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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cwjcc!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!osu-cis!att!cbnews!nak
From: nak@cbnews.ATT.COM (Neil A. Kirby)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation,sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: SR71 to be retired October 1st, rumors regarding SR-71
Message-ID: <4892@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 16 Mar 89 14:04:17 GMT
References: <524@gonzo.UUCP> <1475@petsd.UUCP> <13987@elroy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> <976@nbife.NBI.COM> <1993NU052179@NDSUVM1> <7593@june.cs.washington.edu> <1829@hp-sdd.hp.com> <94193@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Reply-To: nak@cbnews.ATT.COM (Neil A. Kirby)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 28


	If the SR71 talk gets to be a problem, I vote we move it to
    sci.military [moderated].  This rather than sqelch it.

In article <94193@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> macs@sun.UUCP (Manuel Cisneros) writes:
>In article <1829@hp-sdd.hp.com> hinojosa@hp-sdd.hp.com.UUCP (Daniel Hinojosa) writes:
>>
>>It is fairly clear. The 'pilot' is wearing a silver looking suit, much
>>like the Mercury astronauts, and a helmet much the same. Too, looking
>
>As I understand it, the pilots wear some kind of pressure suit with
>environmental control included.  This is probably due to the extreme
>temperatures encountered by the plane (600 F skin temperature?) as well
>as the pressure 'way up there'.

	Indeed this is so.  They lost the climate control on a Blackbird a
    number of years ago.  The pilot called a mayday and asked for the
    nearest place to put the beast.  They put it in to Biloxi, I think.
    When the fire crew popped the beast open, the cabin temp was a balmy
    180F, and the pilot was most uncomfortable.  I'm sure that he was saved
    by his suit.
	They let all the USAF airmen look at the beast, but they had a
    cordon around the plane and curtains covering the sensor/camera area.
    The fellow with the grim look and the loaded M16 made sure nobody got
    too curious.

    Neil Kirby
    ...cbsck!nak