Well It was nice while it lasted

[alfsauve]

Didn’t matter. One of the first things they did once getting airborne was an in-air refueling.

[alfsauve]

Miss Kitty asked me why I watch ADS-B aircraft tracking so much.  Here's an example of today.  I noticed two news chopper circiling right off the end of Dobbins AFB runway.  Turn on the scanner and start checking the online news sites.   Shooting at US41 and Windy Hill (3miles away) and suspect is on the loose.

[Big Frank]

Didn’t matter. One of the first things they did once getting airborne was an in-air refueling.

Because they leaked like a sieve until they got cruising and everything heated up and expanded. That's why they used JP-7, a less flammable fuel than any other jet in the world used. It was called Turbine Fuel Low Volatility JP-7, and was developed in 1955. It poured all over the ground under the jet, and they didn't want anything too flammable lying there when the engines fired up. JP-7 is a compound mixture composed primarily of hydrocarbons; including alkanes, cycloalkanes, alkylbenzenes, indanes/tetralins, and naphthalenes; with addition of fluorocarbons to increase its lubricant properties, an oxidizing agent to make it burn more efficiently, and a caesium-containing compound known as A-50, which is to aid in disguising the radar and infrared signatures of the exhaust plume. The SR-71 Blackbirds used approximately 36,000–44,000 pounds (16,000–20,000 kg) of fuel per hour of flight. Compare that to JP-8 which is still used in most military aircraft AFAIK, and is a kerosene-based fuel similar to commercial aviation's Jet A-1, but with corrosion inhibitor and anti-icing additives.

The Lockheed A-12 was also called Habu, before the SR-71 was developed, but I didn't Habu was a type of snake. It sounds a bit like SNAFU and could have been an acronym for all I knew. The Habu nickname was left over, so the SR-71 was called both Blackbird and Habu. The A-12 was the fastest aircraft in the world, even faster than the SR-71 because it was almost 6 feet shorter, with half the crew, and lighter, but had the same engines and wingspan. But most sources say the max. speed of both of them was Mach 3.3. Wikipedia lists these weights but not the A-12s empty weight. A-12 Max takeoff weight: 117,000 lbs, Max landing weight: 52,000 lbs. SR-71 Empty weight: 67,500 lbs, Gross weight: 152,000 lbs, Max takeoff weight: 172,000 lbs. They also say the Lockheed YF-12s top speed was Mach 3.35, but the SR-71 was supposed to be faster. It had an Empty weight of 60,730 lbs and Gross weight of 124,000 lbs. The A-12 should be faster than the SR-71, at least when they're both at their maximum take-off weight, since it's 55,000 pounds lighter.