18 Jun
2015
18 Jun
'15
9:26 a.m.
On Jun 18, 2015, at 9:18 AM, Peter Cetinski <pete
at 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