SR-71 BlackBird & The RV-12

[Geico266]

What do they have in common?

http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/sr-71~1.htm

Last night we had our monthly EAA meeting at the SAC Airforce Museum near Omaha. One of the exhibits is an SR71 Black Bird. For those of you who don't know this plane was Ultra Top Secret re-con aircraft, built in the 50's & 60's, flew until the 90's. Flew at Mach 3.2 at 85,000' The fastest jet aircraft in the world, it literally can out run a .30.06 bullet. Pretty cool right? Well it gets better.

Standing there was one of the pilots! 5'2" 83 year young Harlon Hain was telling war stories about flying the fastest plane in the world. WOW! The plane weighed 60,000#'s carried 80,000#'s of JP7. JP4 would not work as the fuel in the tanks would get super heated and boil due to friction in the air. The fuel range was 1.5 hours or 2,500 miles, that is a fuel burn of about 10,000 GPH!. Navigation was done by using stars, it flew so high it could use stars like we use GPS, yes, it had an auto pilot! Harlon is an active CFI pilot and gave lessons yesterday! The man is simply amazing, and he certainly has the "right stuff".

So what do the SR71 Black Bird and the Van's RV-12 Little Bird have in common? Harvey would like to fly in the -12 and the pitot tube is in the nose.

[TrutrakTech]

I've met Harlon several times and he always has a nice story to tell when I see him. It's VERY cool to hear what that plane was capable of. He's a very nice guy to boot. If you ever get a chance, definitely worth the time to sit down and let him tell you a story.

[tsandberg]

I'm so mad I missed the meeting. I was all ready to go...and then ended up on the schedule at work for Monday night.

If you want some really good stories from Mr. Hain, just ask about Kadena.

[Geico266]

Can you imagine being a jet jock in the Air Force and a General calls you into his office and says; "I have something in the hanger I want you to fly." He gets up and they both walk out into the hanger and this is what he wants you to fly.



Did I mention it cruises at Mach 3.2?

[N162RV]

OK so it's not the SR-71 version of the Blackbird but Hondas version. The CBR1100XX Super Blackbird.... When it first came out in 1997 it was the fastest production bike you could buy... 175mph + I believe...

So what does it have in common with an RV-12 you ask?

I have one of each....

[Geico266]

Originally Posted by N162RV

OK so it's not the SR-71 version of the Blackbird but Hondas version. The CBR1100XX Super Blackbird.... When it first came out in 1997 it was the fastest production bike you could buy... 175mph + I believe...

So what does it have in common with an RV-12 you ask?

I have one of each....

And they both fly....almost!

[techbill]

Thankfully there wasn't a flying version of the Hayabusa.

[Captain Sacto]

Thanks Larry for interesting note on the Blackbird and relaying the related site.

As a young Airman 2nd class back in the late 1960s, I worked on the avionics (electronic warfare) on the SR-71 at Beale AFB for a year and a half. On more than one occasion, I would sit in the front cockpit for a brief while, and in true Walter Mitty fashion, "fly" the thing. (Most of our gear was in the RSO (rear) cockpit.)

Although we would sometimes call it the "blackbird", it didn't get the moniker officially until later in the program.

Oh, and the panel? It's mostly conventional stuff.

Regards all - - Tom


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