Lockheed SR-71 / YF-12 Blackbird

Halcyon66 said:
Seems illogical to get a 59-yr old extreme high-performance airframe back in the air?
Click to expand...
Seems logical to me. Barring the cost/effort of recommissioning its the obvious solution for a Mach 3+ chase plane for some higher speed research project, or alternative propulsion testing (aerospike anyone?). Remember, there is still nothing in day-to-day service that is faster. The SR-71 is still the only operational jet that could cruise at that speed. And remained in service doing so for ~30 years. There is nothing else in the USA's portfolio (that we know of) which has this sort of pace, range, and robustness. The pilots and RSOs when discussing the various records they set all confirm that no special measures were taken regarding aircraft prep, they were just another typical mission.
NMaude said:
Once they were retired by the USAF it's a pity NASA didn't get some of the A-12 Oxcarts for high-speed research.
Click to expand...
NASA were busy playing with the X-15s during the 1960's, what would they need something slower for?
 
NMaude said:
Once they were retired by the USAF it's a pity NASA didn't get some of the A-12 Oxcarts for high-speed research.
Click to expand...
In 1968 ? NASA got the YF-12s plus a handful of SR-71s later. They didn't needed A-12s.
NASA were busy playing with the X-15s during the 1960's, what would they need something slower for?
Click to expand...
Not comparable. Brief rocket flights versus long Mach 3 cruises.
 
yeetmahboi said:
Only that we don't know of. The SR-71 was classified back then, there could be one flying right now...
Click to expand...
Which I acknowledged further on in my post. And technically, wasn't the A-12 classified, with the SR-71 public knowledge but the operations of which were classified?
 
yeetmahboi said:
Only that we don't know of. The SR-71 was classified back then, there could be one flying right now...
Click to expand...
All the surviving A-12, YF-12A, and SR-71 airframes are in museums. Most had their wing spars cut before being transported to their final destinations, rendering them unflyable. There are none flying now.
 
Halcyon66 said:
I am pretty sure the amount of $$ that this will end up costing they could have just built a few of the SR-72.

Seems illogical to get a 59-yr old extreme high-performance airframe back in the air?

Lockheed SR-71A tail number 844 (USAF serial number 61-7980) first flew on September 25, 1967.
Click to expand...
I've read that every flight and heat soak re-heat treated the entire airframe. So the actual wear on the airframe is minimal.



Whisperstream said:
All the surviving A-12, YF-12A, and SR-71 airframes are in museums. Most had their wing spars cut before being transported to their final destinations, rendering them unflyable. There are none flying now.
Click to expand...
There's a deliberate break in the spars just inboard of the engines, where they could unbolt the engine nacelles to ship them to Groom Lake.
 
Whisperstream said:
All the surviving A-12, YF-12A, and SR-71 airframes are in museums. Most had their wing spars cut before being transported to their final destinations, rendering them unflyable. There are none flying now.
Click to expand...
I believe they meant another classified aircraft flying, not an SR-71
 
@Whisperstream you seems to know a lot about SR-71 post 1998 retirement fates.
Looks similar to F-14s fates past 2006.
Unfortunately...
 
Last edited:
Whisperstream said:
All the surviving A-12, YF-12A, and SR-71 airframes are in museums. Most had their wing spars cut before being transported to their final destinations, rendering them unflyable. There are none flying now.
Click to expand...
I mean that there is another classified airplane doing its work today.
 
NMaude said:
Once they were retired by the USAF it's a pity NASA didn't get some of the A-12 Oxcarts for high-speed research.
Click to expand...
They would have loved it, unfortunately Congress would not have loved paying for it
 
I can't find the posts here (my search-fu is weak), but someone was posting all about the origins of the stealth recon drone associated with the ATB/B2. Can anyone help a brother out?
 
I tell you why they are doing this, at least in part, Isaacman probably fancies flying it.

Also chase plane for something even faster than it?

At another AirVenture panel, Isaacman was asked which aircraft he would like to fly but had never flown. His immediate answer was the SR-71 Blackbird. This led the moderator to ask whether he had the authority to bring one back, with Isaacman replying: “That’s classified.”

Obviously, none of those comments constitutes confirmation that NASA is restoring the SR-71 to fly again. However, they provide an intriguing backdrop to what is otherwise an unexplained move.
Click to expand...

https://theaviationist.com/2026/09/28/is-nasa-sr-71-blackbird-returning-to-flight/
 
Last edited:
I’m guessing the funding for this isn’t actually coming from NASA but elsewhere?
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom