Comments on: For Michael Collins

By: Osborne Ink

Osborne Ink — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:50:33 +0000

And then there's the truly bizarre:

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/russian-flying-giants-like-nothing-seen-before/

By: Osborne Ink

Osborne Ink — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:46:27 +0000

The SR-71 served long after it was declassified. But that fact was, itself, classified. Such is the nature of intelligence work. For my money, the most amazing airplane America ever built is the B-70 Valkyrie.

By: Chris Weigant

Chris Weigant — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:20:09 +0000

Michale -

The coolest thing the military did was to de-classify the SR-71 one month BEFORE they grounded them all for good and decomissioned them. This allowed the one at the annex to be flown from LA to DC, and set an official speed record. They took it up, refuelled it off coast, and crossed the continent -- coast to coast -- in 67 minutes, 54 seconds. One flew from from New York to London in under two hours, beating the Concorde by a full hour.

Coolest. Airplane. Ever.

See, I knew we could agree on something!

:-)

-CW

By: Michale

Michale — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:08:51 +0000

I have actually stood guard over the SR-71 when it was based out of Kadena AB, Okinawa. This was back when the Blackbird (at the time, it was locally known as the "Habu". These days, that moniker is worldwide.. http://www.habu.org/) was still classified and even accidentally seeing it on the ground would land the poor viewer in jail for the night and a stern warning from the AFOSI and the Base Commander.

You haven't lived until you see one of those things taking off or in flight.

"Yea though I fly thru the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For I am at 80,000 feet and climbing fast!"
-Kadena AB HABU Pilot

And yes, I also got to see the original USS Enterprise (Kirk's ship) at the Smithsonian in 1977. For a total Trekker like me it was heaven.

Michale.....