yeah my dad worked on this plane but never told me until about 6 years ago. There’s a Blackbird that he saw get buried at the end of the runway at Beele after it’s brakes failed and it over ram the tarmac filing the landing gear and finishing on its belly in the grass. It was apparently cheaper and faster to just bury it than repair the whole under side of the plane. I can find every other airframe on record but that one.
Airspeed and altitude service ceiling has not been declassified
Yall think a drone replaced it? Or just a new gen
@@xzaticwave3000 odds are satellites and the occasional drone
Brian is a motivational speaker. His military career was outstanding but not always glamorous. He survived a shoot down in Vietnam and was not expected to live or even walk or talk ever again. But he found the strength to survive and continue his awesome career in the USAF. I'm glad to have watched his videos of him speaking. 🇺🇲
I met Brian a couple of times when He spoke at my Rotary Club in Vallejo, CA. He was a pleasure to talk to. Brian passed away on May 2023, RIP
SR-71s used to fly out of RAF Mildenhall in the UK when I was stationed there in the 1980s. You could feel the ground shake from a mile away when one took off.
I grew up in Sacramento. In the 80s when the plane was still in operations you could see it flying over all the time when it would land and take off from the AF base in the city. Super loud and as a kid really awesome to see all the time.
In the 80's we could see it flying out in the High dessert as well. The SR-71 is an absolutely gorgeous plane.
@Aniwayas Song Shout out to the 530
The SR-71 was based at Beale AFB: Marysville, CA.
2000 knots is over 2,300 miles per hour. Glad to hear you guys react to this. One of my favs LA Speed Check
4,000 missiles have been fired at the SR-71, none came close. As soon as they were alerted to a missile, they would just throttle up and out run it.
I vaguely remember Brian Shul telling a story about how one missile maybe over Korea or Vietnam came close... at least too close for comfort.
*Missile alert*
*Missile Alert*
beep! beep! beep!
*Pilots push throttle slightly forward*
@@kd5you1 Pretty sure that means "the missile was within 300 miles of us."
@@kirixen lol
Lol....
Maverick in a Tomcat: I feel the need for SPEED!
Major Shul: No you don't.
I've listened to that story multiple times... it never gets old.
He is a great story teller- with real stories to tell.
I could listen to him read the phone book.
This is one of those ones that just doesn't get old no matter how many times you hear it.
What's absolutely crazy is the first SR71 project was called "Archangel" and began in the second quarter of 1958, first flew in 1964 and has exceeded mach 3.24 or 2486 miles per hour! As a comparison, the Gatling cannon on an A10 fires the bullets that spit out at a mere 2266Mph!
Once, my daughter and I had gone on one of our many weekend road trips, this one to Death Valley. We were coming home at night via Trona and Pinnacles. We had the radio on and we’re driving about 70mph. Didn’t notice at first, but a jet had pulled up what seemed right next to us. I’m sure it made noise but we didn’t hear it. How it was flying so slowly I do not know, unless it had vector control. We couldn’t really see the plane, only the lit cockpit. The pilot was just looking at us, probably at my teenage daughter, and not long after we noticed him, the jet just accelerated and disappeared. We never noticed any noise. That’s near China Lake, a notorious testing area. I’m pretty sure this pilot was out doing a night joyride, getting in his dark hours. 15 years later, we still talk about those 15-20 seconds.
Brian Shul has a bunch of content on TH-cam. He was shot down over Vietnam and was horribly injured. He recovered and beat the odds by becoming a Blackbird pilot. Amazing man.
Ain't it the truth. I believe it was Shul that did the target verification over Libya after we took a shot at Col Gaddafi. After being lit up by every SAM site in the area and getting the pictures they needed, he maxed out the Blackbird in De-assing the area. "Said he saw Mach numbers he'd NEVER seen before." Never said what those Mach numbers were...
@@marchendrickson2382 ..."and the jet did it effortlessly."
@@seanwilson5516 Exactly. It just took the pilot's direction and went. The pilot just had to be careful not to let the temps get too high on the engines and such, but yeah, effortless power
He is such a good storyteller. :)
2,000 Knots = 3,704 Kilometers Per Hour for our friends outside of The United States.
o_o'
Knots is a universal air and naval speed measurement
@@cgmason7568 That no one I have ever met or seen online born after 1980 seems to have any idea about.
@@jdm1066 do any of them work in aviation or the marine field?
Came here to give the same conversation lol
This was amazing. The way pilots talk is relaxing and calming.
As far as I know, the British military did order 50 or so F-35Bs so y'alls carriers will actually have stealth strike fighters (also replacing harriers and such). But I think the most well known domestic development is paced for 2040-50 to replace the typhoons.
That talk was to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Ca. It is well worth listening to him give a 60 min or so talk to the engineers there. A true hero! RIP Brian!
Check out some of the SR-71 pilot videos, where they talk about their non-recon roles. They were apparently used one night in Vietnam to signal prisoners in Hanoi to escape by their sonic boom. Also they were apparently used by some US presidents to give a political signal with the sonic booms letting a country's leaders know that "HEY, we're watching you". Great stuff
This is a clip from a great video, " From Butterflies to Blackbirds" Brian Shul speaking at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories. It is too long ( just over an hour ) to do a reaction, but anyone that has not seen it needs to watch it. He does a really great job keeping it interesting and amusing. Even my wife, who is not into aviation ( even though I was an aviation mechanic in the Marines for 21 years ) loved the whole thing.
I remember him telling this story at my leadership camp in the summer in high school. You guys should really check out his life story. It’s amazing
I agree with those who've heard this before and are commenting it's fun to hear it again at times. I worked the SR while in England and yes, it's every bit as cool as you could imagine.
Many years ago I worked at NASA Dryden which is now NASA Armstrong, we had an SR 71 (dual seater/family model) on site. I knew a few of the pilots and the flight suits looked more like spacesuits. That is my favorite airplane. The rumble you feel in your chest when it’s doing a flyby is incredible.
I lived across the street from a former Viet Nam-era SR-71 pilot. I didn’t know him well, but I loved his stories!
I worked with Captain Brian Shul at Beale AFB, CA. All of the SR-71 crewmembers were pretty cool. Beginning with the pre-flight physical, it was all business and a professional relationship. After years at Beale AFB, Kadina AFB and RAF Mildenhall, the SR-71 never became "routine." Both the aircraft crewmembers and groundcrew knew that they were making a difference.
Brian is quick to point out that Walter is the guy on the left. He also states that Walter was the only African American engineer pilot to fly the sr-71.
Here's the crazy thing about the SR71. Even though it has the official speed record for an airplane, that's not even remotely how fast it can go. Remember, most of everything surrounding the SR71 is still classified. And the last thing they'd want anyone to know is how fast it can really go.
Unlike most aircraft, available engine power isn't what limits its top speed at all, it's engine overheating. These problems probably start to crop up after the official top speed is exceeded, but with a careful eye on the gauges and relatively brief acceleration beyond official specs, who knows what they're capable of?
Morrigi192 I always thought it was approaching or greater than 3k mph. I recall the stories back in the 80’s. But who knows which rumors are true
@@Morrigi192 not so much engine overheating but the air friction on the surface of the aircraft is what limits its speed potential simply going to fast in atmosphere can cause the aircraft to burn up and disintegrate, until we manufacture or find new materials there will always be a limit for craft like the blackbird
I am sure the only ones that don't are us, you can bet the Russian's and the Chinese militaries know.
Lots of aircraft can go faster than their "record" speed. A LOT faster.... that is... if the structural integrity of the aircraft holds up. The SR-71 could technically probably go above 3k knots.... would the plane stay in one piece? That's a different story and not even the most grizzled pilot would want to tempt that fate.
I saw a SR-71 while stationed at Barksdale AFB LA. It is an awesome looking aircraft. Working on the flight line allowed me a very up close look.
Built with slide rule... fucking amazing.. Thank you Kelly Johnson
Such a great story and he tells it perfectly
I’ve heard this numerous times, and it never get old.
While pulling C-130 rotation with Bravo Squadron at RAF Mildenhall we were able to watch the SR's takeoff and land a lot and it was amazing..
Having a rough morning and this video made my day.thanks guys
Great story. I live in Fresno, CA. Several times during the day we hear the jet fighters from the Lemoore base go overhead so his story made me chuckle because i never once thought that maybe those pilots are just trying to impress us civilians on the ground.
Designed by Kelly Johnson, the greatest aerospace designer to ever live.
A God amongst men
Saw the Blackbird at UK air shows many times in the '80s. It was and always will be the greatest. Nothing like it before or since. Brian Shul was at RAF Mildenhall when the SR71 was based there. This film is from a talk he gave about his career and how he nearly died following being shot down, not in a Blackbird. Find the whole talk and listen to an amazing story. He says a rifle bullet exits the muzzle at 3100 feet per second. The Blackbird could accelerate at 3200 feet per second...in a climb. It's one of the best aviation stories you'll ever hear. Enjoy! If you want to see one close up, there's one in the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. And you can reach up and touch it, something you could never do when it was in service.
When you consider that this plane was designed and built in mid 60's makes it even more incredible. Essentially a flying fuel tank. I consider it to be the greatest plane ever built. Bravo Skunkworks.
This story never gets old.
There's an SR-71 in a museum close to me in Virginia. There's so much cool stuff there - from early flight to spaceships. But nothing is nearly as stunning as the Blackbird. It's the prettiest and sleekest vehicle I've ever seen
I remember being stationed at Camp Hanson on Okinawa. The Habu ( the SR-71 based at Kadena AFB flew over the camp a few times - always so quiet as it passed overhead. Like 10 seconds later, ROARRRR!, as the engine noise caught up. . . Always a sight!
I used to be stationed at that base the SR-71 came from!
We live in Palmdale, CA, about 5 miles from the FAA L.A. Center, and near USAF Plant 42 where the SR71 was built at Lockheed Skunk Works. I saw a Northrop Grumman U2 spy plane fly around at very low altitude a few weeks ago. It was pretty awesome.
Ive had the pleasure of seeing to sr71's. One was on display at the NASA space camp in huntsville alabama circa 96 or 97. There was also one on display for a bit at the aviation museum in Mobile, Al at battlefield park, where the USS Alabama is docked as a museum.
Oh shit i asked for this a while ago i didnt think you guys would actually do it you guys are the best
I met Brian at the Air Force's 50th anniversary weekend and he signed his book "Sled Driver" for me. He was a friendly and inspirational guy.
Brian Shul is an American hero. Awesome career flying the SR-71 and many others.
His entire story is amazing. He tours and tells it.
One of my Favourite SR-71 stories.
I saw these flying from Kadena Air Base when I was stationed on Okinawa a million years ago. Cool story, too. I would've made the ATC guy repeat his speed.
Like holding a Royal Flush in Poker. Never get tired of hearing that story
Just checked the conversion and 2000 knots is 2301.559 mph or 3704 kph. I've been a fan of the SR-71 since I was a kid. I got my draft card in 1975. So that's a long time. Beautiful bird, simply amazing in its capabilities, and just damned sexy. LOVE this story. I have to go back and listen to it fairly often. Yes, he is a great storyteller. I'm an old Army guy, but I think the SR-71, the A-10 Warthog, and that classic bird, the C-130, are just awesome and very capable aircraft.
Blackbirds were the coolest planes ever built. It just doesn't get any more badass.
My father was crew chief on that beautiful bird. My husband and I built a 8 foot model of it for his front yard.
That Clip came from (Author Brian Shul on piloting the SR-71) he is retired and is actually doing a seminar to to a group for his book I believe.
This made my day😄 Thanks guys.
Brian is not just talking to military recruits, he is a motivation speaker and photographer speaking mostly about his life, including recovering from severe burns when his jet crashed over Vietnam.
His entire speech is about an hour long, and his speeches with his backseater is about 90 minutes long. Both had obstacles to overcome and both preach positive outlook on life.
You guys do have stealth. You bought the F-35C Lightning II from the U.S, which is currently deployed aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth along with a US Marine Corps F-35C Squadron.
Yeah the F35 is more of a stealth fighter like the F22. It looks basically like an average jet, not the crazy look like a B2 Spirit or so
God knows how many times I have heard this, but i had a good laugh... all the time...
There exists an hour long video of where he came from. The absolute hell he experienced as a pilot before setting foot in an SR71. I cannot remember the name of said video however searching his name on TH-cam should work. Pretty fascinating man
Brian schull has a 52 minute video about him being in Vietnam being shut down being badly burned almost retiring out of the Air Force and then working his way back into the Air Force and become an SR71 pilot fascinating video you gotta do a 2 part series on that because it's 52 minutes Video. You Won't Regret it!!!
Y'all could do a few posts on this guy COL Brian shul, he has a great story and talks about his career in the USAF and how he buzzed the tower in California and got in trouble by his Commanding officer because people were diving under desks and the whole building is shaking.He also has funny stories about the lenghts he went to legally photagraph this majestic top secret airplane.
Guys, for a bit of perspective, that journey they do in 2 hours and 21 minutes is almost 4500 miles if you were to drive it
RIP Brian Shul, may 2023, he was extraordinary.
I wonder how hard it was not to laugh, hearing that go down over the radio?? 😂😂
Brian shul is the pilot speaking and his story is absolutely unbelievable!! highly suggest looking up his talks
My father got to see the sr71 on a regulat basis.....he was/is a marine and was stationed in japan during the 80s.......the locals called the sr 71 "habu" after the snake in okinawa......hes told me very little about it but did state that it was stored in a underground runway that would open up
Did anyone else notice that the ATC footage is from Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
If you want to hear a truly inspirational story check our Brian Shul's long speech, From Butterfly to Blackbird. It's the story of how he recovered from life threatening burns as a Vietnam fighter pilot to flying the SR-71. About an hour as I recall, but well worth it. The guy is smart and funny as hell. He also has published photos from and of the Blackbird. Amazing aircraft and and a remarkable man.
I had heard a corollary to this story where after the SR-71 called for a speed check a faint radio broadcast came through and Space Shuttle Discovery on approach to landing called in for an air speed check. Nothing moves faster than something falling out of orbit.
SR-71 Blackbird...The official modified aircraft of *The Uncanny X-Men* (designed to seat seven, yet able to endure 14 mutants).
This aircraft first flew almost 60 years ago. Can you imagine what they have now? Tic Tac anyone?
That's my BLACKBIRD....I love that plane❤️
Blue Skies and Bright Stars to Brian Shul... he was a great storyteller and an even better shutterbug...
There is an SR71 in England on display at Imperial War Museum Duxford
Thats part of an hour or so long talk he did. The video is on youtube. What that guy overcame in his career, crashing and getting badly burnt...coming back to be able to fly the SR71. You need to watch the whole thing. That guy is a serious inspiration
50's tech...nuts!
Got to see one at Dayton Ohio at the United States Air Force Museum.
As you can imagine, it was, the place place is incredible.
To do it "Wright" 2 days is optimal, split the tour up so to be able to take time to do the interactive exhibits.
Loved this one, lads. One of my favorites. If you haven't already, you need to react to Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First."
Yes, the UK has stealth aircraft. The Royal Navy and RAF are both operating the F-35 B, and the UK is one of the original development partners in the program.
I was talking with a guest SR-71 pilot at the Museum of Flight in Seattle a few years back. He said they had body guards in Vietnam because they knew so much classified information... turns out years and years later he found out his "body guard" was ordered to shoot him if he is being taken prisoner.
Mike, Dave, Daz .....I believe that 2000 knots is equivalent to 2301 M.P.H. Awesome!!
My dad was a scientist who worked on the SR-71. He also worked on the A-12 Oxcart. Genius Kelly Johnson designed it so it leaked fuel on the runway before takeoff so they'd have to fuel it just before takeoff. The aircraft's plates would heat up and expand to fill the gaps after it got up to speed. F-35 is stealth.
One of my favorite SR stories is about their replacement crew coming in to Kadena AFB so they meet up for have a Friday night drink go to bed, get up Saturday to fly back to California and land in California in time to have a Friday night drink in California landing before they left Kadena.
You guys can actually see an SR-71 at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. I think it’s the only SR-71 on display outside the US.
Here's something to think about, the SR71 'Blackbird' was designed in the early 1960's, at the time there was no computer design, it was all done with slide rules.
100 Knots = 115mph so 2K knots would be 2300mph or 3705 kilometers per hour.
I attended the "Official" USAF retirement tour of the SR 71 at the Boeing Museum of Flight in Sea-Tac around 1987. Brian Shul was the presenter. He was injured so badly in a Shootdown over Vietnam they told him he'd never Fly again. Brian is the type of guy who just gets more motivated when you tell him he'll never be able to do something again.
This next bit has been disputed but he did say, near the end of his presentation, that the SR 71 was actually capable of Mach 4.5. True Story.
The creator of this record holding Aircraft was the Lead Aeronautical Engineer @ Lockheed Martin's "Skunkworks", Kelly Johnson. He created some of the most successful & unique A/C the U.S. Military & CIA ever operated. The "Connie" was a fav of mine. The Lockheed Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use.
Always fun to listen to
Hey office blokes, you do have stealth. You have the F-35 now. And for the record I had the pleasure of a RAF pilot being on our team back in the days of the F-117.
Beal AFB, Idaho, Montana, Denver, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and Seattle in TWO HOURS AND TWENTY-ONE MINUTES. For fuck's holy sake that is faaaaaaaast.
I once saw Cyclops and a crew of 5 other personnel flying that thing.
Brian Shul is retired and has 2 books published with his own photographs of the SR-71. The plane has been retired since the mid 1990’s and can be seen in numerous museums, including one in England.
You should do the Top Gear episode where Jeremy Clarkson does a bit explaining the SR-71
James May flew in one in a special called James May goes to space. Really cool special.
@@brettpenning He flew in a U-2.
Because of the curvature and topography of the earth, air speed doesn't equate to ground speed 1:1. So when air traffic control gives the ground speed it's in the form of the equivalent air speed so that's why they use knots (air nautical miles) rather than miles to convey how much ground they are covering. It's close, but not exact. (In this case, they are travelling much faster than 1992 miles per hour.)
SR-71 Blackbird is very cool and looks very cool
Brian Shull is a motivational speaker now.
It’s amazing that this plane was designed and built in the EARLY 60’s and it is STILL the fastest thing with a pilot
the fastest thing with a pilot is actually the X-15 at 4,520 miles an hour but it was also developed in the 60. It is probably fair to say the SR-71 is the fastest piloted jet though
My dad was an engineer/ design told me during a test flight of sr - 71 it took off from Nellis AFB out of Las Vegas. It went off radar almost immediately. Bakersfield California/ Edwards AFB. couldn't find it on radar neither could Northern California. It was so fast it already back in Vegas
I think it’s funny that he quotes the old bugs bunny classic quote about making a left turn at Albuquerque