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From: ron@nbife.NBI.COM (Ron Schweikert)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation,sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: SR71 to be retired October 1st, rumors regarding SR-71
Message-ID: <1002@nbife.NBI.COM>
Date: 27 Mar 89 21:33:33 GMT
References: <524@gonzo.UUCP> <1475@petsd.UUCP> <13987@elroy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> <9552@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU>
Organization: NBI Inc., Headquarters Service Centers
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> >>	You are correct, the skin of the '71 looks like a congrued surface. As
> >>	the skin heats up during flight, it expands and smoothens out. [...]

I pulled off *many* wing panels, top and bottom.  It's impossible for them
to smooth out.  They have ribs perpendicular to those 'congruences'.  One other
poster correctly stated that design is for strength.

> >Something else to ponder about - the SR71 is very dark coloured, and Concord is
> >white for the same reason: to stay cool, so to speak!

The black paint is a special mixture, helps to expel heat from the metal
surfaces.  What the Lockheed folks told us was that the black absorbed more
heat from the metal than it absorbed from the sun.
> 
> 	The SR-71 is black mostly because it flies up in the upper-reaches of
> the atmosphere, and will blend in (more) against the backdrop of space (if you
> ever see one, you will notice there are NO markings on the underside).  

There are markings on the top and bottom of the SR, like any other Air Force 
jet.  It has the USAF as well as the star.  Additionally, the jets that did 
the speed runs have a long, wide white stripe down the bottom of the 
fuselage.  When I left Beale, they hadn't repainted them.