SR-71--the R/C turbine version
Please, don't ever have kids.
😉
I remember aiming a 690nm laser at one from about 15 feet range.
This laser would measure to about 1200' to nearly any surface.
To the laser, it was absolutely not there, until I turned the aiming point to a tiny "no step" stencil over the black paint.
I couldn't get a return from a metal building which is USFS pickle-green. Some things just don't reflect very well.
If any of you are familiar with the best show on the planet, "Top Gear" from BBC (the American version of TG is a train wreck BTW) you may have seen Jeremy Mays take a guest ride on the U2. It is quite emotional to watch the jaw-dropping, absolute pinnacle of aviation.
Jeremy Mays U2 Ride
SR-71 and Ashtech Z-12 receivers (1995)
In 1995 I had the pleasure of working with Glenn Bever and Edward Haering (we eventually came to call him "Crazy Ed") of NASA Dryden Research Center, in support of technical studies of sonic boom blast patterns generated by the SR-71 on sorties flown from Edwards AFB to the Canadian border and back to Edwards AFB. For the SR-71, that outbound/inbound trajectory equated to less than 60 minutes of actual flight time.
Here's a technical paper on the subject NASA Sonic boom experiments with SR71
My part in this was to install Ashtech Z-12 receivers (still one of the greatest L1/L2 GPS receivers ever made) in the SR-71 and F16 aircraft which were used in the experiments, train the NASA Dryden personnel in their care and feeding, and also in the use of Dr Xinhua Qin's PNAV post-processing software to obtain truth trajectories for both aircraft.
I was at Edwards AFB for most of their test flights. Sat in the Mission Control Room which was also used for emergency space shuttle landings. Got to stand beneath the wing of the Blackbird in the hangar. Was cautioned: DO NOT touch the airplane!!! Even a simple fingerprint (grease) on the titanium skin would cause a hotspot in flight that might burn through. They washed it down carefully before every flight. Saw it taxi out for take-off, literally raining JP7 from the fuel tanks.
It would seem that the airspeeds and altitudes used for this testing and reported in this paper are probably understated. These Z12 receivers had the COCOM limits disabled. I'm fairly sure the tests were only constrained by how fast the F16 could go in keeping up with the SR71 and probing the blast patterns.
It was fascinating to watch the takeoffs and landings. Good memories.
BC
SR-71--the R/C turbine version
"Hold my beer and watch this!"
Another SR-71 on display at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. I understand they applied for one of the space shuttles but didn't get it. They do have the Spruce Goose though.
Tomahawk/Cruise missle. On time delivery to your door.
Dave
For years I thought the 150 was a tail dragger and the 152 was a trike. Like the difference between a 170 and a 172. Apparently I was not correct, though there is a tail dragger 150.
Dave
The tailwheel version of the C150 is a third party modification. They have their engine replaced with a 150 HP engine, thus the designation C150/150.
The C150 had a 100 hp engine. Due to the weight distribution it spins beautifully either way. A spin is a stall with yaw resulting in a nose down rotating motion like a descending maple leaf.
The C152 had a 110 hp engine and slightly longer nose. Therefore it spins best to the left and requires a pretty aggressive stall plus aggressive addition of left rudder at the moment of stall break to get it to drop into the spin cleanly. Slow it down to near stall with an aggressive application of full up elevator followed a half second later with a brisk motion on the left rudder pedal to the bottom of its travel.
