"M.Butzin" <mfbutzin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:tq6xj.12660$J41.5251@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> <miso@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>
news:5c35ec12-0fc4-46fb-9e7b-f85a03a55b72@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> On Feb 25, 5:39 pm, "John A. Weeks III" <j...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>> In article <NLJwj.12566$J41.11...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
>>>
>>> "M.Butzin" <mfbutzin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>> > NASA still does supposedly but ya can't tell when or why or for who.
>>>
>>> The only SR-71 that NASA flies is the one that is mounted on a pylon
>>> outside of the offices at NASA Dryden. The last SR-71 flew in
>>> October 1999.
>>>
>>> -john-
>>>
>>> --
>>> ======================================================================
>>> John A. Weeks III 612-720-2854 j...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
>>> ======================================================================
>>
>> Yes, at the Edwards Air show. Unfortunately, it only flew on Saturday
>> and I was there on Sunday. :-( As you know, the SR-71 was prone to
>> leaks. A fuel leak canceled the Sunday flight.
>>
>> MB was probably thinking of the ER-2, a white U2 used by NASA for
>> atmospheric research.
>
> SR-71's were built that way from the get go, the titanium heats up
during
> flight and seals the fuel tanks, they take off with just enough fuel to
> get them airborne and a KC 135 is near by to fill the tanks. The skin
also
> has a series bumps built into to it for expansion and contraction.
SR-71's
> still fly under NASA's operation just as the U-2 does under the guise of
> "weather related exercises". The Air Force took them off their list of
> "active aircraft", they never said they were chopping them up, but they
> "rent" them from NASA which "officially" takes pictures of Earth and
Sky.
> So officially the Air Force relies on space based photos, but when
"quick"
> shots are needed NASA will plan a "mission".
>
> MB
I doubt that you can back up your claim that the aircraft still flys. NASA
still has an aircraft at Dryden (tail # 17980) that is on display not
accessible by the public. The other surviving A-12/M-21/YF-12/SR-71
aircraft
are in museums. These aircraft are extremely expensive to get ready for
flight and cannot be flown on some whim.
Lockheed was unsuccessful in developing a fuel tank sealant that was
impervious to the chemical effects of the fuel and elastic enough to
expand
and contract with the heating and cooling and large pressure changes in
the
fuel tanks.
The photo in the link in your follow-up message is of A-12's, not SR-71's.
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