I realized later (at 3:00 in the morning) that I should have just written my own article on it. Instead, a very long tl;dr. Glad you enjoyed, though! The HABU/Sled/Blackbird is, hands-down, my favorite military aircraft!
Tachi-Tekmo
tachi-tekmo
In the above photograph, we clearly see the Unit Identification code of SR-71A 64-17963* painted in “blood red,” with the unique tail stripe of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Reconnaisance Wing, Beal AFB, California. The 1 RS is the oldest USAF flying unit, tracing an unbroken lineage to the 1st Aero Squadron,…
“M4 Goes Here.”
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Well, I conned the DJ at my 8th-grade dance to play Catherine Wheel. Props to him, he let the whole song play through (“Little Muscle”).
Today’s my Monday, so I really needed that!
A few dozen HARMs will take care of those nasty Russkies!
This is not gonna end well ...
“Plutonium! You mean, this thing is nuclear?!”
1961 Boeing B-52H Stratofortress, S/N 61-0035 (C/N 464462). On active service with USAF 23rd “Bomber Barons” Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Wing, Minot AFB, N.D. Forward deployed at Andersen AFB, Guam. Tail code “MT” (MinoT). Distinctive Unit Identifier: a red stripe with gold piping, inscribed “Barons” thereon.
“Red Leader, this is Gold Leader. We’re starting for the target shaft, now.”
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The Mighty Pratt & Whitney J-58. Brutish beauty.
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Yep, the infamous “howler” AG-330 start cart! Vroom, vroom!
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The iconic 1980 movie, The Final Countdown, featured just such an emergency arrest:
I’ve shared one of my favorite stories from Maj. Brian Shul (USAF, Ret.), who flew the “Sled” and shared his experiences in the now out-of-print (and insanely expensive) autobiography, Sled Driver:
As Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver recounted to Roadrunners Internationale, regarding his tale of surviving the break-up of Test Article 61-7952 on January 25, 1966, the SR-71 “[...] had a turning radius of about 100 mi. at that speed and altitude.” That would be Mach 3.18 (2,439 mph, or roughly 35 miles per minute)…
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It’s like someone put the Gummy Bear Song in the middle of Casablanca. I don’t get it.
Ah, that makes sense! Thanks for the info!
I had a feeling it was some sort of “plug in here” marker. Thanks for the info, and for your service!
“Big ba-dah boom!”