US Navy pilot owned...

No aircraft would EVER catch a Blackbird, the only hope a Mig-25 would ever have had was if it was directly in the path of the Blackbird, and had warning of it being inbound... could have been interesting then... though the Mig-25 was supposedly a tad faster than the Blackbird in a clean config, I think it was said, if the Mig went over Mach 2.8, then the engines were toast.. basicaly, once the fighter got back they were taken out and thrown, as bits would have melted though I think the Mig was red-lined at Mach 2.3 with weapons...

which is the same boat the F-15 is in.. claimed top speed by manufacturers is Mach 2.5.. reached by the record attempt Streak Eagle (not strike) which was an F-15 A stripped of anything not needed for it to fly... normal F-15s wont see anyting above 2.3.. with weapons, Mach 1.8 is a struggle for an F-15C and takes an age, and most of its fuel to get there...

As Slider would say "You're giving me a h*rd-on"!

Saw an SR-71 at an airshow a few years back - highlight of my aircraft-spotting life - even better than the B2.

I remember seeing the F117A at Mildenhall on one of the first times it was displayed publicly.

It was all roped off and there where four armed guards round it.

I remember thinking "It looks like its made of cardboard" at the time

Originally Posted by tricky

I remember seeing the F117A at Mildenhall on one of the first times it was displayed publicly.

It's hardly a beauty is it?
The most cool thing about it is that it was flying for 7-8 years before it was admitted that they existed. I wonder how long it will be before they admit Aurora?

And I believe that there were fewer SR-71 pilots than astronauts. That's exclusivity.

Originally Posted by valleyboy

No aircraft would EVER catch a Blackbird, the only hope a Mig-25 would ever have had was if it was directly in the path of the Blackbird, and had warning of it being inbound... could have been interesting then... though the Mig-25 was supposedly a tad faster than the Blackbird in a clean config,

I thought that made the Blackbird uncatchable was that it could fly higher than anything else - including Russian surface-to-air missiles.

Didn't they award Astronauts wings to Blackbird pilots, due to them flying on the edge of space?

The Blackbirds still an air breathing Jet, so I dont think it would class as on the edge of space.. now, the X-15 on the other hand.. was a rocket with a man in it... THAT was fast, and that did skirt the edge of space... mach 7 I think that thing would do... ?

Im pretty sure Mig-25's could fly up at the Blackbirds altitude... the main difference was the Blackbird could effectively cruise at that altitude and speed all day, whereas the Mig could only do those speeds and altitudes in a burst... and would shag the engines if it went over mach 2.8
NATO had tracked a Mig-25 doing 3.2+ during the cold war, but didnt know that the Russians had to scrap the engines after that flight on that jet...

Blackbirds never actualy flew directly over Russia at all, so we would never have found out either...

The USSR also had some nasty SAM systems, which is another reason the Blackbird never overflew Russian airspace.. the US wasnt prepared to take the risk in finding out either after the Garry Powell incident in the U-2 in the 60's

They now have a real nasty system in the S300 series SAM's.... you dont want to mess with that, as quoted range makes the U.S. Patriot system look like a pea shooter...

Originally Posted by valleyboy

and would shag the engines if it went over mach 2.8

Russian engines have never been that good. They never lasted very long, but someone(could have been my dad!) rightly pointed out, if war had ever broken out, the fact that the engines needed replacing every 100 hours was irrelevant, as the plane would probably have been destroyed well before that

Originally Posted by valleyboy

Garry Powell

Annoying pedant alert: SP - (Francis?) Gary Powers

Do Patriot systems actually work? I thought they caused considerably more damage in the 1st gulf war than the Scuds they were trying to shoot down, and there was a question as to whether they actually managed to shoot any down.

The Foxbat could only match the Blackbird clean...and for about 2 minutes :P

With missles it was no where near. The Blackbirds true top speed was never told but it was higher than any Foxbat. Plus the Habu had top of the line ECM so even if the Foxbat could catch, its radar would be jammed.

X-15 is another kettle of fish...what a machine...makes even the Habu look like a moped.

Originally Posted by BluePete

I remember as a kid, standing at RAF Fairford, gawping up at a parked SR71 with some liquid dripping out. At the tender age of about 10, I asked the incredibly cool (to my young eyes at least) USAF Guard what it was...

"That's fuel son"

came the reply Apparently, the tanks only seal and stop dripping at altitude when the friction of air over the body heats it up and the expansion fills the gaps. What an amazing thing to see and a memory still fresh in my mind 25 years later.

The fuel was actually slightly gell-like for the SR-71 to try and minimise leakage when on the ground. They also can't get out of the things for like 2hrs or summin after they land as the fuselage is so hot they have to wait for it to cool down a bit!!!

As for the original post, its a good story, but I doubt it is true for a whole bunch of reasons!!

Originally Posted by Daimo

Short version..

Some guys in a Blackbird overheard a US Naval Pilot bragging about doing x speed, so thought they'd humiliate him by asking what speed they were doign which was about triple the speed that the F18 pilot was doing.

Owned...

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Thanks for that - wouldnt have read it otherwise. Cool Read now.