clark17357 Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Oorah! Well, then I guess it depends on how you define "defensive". After all, we all fall under the Department of Defense. I don't remember the SR-71 defending a lot of terrain, equipment or people either but it did take some really cool pictures for intelligence purposes. :happy feet: What I was referencing by "defensive" was defensive like Force Recon is defensive, i.e., gather information about the enemy, use it to neutralize a threat or to plan the tactics that will neutralize the threat (an example would be putting in place the Marine with a rifle). Not arguing with you. My Dad was a Marine in WWII and described the South Pacific, where he served, as a place where the Marines took land and then handed it over to others to maintain. His personal Marine experience was as an offensive player. That is what I heard as I grew up. My two cents only. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejrail Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Back in the day, my best friend since 2nd grade, was supposedly working on alternative energy solutions for the Dept. of Energy as a PhD. He couldn't tell me what he worked on since it was really the fuel for the non-existant SR-71. He did tell me years later that thef uel was like anti-freeze and coolant as the wings glowed red hot from the fictionand had to withsatnd the frigig temps at 85,000 fet at the same time. Quite a feat. The Hill AFB museum in Roy, UT, outside of Ogden, has a 2 seater on display inside their hanger. Impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Doctor Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 In regards to the title of this post, I disagree. The Marine and his rifle has always been the best weapon the US has had and a lot more bang for the buck too. :happy feet: And to put an even finer point on it, I would say the Marine Sniper and his rifle! Hard to argue with a ratio of 1.3 bullets per kill. :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SicShelby Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 The fuel was definitely an interesting mix. The fuselage also leaked the JP-7 when it was on the ground because it was set up loosely (to enable it to expand when it was up in the air). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SicShelby Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 And to put an even finer point on it, I would say the Marine Sniper and his rifle! Hard to argue with a ratio of 1.3 bullets per kill. :happy feet: +1 Wooot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SicShelby Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Attacting a bunch of Bungi Cords to the Front of your Shelby and to the back of that Plane........................... All I can say is......HOLD ON because the Take Off will be AWESOME............ for the First few seconds anyway, until the Bungi Cords do there thing and sling shoot you past the Plane never to be seen again....................... The bad thing is, I can picture it in my Head actaully happening........................... I almost can too. Maybe evo will sponsor me and they'll put the first "GT500 in the air" ha-ha :happy feet: :happy feet: :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svtkeith Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 The SR-71 was fast....But did you ever see our Canadian Sopwith Camel on nitros...Now that was fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc scott Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Thanks for posting,in Hutchison KS at the Cosmosphere they have one in the lobby.....its to cool They constructed the building around it. Doc Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgt2343 Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 The fuel was definitely an interesting mix. The fuselage also leaked the JP-7 when it was on the ground because it was set up loosely (to enable it to expand when it was up in the air). SR71 could take a lot of fuel, depending on the speed, an 11 hour trip can take 9 refuelings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69dejavue Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 As the official game show host it is time for more trivia. Why were the secret areas of Lockheed called the Skunk works? Answer if you know but don't google or otherwise query. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUFDRAFT Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 As the official game show host it is time for more trivia. Why were the secret areas of Lockheed called the Skunk works? Answer if you know but don't google or otherwise query. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07-2937 Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I remember we borrowed 2 SR-71's from NASA during desert storm to look @ a few things real time. When we worked them planes @ mildenahall one time I asked a pilot what would happen if the russians beat any of the "untouchable" records and he said there is a reason we wear the mach3+ patch. then he chuckled and said I guess we would have to reset it again lol.. Badass bird the start cart for the engines direct drive is Buick wildcat 400's then ls7 motors those things were awesome themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svttim Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I love the SR, Great bird. I would argue this is the most powerfull defensive weapon! Of course, I am a bit biased http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc6iDrA8F2U...feature=related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlangvardt Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Huh, learn something new every day. I would have said the SR-27 was strictly recon. Why even experiment with an "offensive" type if they were so untouchable? There would be no need. The first plane in the Blackbird series was the A-12, it was a single seater flown by the CIA. Next was the SR-71 which was a two seater, developed and flown by the Air Force. The A-12 was retired when the SR-71 became operational and the Air Force took over the Recc. mission. The YF-12A was developed from the A12. It had four individual weapons bay in the belly and was to carry four improved versions of the AIM-4 Falcon missiles called the AIM-47. This missile would have been bigger than the AIM-4 and could have been armed with a Nuclear warhead. This missile could have been inferred or radar guided. No Aim-9 Sidewinders were to be carried. The YF-12 nose looked different than the SR-71, lacking the forward chines giving it the look of a regular radome. It also had a retractable ventral fin under the rear fuselage, retracting to the right I believe for landing. Three YF-12A prototypes were built. A fourth was built being converted from the second SR-71A and was designated YF-12C. They flew for many years with NASA as test aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svtkeith Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Didn't the X 15 fly at Mach 5. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlangvardt Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Didn't the X 15 fly at Mach 5. ? Yes, but the X-15 was rocket powered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Doctor Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 As the official game show host it is time for more trivia. Why were the secret areas of Lockheed called the Skunk works? Answer if you know but don't google or otherwise query. I seem to recall a story about them having to remove a family of skunks from the site, but I'm not positive about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07-2937 Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 If you talk about all out mach the shuttle has beat everything imagine that with some missles and bombs onboard.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SicShelby Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 The first plane in the Blackbird series was the A-12, it was a single seater flown by the CIA.Next was the SR-71 which was a two seater, developed and flown by the Air Force. The A-12 was retired when the SR-71 became operational and the Air Force took over the Recc. mission. The YF-12A was developed from the A12. It had four individual weapons bay in the belly and was to carry four improved versions of the AIM-4 Falcon missiles called the AIM-47. This missile would have been bigger than the AIM-4 and could have been armed with a Nuclear warhead. This missile could have been inferred or radar guided. No Aim-9 Sidewinders were to be carried. The YF-12 nose looked different than the SR-71, lacking the forward chines giving it the look of a regular radome. It also had a retractable ventral fin under the rear fuselage, retracting to the right I believe for landing. Three YF-12A prototypes were built. A fourth was built being converted from the second SR-71A and was designated YF-12C. They flew for many years with NASA as test aircraft. Looks like the combination never made is, along with many others... I'm amazed how some aircraft served, and still serve, for so many years - the F-14, F-15, F-16, F-18... There are quite a few. I think that our technology is getting kind of capped, however. Even though we were able to get the F-22 into the air, they're expensive. Talk about air superiority though. Still, the government is moving on to cheaper alternatives. Pitty some things just didn't make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69dejavue Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Skunk Works is a registered trademark of Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. The most top secret designs were built in a building near a plastic factory with a very vile odor. This was also advantageous ad few people came to this part of the site because of the smell. Kelly Johnson capitalized on this. He knew if he posted armed guards around the building it would only draw more curiosity. By not posting guards and just having the awful stench people just stayed away on their own. Skunk works is now a term for any super secret section working on projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipereatr Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Another Trivial Pursuit moment - when the U-2 flown by Francis Gary Powers over the USSR got shot down, President Eisenhower got on TV and announced the U.S. would never overfly the USSR with U-2's again. He didn't even have to cross his fingers because Gary Power's last flight was The Last Flight - U-2's were being replaced by the Blackbird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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