Game, set, and match.........

[patgund]

Now I have a soft spot in my heart for the SR-71. My grandfather worked in the "Skunk Works" for Kelly Johnson on the Blackbirds. My brother worked on the engines during his time in the AF. And both the SR-71 and I "became operational" at the same Air Force Base in the same year.

Which is why I rather enjoyed this article from a "sled driver"

SR-71: Now, That Was Some Airplane

"One day, high above Arizona, we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. ‘Ninety knots,’ ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. ‘One-twenty on the ground,’ was the reply.

To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was. ‘Dusty 52, we show you at 620 on the ground,’ ATC responded.

The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter’s mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ‘Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.’ We did not hear another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast."

Comments

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

Now that's what I call "the ultimate STFU."

[jeran.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a reputed transmission from a U-2 pilot coming over the Mississippi River informing the control center at Dallas that he's just lost his engine, will they please inform DMAFB at Tucson that he'll need to overfly to the California border and turn back to kill altitude and will be landing dead-stick.

[jj-maccrimmon.livejournal.com]

Gawd I luv that plane. I got a wonderful treat today while going through my personal photos. I found the photos I took of the very last SR-71 air refueling that took place. I was the nav on the mission in the KC-135T out of Fairchild. I'm going to either scan in or get the images transfered to CD-r.

[firedrake-mor.livejournal.com]

In 1974, I remember leaving Mildenhall AB in England, where there was an SR-71 sitting on the ground, cold, wheels chocked. I was taking off in a C-5A for Dover AFB, Delaware, the better to go to Worldcon in Washington, DC.

When we arrived at Dover, there was an SR-71 sitting on the tarmac, cold, wheels chocked. With the same tail numbers.