[dragon53]

Here's an excerpt from the book, SLED DRIVER, about the famed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane written by former SR-71 pilot Brian Shul:

"One day, high above Arizona, we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. ‘Ninety knots,’ ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. ‘One-twenty on the ground,’ was the reply. To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was. ‘Dusty 52, we show you at 620 on the ground,’ ATC responded.
The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter’s mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ‘Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.’ We did not hear another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast."


The SR-71 still holds the world's speed record of 2,193 mph set in 1976. During its career, over 4,000 surface-to-air missiles were fired at SR-71s and none of them hit their target. The SR-71 was retired in 1998.

[JustPlaneNuttz]

Sweeeet!

JPN

[FormerViperDriver]

Cool story! There are many about the SR-71... When do we get one in diecast (1/48!)?

I used to see Brian Shul occasionally at the RAF Mildenhall O'Club on Friday nights, when I was flying F-111s at Lakenheath in the mid-80s. That's when they were flying operational missions out of Mildenhall in the Blackbird (or "Habu", as his shoulder patch indicated). Great guy.

FVD

[ZS-VAN]

I'd be happy to take any Blackbird in a decent. I came across a small one maybe smaller than 1/200 but it didn't do that plane any justice. I like your thinking FVD but a 1/72 would work for me too. Liked the story too.

[Captain Eddie]

Great story, dragon53, and I'm not even especially into jets (gotta make an exception for the Blackbird, however)! Thanks for sharing.

[Cavtanker]

Does anyone have the Ertl SR-71? I do, but I cannot recall the scale.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by Cavtanker

Does anyone have the Ertl SR-71? I do, but I cannot recall the scale.

Did it look like this?

[Cavtanker]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Did it look like this?

No, unfortunately. Mine was about 1/144 scale, if I had to estimate the scale. I was fortunate enough to grow up near the Ertl factory and I won it at a county fair when I was about 11 years old.

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by Cavtanker

No, unfortunately. Mine was about 1/144 scale, if I had to estimate the scale. I was fortunate enough to grow up near the Ertl factory and I won it at a county fair when I was about 11 years old.

Yes, I think you're about right on the 1/144 size. I used to have one and I recall it's quite heavy for it's size and feels pretty solid as well - - perfect use for a paper-weight (no pun intended).

[Cavtanker]

I also won the 1/144 B-1B at the same time. But it was all-white. I think I found one on the 'bay.