Posted: 7/29/2006 7:50:02 AM EDT
| I was watching a history channel program this morning on the SR-71 Blackbird. I was wondering what its top speed was? All they would say is that it broke and still holds all the records for altitude and speed. And the pilot was talking about the flight into Libya and mentioned that he say Mach numbers that he couldn't believe or something to that effect. |
The flight manual has been de-classified ... it shows recommended cruise speeds, etc. www.keyos.org/avia/usa/sr-71/index.htm |
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The absolute limit is whatever the materials can withstand in terms of temperature and aerodynamic pressures. The engines work better at greater speeds. They COULD push the plane past mach 6 if something didn't burn up or fly off. They almost work like ramjets, and ramjets don't have an upper speed limit in any normal sense. I think it's certainly been flown at beyond mach 4. Six, maybe? Well, I'd like to think so, but I'm not sure that the windows or leading edges could take that speed. The faster you think it is, the more exciting it is to think about. |
That's what they want you to believe.
Number 64-17975 which is an A model is sitting about five miles away from here. There are SR-71's at these locations if you'd like to visit one. www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/sr-71.htm AFFTC Museum, Edwards AFB, CA Castle Air Museum, Merced, CA Beale AFB Museum, CA Operational (USAF), Det 2, 9th SW, Edwards AFB, CA x2 Blackbird Airpark, Palmdale, CA (Det 1 ASC) March Field Museum, March AFB, CA Operational, NASA Dryden FRC, Edwards AFB, CA San Diego Aerospace Museum Storage, Plant 42 (Skunk Works) Museum of Science/Industry, LA (Stored at Skunk Works) Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, NY Hill AFB Museum, Hill AFB, UT History & Traditions Museum, Lackland AFB, TX x2 USAF Museum, Dayton, OH National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C. SAC Museum, Offut AFB, NE Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center, Hutchinson, KS Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin AFB, FL Robbins AFB Museum, GA Pima Air Museum, Tucson, AZ (NASA YF-12C 937) Evergreen Aviation Museum, Oregon Museum of Flight, Seattle USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, Mobile, AL Minnesota ANG Museum, St Paul, MN Alabama Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville  A truely beautiful aircraft. |
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What I have read from a couple of the VERY in depth threads and articles posted here leads me to think that a very "current" Blackbird could possible do around Mach 4 maybe a shade or two over....but no more. It is limited by design and materials.....which are still pretty damned amazing. Aurora, assuming it exists, is probably based on a LOT learned from the SR-71 program and can most likely do Mach 7 or above. I think it is pretty safe to assume Aurora is real. |
It also shows maximum mach. It says "Mach 3.2 is the design Mach number. Mach 3.17 is the maximum scheduled cruise speed for normal operations. However, when authorized by the Commander, speeds of up to Mach 3.3 may be flown if the limit CIT of 427*C is not exceeded." Anybody who thinks that pilots were flying it above Mach 3.5 or so is delusional. The X-15, which was developed about the same time and also had a titanium airframe used 5 rocket motors to get to Mach 6. It also melted the leading edges and wouldn't have been able to sustain such a speed for more than a few seconds. It also had no air breathing engines which rely on air coming into the compressor at under 427*C to function. |
I would agree. Plus, the X-15 flew at over 300,000 ft. |
Thats what the co-pilot said happened over Libya. He said that he had to tell the pilot to let go of the throttle after they outrun the missle. That is when he said he saw mach numbers that amazed him. |
If the Blackbird was at 50,000 feet, going mach 2.5 and knew the second the missle launched, the '71 couldn't escape it? |
I'd say no way. The missile can accelerate to mach 5 in a couple of seconds, and terminal guidance on the newer generation is very good. The SR can't maneuver very well, so it would get shwacked. Here is some SA-10 info: www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/s-300pmu.htm 2km/sec, how fast is that? |
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They used a lot of tough Inconel on the X-15. Lots of failures here |
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A good family friend of mine that died last year was a wrench on the SR.. He told me some cool things.. Mach 4+ a little was reached often... Usuallly to outrun AA.. Many of the SR would return to base with a few holes in them here and there.. But they could never score a direct hit.. We are talking shooting a missile 50 miles in front of the SR to try to catch up up it!!!! If the pilot we to push the throttles full foward and leave them there, the aircract would tear itself apart rather quickly.. New York to London - 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds still current world record Los Angeles To Washington D.C. (World Record): Distance: 2,299.67 statute miles...Time: 1 hr 04 min 19.89 secs...Average Speed: 2,144.83 mph |
IIRC, that was SOP for a SAM warning on the Blackbird- floor it! That was the plane that made me want to be a pilot when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I'm nearly 6'6" now. 
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In a straight race, if the '71 was 10 miles ahead of the missle and the missle was going mach 5 while the '71 was going 3/4 of the speed of the missle, it would give the Blackbird 18 seconds before impact. How long can one of those missles sprint before running out of fuel? |
The range is in excess of 100km. That's for the now 30 year old SA-10. I'd hate to think what some of the newer variants are capable of. The Russians claim a ballistic missile shootdown capability for the s-300 and others. These missiles are huge, like 3,000+ pounds. They carry a hell of a lot of propellant. |
If the range is 100km, it would be close: 10 miles = 16,000km 2,000 mph = 240,000km/hr = 4,000km/sec x 18 seconds = 72,000km + 16,000km = 88,000km before intercept...if the '71 was only doing 2,000mph, which it most certainly would be doing more than that (more like 2,300mph). |
 10 miles is 16 kilometers |
I can't follow you, a km is 1000 meters, you seem to have added a k to all the meter calculations and it confuses me. 10 miles=16,000 Meters. Linear calculations don't work for this scenario, you need slant range, and since both the target and missile are moving, you need a hell of a lot of math to calculate it. It's easy to speculate that since the Russkies had known all about the SR-71 for 30 years BEFORE they developed the SA-10, they developed enough performance to routinely defeat it. The days of the U-2 and SR flying over hostile Soviet territory were largely over by the late 60s. It's all about standoff now. |
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I do know that a limiting factor for speed is the forward edges of the canards and wings getting too hot. Short bursts of speed over mach 3.5 have been reported. It's my guess they're flying at least one of these over the middle east in conjunction with the geo-synch satelites over the area. Blackbird FTW! |
Huh? 
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The SR-71 does not possess canards. If the current crop of Russian missles can defeat ICMBs, an airplane isn't much of a challenge. |
Dated a girl last year that worked for LM. She was on the team that built the Sea Shadow and was also involved with the DDX thing. Had security clearances, etc. Toured the Skunkworks. One of the smartest people I have ever met. But her common sense was a bit lacking sometimes. She would get me challenge coins from the projects she worked on. So jokingly I asked her to get me a coin for the Aurora project. So she sent an email to a few contacts on the company's public email server inquiring about getting a coin for me. She was called to the front office and promptly warned that there will be no acknowledgement or even any talk of black projects. They told her it was so sensitive that they would not even document the "counseling session" and she was told to return to work while they reviewed the chain of custody of the email. Nothing came of it and last I heard she is doing well with LM. Rest assured Aurora does exist and is probably operational on some level. We'll find out in about 20 years or so. or when they get a replacement. |
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The advantage of the SR 71 is not only that of speed... It is the combination of Speed, Altitude, and Stealth. Speed is something that eveyone thinks of, but it is a low profile, black design. The capabilities of altitude also provided some level of safety. Provided you look at the right area of the sky with your radar coverage, you still have to identify and target something that is moving very fast, at a very high altitude that is very much hard to see. It has a very small radar cross section. How long is it within your range to fire? Given the altitude and capabilities of the aircraft sensor array and cameras, it wasnt always necessary to fly OVER the area of interest. If it was necessary, then it generally meant the shortest track possible over that area. If its not over your country do you risk taking a shot at it? The aircraft no doubt could not initiate quick maneuvers at high speed without G forces and heating , although entirely plausible at lower mach numbers. Other maneuvers available would include a high speed ascent or descent. What other defensive capabilities might it have? Chaff, Flares, Jamming? |
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To put it in analogous terms, think of a submarine trying to get the Queen Elizabeth or Queen Mary. In a stern chase never gonna happen but if it's in front and the QE or QM steams into it, it's toast. Same thing with a Blackbird, if the missile launcher was downrange of the intended point of interest and the bgs had enough warning they could probably get enough birds up there with the SR flying toward them Now could the Soviets or any of their client states ever put that scenario together, not that we know of. Remember this bird is primarily late 50's technology and really can't maneuver at speed. Momentum is a wonderful thing but can be a problem, maneuvering an SR-71, turning a supertanker, stopping a freight train, etc. |
I saw that interview on the History channel .... "We were reaching mach numbers never seen before" .... gives me chill bumps to think about it. I can only guess what these "mach numbers" were; 4? 4.5? The missle was climbing up to meet them at a certain intercept point, they accellerated to such a high speed that by the time the missle got there, it was late ... I would imagine that the SR71's maximum speed is ONLY limited by air friction. |
