New tech is really old tech....

[Triple J]

Another cool SR-71 pic. Looks like a pulse type of engine...also maybe a prototype given the NASA paint and co-pilot bubble. 

[wbeck257]

Dad is a F-22 mechanic. His hand is one of, if not the last one, on the plane before it get's "delivered" to the Air Force.

Just because it was first flown in `86 doesn't mean it is `86 tech. The ones that come off the line today are 10x more advance than the first production ones 5 years ago. Software and other upgrades do it.

Its cool watching them around here though -- all the test flights before they are painted, and the F-16 that follows it looks tiny compared to the 22.

[Triple J]

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread60763/pg1

The Aurora rumors have been around for years and years. It would be interesting to see if it exists as a surveillance aircraft, or if it's just a test platform for scramjet engines...which NASA is very interested in for the next generation of spacecraft.

[Monster Dave]

You know....

...as much as it wasn't a viable true to life attack vehicle, I still wish that Airwolf or Blue Thunder would have been as advanced as they were purported to be on TV in the 80's.

[Monster Dave]

Dad is a F-22 mechanic. His hand is one of, if not the last one, on the plane before it get's "delivered" to the Air Force.

Just because it was first flown in `86 doesn't mean it is `86 tech. The ones that come off the line today are 10x more advance than the first production ones 5 years ago. Software and other upgrades do it.

Its cool watching them around here though -- all the test flights before they are painted, and the F-16 that follows it looks tiny compared to the 22.

Where abouts is "here"?

Or is that Top Secret? 

[wbeck257]

They are built at the Lockheed plant in Marietta, GA.

[herm]

blue thunder was just an apache mock up correct?

and dont forget about "Firefox"

[Langanobob]

I too am curious what we have now. I'm especially curious if there's a replacement for the SR-71 that's operational. I would think so, but it may just be a fancy (and boring) satellite.  Undecided

I've never seen anything myself here in Nevada but I've heard lots of first hand stories from very reputable people who were actually sober when they saw what they saw.  And those "Deadly Force" no trespassing signs at Area 51 are probably there for a good reason.

Not stealth related but a good book for those interested in fighter planes is "John Boyd, the Fighter Pilot who Changed the Art of War"  Also, I have a Canadian uncle who was an RCAF Spitfire pilot in WWII who sent me a good DVD starring  John Akroyd about the Canadian AVRO Arrow, a very advanced Canadian supersonic delta wing interceptor from the 1950's.  The title is "The AVRO Arrow" and the only place I've found it is on Canadian Ebay.  Worth the price IMHO.

[derby]

blue thunder was just an apache mock up correct?

the movie came out in '83 and the apache started production in '84... bt was similar to the apache in the sense that it a nose-mounted gun turret, however the ah1 cobra had one, too.

the movie helicopters were gazelles.

[ducatiz]

the F22 ~specifications~ were written in 1986, but the plane wasn't developed.

the first prototypes flew in 1990, which were VERY loose designs.

F22 did not complete development until 2003 and it was heavily revised over the years.

suffice to say, the specifications did not require what computer to be running on board, rather they left the design specifics to the contractors.  the RFP made more general statements of performance capabilities and service

[Monster Dave]

Blue Thunder was built from a Royal Marines Gazelle helicopter with a modified canopy:





Sadly, here's a few pics from Wiki of what's left of the chopper in Florida:

[ducpainter]

Would have been cool to know if the aerodynamics of this plane from the movie Stealth would have been enough to achieve flight:

It might depend if it was on a conveyor.

No really.

[Popeye the Sailor]

It might depend if it was on a conveyor.

No really.

You didn't.

[Airborne]

If you look at satellite images of the Groom Lake testing facility near the nevada test ranga (area 51) you will see that their main runway was extended to roughly 24,000 ft in the late 1980s-90s. This is a huge clue. Edwards afb and Vandenberg afb are around 15,000ft I believe. To me this would indicate they were testing something that traveled at very high speeds on approach and departure, most likely some sort of plane that could travel in both the atmosphere and space. Around the same time people reporting sighting what became known as the Auroura and spotting the 'donuts on a rope' blotchy contrail characteristic of a pulse detonation engine. Around the same time the sr71 was retired. You may also think the sr71 was proven obsolete by satellites but there are still positives of using spy aircraft as you can change optics/weapons packages from mission to mission.

I cant wait until something is released I'm a total aeronut!!!

[Jobu]

I may have to look into that.

What a gorgeous aircraft the SR71 is/was. Both ugly and beautiful at the same time.


At top speed it actually turns blue.

My favorite bit of SR-71 trivia is the fact that it leaked JP-7 on the runway when it was cold to allow for the expansion that occurred at extreme speeds.  It would have to be refueled in the air before a mission after a short sprint run which allowed the fuselage to warm up and expand enough to stop most of the leaking.