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From: jumper@hobbes.ncsu.edu (Michael Lanham)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: SR-71 Blackbird question
Message-ID: <1990Oct2.235500.24130@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 2 Oct 90 23:55:00 GMT
References: <1990Sep27.031756.7889@cbnews.att.com> <1990Sep29.155328.7880@cbnews.att.com>
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From: jumper@hobbes.ncsu.edu (Michael Lanham)
Using Popular Science as a source (not the most technical source around but...)

The SR-71 has hydraulic fluid that is a solid at room temperature.  It must
be heated and maintained at high temperatures during pre-flight checks and
preparation.  The skin is slightly corrigated in effect to allow expansion of
it during flight.  I do not recall the wing span being mentioned, but the
article did say that the plane is about six inches longer in the air after 
fast flights than it is on the ground.  Three feet wingspan expansion seems a
little much for structual integrity to be maintained.  Also, the
article did mention that the front portion of the cockpit reaches up to 
3000 F with extremely high temps elsewhere also.  Also, average cost per 
mission was around 2 million according to this article.

The most incredible thing to remember about the Blackbird is that is was
designed and built by Johnson at Lockheed's sSkunkwork back in the 1970s.
The plane's design is twenty years old, still state of the art, and still
the fastest plane made.

Here's to the SR-71 Blackbird, one of the most beautiful planes around...
--
He who will not reason, is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool;
and he who dares not is a slave.      --- Sir William Drummond