The SR-71 Blackbird

The CIA A-12 Blackbird Program

 

The A-12 started out as an USAF interceptor to replace the cancelled F-108A Rapier. In October 1962, CIA authorized the Skunk Works to study the feasibility of modifying the A-12 to carry and deploy a reconnaissance drone for unmanned overflight of denied areas. The project was codenamed TAGBOARD.

15 Oct 1999

SR-71 Blackbird Wraps Up Research Series

Author: SR Admin  /  Categories: SR-71 History  /  Rate this article:
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By Leslie A. Williams Public Affairs Specialist

A 1999 four-flight research series for the SR-71 Blackbird, with a 41-foot-long test fixture mounted atop of the rear section of the aircraft, wrapped up Sept. 27 at Dryden. The flights showed that the fixture barely impacted the SR-71's stability, handling and flying characteristics while soaring at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound. SR-71 Project Manager Steve Schmidt is pleased with the flight series. "It went better than we predicted. Now we will wait for an opportunity, or a customer with a project. There are several in the wings," he said.

"It flew like a scalded cat," said the SR-71 flight test engineer Marta Bohn-Meyer. She said the plane was unbelievable in how it pushed to go faster.

The SR-71 stopped short of reaching one test point of going more than Mach 3 due to the failure of the liquid nitrogen system that was used to purge the test fixture. Without proper purge, there was a concern of overheating the fixture's internal systems. This purge system has proven very effective in past flights, said Tim Moes, Dryden's chief engineer for these research flights.

He added that the cause of the purge system failure is now well understood and procedures will be instituted to prevent this failure in the future. Although the two-hour flight did not reach Mach 3.2, the combined four-flight series proved that the SR-71 is a viable testbed for future technologies that need a high-speed, high-altitude flight environment.

Data obtained on the previous flight to Mach 3 can be confidently extrapolated to Mach 3.2, Moes said. Unlike wind tunnels that are constrained by its walls, the SR-71 airplane flies in actual atmospheric conditions, such as moisture and temperatures, at extreme altitudes and speeds making it an ideal testbed for supersonic flight.

NASA's Revolutionary Concepts (REVCON) project is one example of possible future use of the SR-71 as a testbed. The RevCon project encourages the development of ideas that could lead to revolutionary experimental planes.

The Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE), one of the first RevCon projects, is a revolutionary approach for future high-speed jet propulsion. The engine will have fewer parts, yet greater propulsion efficiency, resulting in lower maintenance and direct operating costs. A proposal to fly the PDE captive carry atop the rear section of Dryden's SR-71 Blackbird is being discussed.

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