> On Jun 18, 2015, at 12:26 PM, Guy Sotomayor <g...@shiresoft.com> wrote: > > >> On Jun 18, 2015, at 9:18 AM, Peter Cetinski <p...@pski.net> wrote: >> >>>> >>> My son is stationed at Beale AFB (where the SR-71s were originally based) >>> and 7963 is on static display there. I've been up to it (you can actually >>> *touch* it!) They are wicked cool looking and *big*. They also have a >>> static display of the drone which could be launched from the back of an >>> SR-71. After some initial testing (can't remember if they lost an aircraft >>> in the process), they decided it wasn't a particularly good idea. The >>> clearance between the drone and the vertical stabilizers/rudders is not >>> large. >>> >>> TTFN - Guy >> >> >> I worked on the cameras on the SR-71 at Beale in the late 1980s. Still >> gives me goosebumps thinking about it. The drone was the D-21 which flew on >> the back of the M-21 (which was modified A-12 (which itself was the SR-71s >> predecessor)). You can see a video of that fateful test here. >> >> https://youtu.be/GMyC2urCl_4 > > Thanks. I hadn't seen that film before. > > I'm sort of sad about the SR-71. Our house is on a hill that can (almost) > overlook Beale. It would have been *amazing* to have seen/heard SR-71s > taking off. > > BTW, we see U-2s occasionally from our house. > > TTFN - Guy > >
Yes, you never got tired of seeing a “sled” (our nickname for the blackbird) take off. Even more impressive were the engine tests of the J-58 where they used to invite us to come watch at night. You were able to stand within 50 feet or so of the engine which was locked down into a test harness as they ran it at full afterburner. The ground would shake and your teeth would rattle as your ear protectors tried to bounce off your head. I’m sure the tinnitus I have today was caused by those experiences.
