Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

Speaking of cool pilots and cool airplanes, it amazes me the SR71 is retired.

As military budgets shrank, the SR-71 gradually became too expensive to operate, and anti-aircraft missile improvements were making a chance of one getting shot down more likely anyway. (and we may or may not have a replacement flying in low orbit even today...no way of knowing for sure).

At least the retired planes are going to museums and not a boneyard/scrapyard. The closest one to me is at Castle Air Museum (Calif.) They have an amazing collection of old birds.

http://www.elite.net/castle-air/

Here's their Blackbird (OMIGOD! I ACTUALLY TOUCHED AN SR-71!!!)

http://www.elite.net/castle-air/sr71.htm

Finally, here's the locations or fate of the rest of the flock...

http://www.visi.com/~jweeks/sr71/

[flyingjibus]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

They have one that came through Portland,OR on flatbeds. When it was stopped at a truck stop I peeled a couple o chunks of the top secret paint off. I HAVE A PEICE OF ONE!

[tex-fan]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

According to;, http://www.aero-web.org/ here are the museums where SR-71s are located.


Examples of this type may be found at Museum City State
Air Force Flight Test Center Museum Edwards AFB California
Blackbird Airpark Palmdale California
Castle Air Museum Atwater California
Edward F. Beale Museum Beale AFB California
Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center Hutchinson Kansas
March Field Air Museum Riverside California
Museum of Aviation Warner Robins AFB Georgia
National Air and Space Museum Washington Dist of Col
Pima Air & Space Museum Tucson Arizona
Strategic Air Command Museum Ashland Nebraska
U.S. Space & Rocket Center Huntsville Alabama
USAF Armament Museum Eglin AFB Florida
USAF History and Traditions Museum San Antonio Texas
United States Air Force Museum Wright-Patterson Ohio
Virgina Aviation Museum Sandston Virginia
P.S. there are reportedly still 3 in operation.

[Unregistered]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

That's 16 of them, but the page I posted reveals the locations of 30 blackbirds, plus the ID of what plane is at what location. However, it doesn't list the fates of planes lost or destroyed during flight or landing./takeoff incidents. Wasn't there only 30 made in total?

[speeddemon]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

I guess TECHNICALLY it's not an SR-71 proper....but there is a CIA A-12 on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

[Gary Osif]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

Yeah, it has the ramjet drone on it. Only one in that configuration still in existence. Awesome bird.

Gary Osif

https://www.propsracing.com

[King]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

According to;, http://www.aero-web.org/ here are the museums where SR-71s are located.


Examples of this type may be found at Museum City State
Air Force Flight Test Center Museum Edwards AFB California
Blackbird Airpark Palmdale California
Castle Air Museum Atwater California
Edward F. Beale Museum Beale AFB California
Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center Hutchinson Kansas
March Field Air Museum Riverside California
Museum of Aviation Warner Robins AFB Georgia
National Air and Space Museum Washington Dist of Col
Pima Air & Space Museum Tucson Arizona
Strategic Air Command Museum Ashland Nebraska
U.S. Space & Rocket Center Huntsville Alabama
USAF Armament Museum Eglin AFB Florida
USAF History and Traditions Museum San Antonio Texas
United States Air Force Museum Wright-Patterson Ohio
Virgina Aviation Museum Sandston Virginia
P.S. there are reportedly still 3 in operation.

There were 32 SR-71s built:

29 A Models
2 B Models
1 C Model

12 were lost in accidents over the years. That leaves 20 intact airframes. 16 airframes in museums, means there are 4 left out somewhere. Hmmmmmmmm

[tex-fan]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

I think 3 are operational [being used by the USAF], that would be only 1 unaccounted for. But I could be wrong about this.

[King]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

Best I could find was this one:

968/ #2019
In storage at Palmdale, CA

Not sure how up to date that information is, but it was good in the 90s.

[speeddemon]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

Maybe Randy can give more first hand input.

Don't you mean some more first-hand B.S.? You guys know that Randy can't talk without using his hands to 'dogfight' the conversation, right? At least the conversations on this site count as 'half-time' in the ol' log book, right Ran?

"There I was......"

Sorry, bro. Maybe I'll let up a bit if you do that F/A-18 E/F transition we were talking about.

[Unregistered]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

30 aircraft are listed on that site I posted yesterday:

http://www.visi.com/~jweeks/sr71/ <--(click here)


2 are described as A-12's (60-6924 and 60-6925) and one (60-6935 ) is described as the only remaining YF-12A (experimental fighter version)

If you check their websites, you will find that 60-6930, 60-6930, 60-6935 , 60-6937 and 60-6938 are also A-12's.

The Seattle plane (60-6940) with the D-21 drone is called an M-21, but is technically an A-12 as well.

That leaves 21 SR-71 airframes on display.

(NOTE: Most of the planes have their own web pages, accessible by clicking on their numbers on the page).

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

Dear forum host, I accidentally posted this info as unregistered - please remove it or don't approve it for postin, if possible (I cleared my temp internet files this morning and didn't realize that I was not logged in earlier).

===============================================

12 were lost in accidents over the years. That leaves 20 intact airframes. 16 airframes in museums, means there are 4 left out somewhere.

30 planes are listed at the site I posted yesterday.

http://www.visi.com/~jweeks/sr71/

8 are A-12's and one is a YF-12A, so that leaves 21 SR-71 airframes (including 2-seaters). The A-12 with the D-21 drone is also referred to as an M-21.

Actually, 61-7981 is a hybrid SR-71C (aircraft built up from salvaged parts of YF-12A, 60-6934), so 20 SR-71's might be more accurate. That would leave all 20 surviving airframes accounted for.

Most have their own web page, which you can reach by clicking on their numbers on that page.


(NOTE: NASA had re-commissioned a few aircraft during the 90's, but I believe all have been re-retired by now).

[Unregistered]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

I know some folks were talking abou tthe T-38s earlier. I hear they are a sweet plane to fly. Are any of them in private hands? Isn't there a related made for export fighter tht was sold to a lot of other countries? I think called the F-5 or something? Maybe those could be got ahold of... Or maybe they never sold many, I dont know.....

[Ron101502]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

Another Reno highlight was hearing Brian Schull's presentation on the SR-71. I just found out the Ed Yielding, a friend of Brian's and the record holder to IAD when the last SR was retired, has bid S/O on the DC-10 at my airline, so maybe I will be lucky enough to fly with him, but after 13 yrs on the airline ( some as a DC-9 capt but now he's over 60) he's probably sick and tired of telling SR-71 stories.

I went to USAF pilot training with Steve Ishmael, who was one of 2 NASA SR-71 pilots (the other being Rogers Nelson- NOT Roger) who I met at OSH about 5-6 yrs ago. NASA had one SR-71A and one SR-71B.

One of our DC-9 captians, Stu Popov (check spelling) flew the U-2 (as well as the RF-4) and said that they would go out on a 12 hour mission and fly up and down the "border" and record what was going on. Either the bad guys had to shut down for the day (OK) or we would get a lot of intel (better), where as they could always see the SR coming and shut off their stuff for a few minutes until it passed by, then go back to work. And besides, most the the intell gathered went to the CIA or DIA, NOT the USAF, yet the SR-71 was operated out of the USAF budget. and it cost more to run 12 SR-71s than a whole wing of F-15s, which is why the USAF brass hated that plane so much.

Ron Henning

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Darryl greenmayer f104 rb(red baron) ??

I ran across one SR-71 story several months back:


In his book," Sled Driver," SR-71/Blackbird pilot Brian Shul writes: “I'll always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one day as Walt (my back-seater) and I were screaming across Southern California 13 miles high. We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we entered Los Angeles airspace.

Though they didn't really control us, they did monitor our movement across their scope. I heard a Cessna ask for a read out of its ground speed.

"90 knots" Center replied.

Moments later, a Twin Beech required the same. "120 knots," Center answered.

We weren't the only ones proud of our ground speed that day ... as almost instantly an F/A-18 smugly transmitted, "Ah, Center, ‘Dusty 52’ requests ground speed readout."

There was a slight pause, then the response, "525 knots on the ground, Dusty."

Another silent pause.



As I was thinking to myself how ripe a situation this was, I heard a familiar click of a radio transmission coming from my back-seater. It was at that precise moment I realized Walt and I had become a real crew, for we were both thinking in unison.

"Center, Aspen 20, you got a ground speed readout for us?"

There was a longer than normal pause ... "Aspen, I show 1,742 knots."


No further inquiries were heard on that frequency.