Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Wallpapers

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, photo wallpapers; Megawallpapers.org: The Lockheed SR-71 Type A, unofficially known as the Blackbird, is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed YF-12A and A-12 aircraft by Lockheed's Skunk Works (also responsible for the U-2 and many other advanced aircraft). The legendary "Kelly" Johnson, in particular, was the man behind many of the design's advanced concepts. The SR-71 was one of the first aircraft to be shaped to have an extremely low radar signature. The aircraft flew so fast and so high that if the pilot detected a surface-to-air missile launch, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate. No SR-71 has ever been shot down. The A-12 Oxcart, designed for the CIA by Kelly Johnson at the Lockheed Skunkworks, was a predecessor of the SR-71. Lockheed used the name "Archangel" for this design, but many documents use Johnson's preferred name for the plane, "the Article". As the design evolved, the internal Lockheed designation went from A-1 to A-11 as configuration changes occurred. The A-11 model was the first to fly as a test vehicle and was equipped with less powerful Pratt & Whitney J75s because development of the Pratt & Whitney J58s intended for the Oxcart was delayed. When the J58s finally arrived at the "Ranch" (Groom Lake's Area 51) and were installed as the 12th configuration change, the Article was renumbered the A-12, which it retained through production and operational usage. Eighteen were built, of which three were converted into YF-12As, prototypes of the planned F-12 interceptor version. [br]The Air Force reconnaissance version was originally called the R-12 (see the opening fly page in Paul Crickmoore's book SR-71, Secret Missions Revealed, which contains a copy of the original R-12 labeled plan view drawing of the vehicle). However, during the 1964 presidential campaign, Senator Barry Goldwater continuously criticized President Lyndon B. Johnson and his administration for falling behind the Soviet Union in the research and development of new weapon systems. Johnson decided to counter this criticism with the public release of the highly classified A-12 program and later the existence of the reconnaissance version. [br]One notable variant of the basic A-12 design was the M-21. This was a A-12 platform modified by replacing the single seat aircraft's Q bay, which carried its main camera to a second cockpit for a launch control officer. The M-21 was used to carry and launch the D-21 drone, an unpiloted, faster and higher flying reconnaissance device. [br]Confusingly, this variant was known as the M-21 when the drone was absent, and the MD-21 when it was attached to the plane. The D-21 drone was completely autonomous, having been launched it would overfly the target, travel to a rendezvous point and eject its data package. The package would be recovered in midair by a C-130 Hercules and the drone would self destruct. The program to develop this system was canceled in 1966 after a drone crashed into the mother ship shortly after being launched, destroying the M-21 and killing the Launch Control Officer. [br]The only surviving M-21 is on display, along with a D-21B Drone, at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. [br]Specifications: [br]Crew: 1 or 2 [br]Length: 107 ft 5 in (32.74 m) [br]Wingspan: 55 ft 7 in (16.94 m) [br]Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m) [br]Wing area: 1,800 ft² (170 m²) [br]Empty weight: 67,500 lb (30,600 kg) [br]Loaded: 170,000 lb (77,000 kg) [br]Maximum gross takeoff weight: 172,000 lb (78,000 kg) [br]Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney J58-1 continuous bleed-afterburning turbojets; 32,500 lbf (144.57 kN) thrust [br]Wheel track: 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m) [br]Wheel base: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m) [br]Performance: [br]Maximum speed: Mach 3.35 (1,906 knots, 2,193 mph, 3,530 km/h) at 80,000 ft (24,285 m) [br]Combat range: 2,900 nm (5,400 km) [br]Ferry range: 3,200 nm (5,926.4 km) [br]Operational ceiling: 85,000 ft (25,900 m) [br]Maximum altitude: 100,000 ft (30,500 m) [br]Maximum rate of climb: >60 m/s [br]Wing loading: 94 lb/ft² (460 kg/m²) [br]Thrust/weight ratio: 0.382:1

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Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Wallpapers @ Mega Wallpapers (08 Edition)