The U-2 was certainly loud, probably the loudest I have heard. The SR-71 had a lower "tone" to the engine, so it did not sound as loud, but it vibrated the ground and your body a lot more than the U-2. It was funny to watch it roll down the runway so slowly, then suddenly lift off. I was stationed at Beale AFB in California, where we had U-2's and the SR-71, until they retired the SR-71. I was in heaven.
The airframe did not heat up and expand until after it reached mach speeds, which is after it refuels. There are plenty of pictures around the Internet show it being air refueled, with fuel leaking out the top of the seams in the titanium skin. They took off with less than full tanks to allow a shorter take off. And "flying pig" does not describe the SR-71. It is a graceful aircraft.
Considering the pilot & RSO would warm up their lunch by holding it against the glass of the cockpit windows, I doubt their helmets would stick. The skin of the aircraft did not turn strawberry red and have to do "S" turns waiting to refuel. By the time the aircraft came down from altitude to refuel, it would have cooled down anyway. Or do you thing the tanker flies at 85,ooo feet? LBJ did not "out it". He just named it wrong. It was supposed to be the RS-71. But you are correct about the speed records. My shop would get flight data, and mach 3.3 was not the fastest I personally saw. The greats thing about them was being out on the middle taxi way as they took off. The nose wheel cam up at that point, and you felt like the bones would shake out of your body. Still gives me goose bumps thinking about it.
Typical Slashdot mis-information.
1) Jet fuel is not used for hydraulics. Ever.
2) Jet fuel does not cool the leading edges of the aircraft. That would be an issue for all the electronic equipment that is in there.
3) The leaking is not that big of a deal. Think of a an extremely slow drip. My uniform would only have a few drops on it after spending an hour or two under it.
4) Nothing was added to the fuel. What they did was dump a chemical into the engine to ignite the fuel to get it started. I forget the exact name, but it burn very hot when exposed to air. It was a green flame. The fuel is unique, though. You could throw a lit match into a bucket of it, and the match would go out.
5) The SR-71 program was stopped due to money, not the capabilities of the aircraft. NASA is using three of them still today, for testing.
And to the moron who said the nose melts - Shut up, your IQ is showing.
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The U-2 was certainly loud, probably the loudest I have heard. The SR-71 had a lower "tone" to the engine, so it did not sound as loud, but it vibrated the ground and your body a lot more than the U-2. It was funny to watch it roll down the runway so slowly, then suddenly lift off. I was stationed at Beale AFB in California, where we had U-2's and the SR-71, until they retired the SR-71. I was in heaven.
The airframe did not heat up and expand until after it reached mach speeds, which is after it refuels. There are plenty of pictures around the Internet show it being air refueled, with fuel leaking out the top of the seams in the titanium skin. They took off with less than full tanks to allow a shorter take off. And "flying pig" does not describe the SR-71. It is a graceful aircraft.
Considering the pilot & RSO would warm up their lunch by holding it against the glass of the cockpit windows, I doubt their helmets would stick. The skin of the aircraft did not turn strawberry red and have to do "S" turns waiting to refuel. By the time the aircraft came down from altitude to refuel, it would have cooled down anyway. Or do you thing the tanker flies at 85,ooo feet? LBJ did not "out it". He just named it wrong. It was supposed to be the RS-71. But you are correct about the speed records. My shop would get flight data, and mach 3.3 was not the fastest I personally saw. The greats thing about them was being out on the middle taxi way as they took off. The nose wheel cam up at that point, and you felt like the bones would shake out of your body. Still gives me goose bumps thinking about it.
Typical Slashdot mis-information. 1) Jet fuel is not used for hydraulics. Ever. 2) Jet fuel does not cool the leading edges of the aircraft. That would be an issue for all the electronic equipment that is in there. 3) The leaking is not that big of a deal. Think of a an extremely slow drip. My uniform would only have a few drops on it after spending an hour or two under it. 4) Nothing was added to the fuel. What they did was dump a chemical into the engine to ignite the fuel to get it started. I forget the exact name, but it burn very hot when exposed to air. It was a green flame. The fuel is unique, though. You could throw a lit match into a bucket of it, and the match would go out. 5) The SR-71 program was stopped due to money, not the capabilities of the aircraft. NASA is using three of them still today, for testing. And to the moron who said the nose melts - Shut up, your IQ is showing.
"A 15 year old female student can get pregnant. A 15 year old male student cannot." You are not really that stupid, are you?