Skunk Works Mailing List
Blackbird in the News
From: "Andrew Morris"
Subject: Blackbird in the News
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 11:13:17 -0400
From Defence Systems Daily:
SR-71 "Blackbird" end research flights for 1999
30 September 1999
The 1999 four-flight series of the SR-71 "Blackbird" with a
41-foot-long test fixture mounted atop of the rear section of the
aircraft was completed on September 27 at NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center, Edwards, Calif. The flights showed that the
fixture barely impacted the SR-71's stability, handling and flying
characteristics while soaring at Mach 3, three times the speed of
sound.
"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 over Mach 3 due to the failure of the liquid
nitrogen system that was used to purge the test fixture. Without
proper purge, there was concern of overheating the fixture's
internal systems. This purge system has proven very effective in
past flights, Tim Moes said, NASA 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 3.0 can be
confidently extrapolated to Mach 3.2. 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, 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. It will
eventually be flown captive carry on Dryden's SR-71 "Blackbird" to
speeds over Mach 3.
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Created: Thu Sep 30 12:24:24 EDT 1999