How the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Works

It measures the amount of nitrogen in various tanks, which is used for inerting, as we saw in the explanation of the fuel system. There is a fuel dump switch to quickly dump thousands of pounds of fuel, for example, to lose weight in an emergency situation. Emergency fuel shutoff switches are nearby. Now let's go to the left or port side of the cabin. There is a group of dials for environmental controls, such as cockpit temperature, face temperature, and suit temperature, which control the heating in the pilot's helmet and suit, and a nearby temperature gauge with a switch to Select which system to display.

For equipment to survive, cabin temperatures must not exceed 140 degrees. F (60°C). Which I'm sure the crew would also appreciate. Near the bottom is a cockpit altitude indicator. The crew could choose cabin pressurization equivalent to 10,000 or 26,000 feet (3,048 - 7,924.8 m) and a liquid oxygen level indicator below. Liquid oxygen is converted to gas and pumped into the crew's helmets for breathing. The landing gear lever is nearby, with indicator lights, switches, etc. associates. Turning all the way to the left side wall, we see the dual throttle levers. There is a button here to toggle   the pilot microphone. And a switch below to manually start the input peak reset sequence.

Each throttle channel has a TEB counter to track how many TEB shots are used, out of an initial total of 16 shots per side. For example, the accelerators advance up to a limit that corresponds to the normal engine power. The pilot must lift the throttles above this detent to activate the afterburners. Doing so triggers an injection of TEB to start the afterburners and the counters tick each time this happens. The power of the afterburner can be controlled from minimum to maximum along the lever stroke. There is an oxygen settings control panel behind that. A nearby shooter will discard the canopy.

Other panels here include a radio panel, an oxygen standby panel, a panel for various lights such as landing gear lights, and more. The map projector controls are located towards the front of this area of ​​the panel. Corresponding banks of controls on the starboard side handle things like the internal communications system, computer navigation aids for flying, landing and takeoff, autopilot, and more. The rear cabin replicates many of the same gauges, switches and indicators, with a few crucial additions. There is a vision monitor that allows the RSO to see directly below the aircraft, with magnification settings and more.

Below it is a radar screen and a large map projector panel. There is a control panel for the astroinertial navigation device, which we will cover later. There is a panel with controls and indicators for reconnaissance equipment. The controls on the left side include a DEF panel to activate the onboard defensive systems, which could counter any threats to the aircraft, from things like surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles, hostile fighter interception attempts, etc. There are also radio and intercom controls in this area. As we move away from the controls, we can see other elements in these cockpits. The RSO has retractable sun visors.

The pilot has a positionable sunshade with wings. Sun glare at altitude could make instrument visibility nearly impossible if not blocked. Both cockpits have small mirrors to help the crew see themselves, due to the difficulty of some actions with their bulky flight suits in confined spaces. The pilot has a retractable periscope to view the airplane by looking back for things like engine fires, contrails, fuel spills, and to check the rudder position. The windows have inner and outer panes with an air gap. The glass on the exterior reached temperatures of 400 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (204 to 260 C) at cruise, with the interior panel surface in the 250 degree (121 C) range.

The cabin had to have air pumped to -40 to keep the interior temperature at a comfortable 60 degrees (15.5 C) for the crew, who wore their own climate-controlled flight suits. The suits themselves have several critical layers, starting with a thin nylon comfort layer against the skin, followed by a layer of inflatable rubber bladder for added warmth against cold air or water in the event of an emergency exit from the cabin. . A net-like shell helps the suit maintain its proper shape when inflated, and the iconic orange outer shell is flame resistant up to 800 F (426.7 C). There are metal rings for the glove and helmet attachment points.

There are   connections for climate and breathable air. There are zippered leg pockets for easy access and Velcro pads just above the knees for attaching important documents. The helmet has a face shield with sun visor and a feeding port for squeezing food from the tubes. There is a neoprene seal around the face to allow pressurization at sea level for comfortable breathing, while the rest of the suit was matched to cabin pressure levels. The seat has a parachute in the headrest, and is anchored to a support grid on which it slides during the ejection process. There are cables on the bottom to attach them to metal brackets on the heel of each boot.

These cables press the pilot's feet against the seat frame during ejection to avoid hitting extremities when the seat is ejected from the cockpit. Equipment The nose and side compartments at the front of the aircraft have components for both the aircraft's functionality and specific mission objectives. I'll show you the individual units blown up and then zoom out so you can see their range and capabilities from 80,000 feet (24,384 m) to the earth's surface. The Pitot mast is a thin tube with several probes that supplies air pressure data to onboard computers and instruments for things like airspeed, angle of attack, and more.

The entire nose is interchangeable and can be changed between flights to suit mission objectives. There are three noses, two with different types of radar and an optical bar camera which I have featured here. The optical bar camera had film reels carrying 3,200 m (10,500 ft) of 12.7 cm (5 in) wide film. For comparison, a typical 90-minute movie would use 8,100 feet (2,468.8 m) of 35mm film (~1.38 inches). You could also film in stereo vision to help identify targets more easily. Aft are liquid oxygen supply bottles. There are bays that house components for the SR-71's defensive systems. Further aft is a bay with radar recording equipment.

The Blackbird's unusual speed and altitude tended to activate hostile radar and missile systems along its flight path. These signals could be captured and analyzed to better understand their capabilities. The bays behind contain cameras with technical lenses for more detailed photographs of smaller specific areas. Just behind the rear cockpit is the Astro Inertial Navigation System (ANS) to precisely monitor the aircraft's location. It would track three groups of stars within 30 seconds of leaving the hangar, regardless of the time of day. The location of the SR-71 could be located within 300 feet (91 m) anywhere in the world, even at Mach speeds.

This was long before the existence of GPS satellites. Also in these compartments and compartments are batteries, radio equipment, antennas, and computers that run or assist other components related to mission objectives, aircraft operation, and more. And here's an enlarged diagram to show you what each component sees. The optical bar camera can continuously photograph an area 82 miles (131 km) wide by 2.3 miles (3.7 km) long. The radar can monitor an area of ​​17.7 km (11 mi) from 37 to 185 km (23 to 115 mi) of the flight path. Signal recorders (radar, etc.) can see from horizon to horizon. Technical target cameras locate and photograph hundreds of targets with a resolution of 15 cm (6 inches) over a range of 26 km (16 miles) from side to side.

Perhaps what makes the SR-71 so special is its rarity. Bringing together the right people and talents, with the right funding, and allowing them to fully deploy their talents is apparently a very rare occurrence and often gives rise to legends that persist. Hello everyone, Jake here, creator of Animagraffs. First of all, thank you for being on the channel and enjoying my work! It was AMAZING to create this project and I will be releasing a behind the scenes video shortly after the release of this one, detailing everything that went into making this project. From the research that I had to find and delve into to get to the elaboration of the model, the manufacturing of the materials, the rendering and the platforms, that is, the construction of the moving mechanical objects.

Many of the elements in these projects actually work as they would in real life! These are real recreations and I want to show you how I do it and take you into the magic and madness of making Animagraffs. I'll be entertaining and might even tell a few light jokes here and there, so that's something to look forward to. Anyway, later!