"NC" <nc@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:HNGdnb4uk6TLAVjanZ2dnUVZ_vShnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> "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.
As of May 2006,
64-17967 SR-71A Operational (USAF), Det 2, 9th SW, Edwards AFB, CA
64-17971 SR-71A Operational (USAF), Det 2, 9th SW, Edwards AFB, CA
64-17980 SR-71A Operational, NASA Dryden FRC, Edwards AFB, CA
60-6937 A-12 Storage, Plant 42 (Skunk Works) currently undergoing
modifications.
Congress appropriated $100 million in the fiscal year 1995 defense budget
to
reactivate two A-model jets and one B-model pilot trainer aircraft. The
Air
Force program office for the reactivation of the Blackbirds is at
Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. They are operated by Air Combat Command
The move to reactivate the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft was not
opposed. Critics looked at the SR-71's limitations and proposed
modifications.
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