Blackbird SR-71 Flight Manual (2010)

A comment[0] by ehnus[1] from last time this was submitted[2] said:<p>&gt; <i>My favorite section is emergency procedures which contains gems like this:</i><p>&gt; <i>&quot;If both the A and B hydraulic systems fail as indicated by illumination of the A HYD and B HYD warning lights and confirmed by loss of A and B hydraulic pressure and deteriorating control effectiveness:</i><p>&gt; <i>1. Eject&quot;</i><p>========<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=1338777" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=1338777</a><p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;user?id=ehnus" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;user?id=ehnus</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=1338504" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=1338504</a>

No Blackbird post is complete without a link to the Speed Check story:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thesr71blackbird.com&#x2F;Aircraft&#x2F;Stories&#x2F;speed-check" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thesr71blackbird.com&#x2F;Aircraft&#x2F;Stories&#x2F;speed-chec...</a><p><i>It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable sprint across the southwest, the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of being a crew.</i>

I once got around two thirds through a certificate for flying ultralight planes. It sort of stopped making sense to me when we were practicing emergency landings over forest and I was told to aim for trees with thinner trunks.<p>This is sitting inside a cramped metal can with the engine in your lap and propeller in your face. There are so many ways to die in that situation that focusing on the diameter of tree trunks was just too much for me.

Skunkworks [1] is a really great book by the designer of the propulsion system (and subsequently the first stealth airplane). I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know how many drill bits you burn through trying to build a titanium airplane.<p>1- <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thriftbooks.com&#x2F;w&#x2F;skunk-works_ben-r-rich_leo-janos&#x2F;250049&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thriftbooks.com&#x2F;w&#x2F;skunk-works_ben-r-rich_leo-jan...</a>

The maintenance manual is a fun read too. A lot of the repair procedures end with PTF.<p>That means “Pound to Fit” (with a hammer or mallet). The panels flexed so much that they would come back a different shape than they were manufactured and had to be hammered into place.

There&#x27;s a video walking you through the SR-71&#x27;s cockpit which I found really interesting:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=tj9UwKQKE3A" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=tj9UwKQKE3A</a>

Thread needs a link to this great story about the sr71&#x27;s slowest speed : <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com&#x2F;the-sr-71-blackbirds-most-spectacular-flyover-was-also-1719654907" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com&#x2F;the-sr-71-blackbirds-most-...</a>

For some not so heavy reading for SR-71 enthusiasts, I highly recommend Brian Shul&#x27;s book &quot;Sled Driver&quot;. They are out of print now I believe, and I&#x27;ve seen them on eBay for about $3000 at one stage, but I think they are more generally available at reasonable prices now second hand. I was lucky enough to be given a copy as a gift by a friend a couple of decades ago.<p>Beautiful book with amazing pictures and stories by a long time SR-71 pilot. A lot of the &#x27;urban legend&#x27; stories going around about the Blackbird come from that book.<p>&quot;Skunk Works&quot;, as mentioned by other posters here is also a good read.

Chart of speed vs altitude:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sr-71.org&#x2F;blackbird&#x2F;manual&#x2F;5&#x2F;5-9.php" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sr-71.org&#x2F;blackbird&#x2F;manual&#x2F;5&#x2F;5-9.php</a>

I once took a filmmaking class from Robert Mehnert who directed a documentary about the SR-71 at a time when its production was at risk of being discontinued. At first only a few hundred people in Congress saw it, but based on the size of the order for new planes, he called the highest-grossing opening weekend of all time. (I haven&#x27;t been able to find the film online anywhere.)

I liked<p><i></i><i>&quot;Maximum altitude is 85,000 feet. Do not fly over 85,000 feet unless you have prior authorization&quot;</i><i></i><p><i></i><i>&quot;No turns are allowed over 70,000 feet. Descend 2,000 feet prior to making any turns is recommended&quot;</i><i></i>

Posting this here hoping that someone with more knowledge can enlighten me about this. After going down a bit of the rabbit hole, I see that the SR-71&#x27;s first flight was in 1964. It has held the record for fastest air-breathing manned aircraft[0] since 1976. What is the reason that given all of the technological advances that record hasn&#x27;t been broken?<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Flight_airspeed_record" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Flight_airspeed_record</a>

I remember being reported that SR-71 missile evasion procedure was simply to &quot;accelerate and outpace&quot;. But I cannot find it in the manual :( !

This is a remarkably slow website for such a fast plane.

Is content of this site a subject of ITAR restrictions?

I recently saw the one exhibited in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, close to IAD airport: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;airandspace.si.edu&#x2F;udvar-hazy-center" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;airandspace.si.edu&#x2F;udvar-hazy-center</a><p>It got there from LA, and on it&#x27;s way set 4 speed records: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;airandspace.si.edu&#x2F;udvar-hazy-center" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;airandspace.si.edu&#x2F;udvar-hazy-center</a>

Just to throw my one cent in on these matters.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.avialogs.com&#x2F;index.php&#x2F;en&#x2F;aircraft&#x2F;usa&#x2F;northamericanaviation&#x2F;xb-70&#x2F;to-1b-70xa-1-interim-flight-manual-xb-70a.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.avialogs.com&#x2F;index.php&#x2F;en&#x2F;aircraft&#x2F;usa&#x2F;northameri...</a>

Is there a single page PDF?

In 1990&#x2F;91 I was stationed at a base that once was a home for the SR-71. By the time I got there, though, they&#x27;d been retired.<p>Some of the spoken-word mythology that was shared with me by some of the AF elders:<p>* Each flight cost about $1M<p>* The SR-71 was so loud and created such massive sound waves, the crew chiefs had to be really far away from the ship when talking to the pilots inside so that their internal organs wouldn&#x27;t be damaged...<p>* The engine cowling of the Blackbird would get so hot that the metal would be slightly transparent, where you could see moving parts _inside_ the engine.<p>* All of the pilots wore astronaut suits.<p>Worth noting all the above could be entirely false. But it made a big impression on me.

It is safe to travel to Georgia after having read and downloaded this?

Site&#x27;s crashed apparently, does anyone have a mirror or a PDF?

This is one of the reasons I love Hacker News

What&#x27;s the procedure for runaway trim?

This thread is lacking the Blackbird ground speed check. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;oppositelock.kinja.com&#x2F;favorite-sr-71-story-1079127041?_gl=1*12qhykb*_ga*YW1wLUR6RjBSdkdUWVJicnBDOFo3UHdrQkx6bUxnclZfX3plYUdNaVZXS0MwTE5HeVRFSm9ISlItX0V3ZV9DbmthOU4" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;oppositelock.kinja.com&#x2F;favorite-sr-71-story-10791270...</a>.