This was a super cool exhibit for many reasons. For one, they had an SR-71, so that alone would've been enough to get me out there. But they also had the Discovery space shuttle, which was a pretty incredible sight to witness in person.
We spent about 4.5 hours out there checking out all the interesting developments in design, technology, and, of course, notable historic models from both a military and general aviation perspective. These images aren't as awesome as Liesl's photography, but in my mind the subjects themselves make up for it. :)
Lets just get this one out of the way because, well, it's the star of the show: The famous SR-71 Blackbird. Developed by the Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Program better known under the official alias: Skunk Works.
What makes it so awesome? Here's some notable fast facts:
- SR stands for supersonic reconnaissance (supersonic means speed exceeds the speed of sound, or Mach 1, or 760 mph)
- "Supersonic" is kind of an understatement. This one triples the speed of sound cruising at Mach 3.2. (2,432 mph)
- At cruising speeds, surface temperature of the aircraft can reach 700 degrees due to air friction.
The SR-71 gives new meaning to the term "high speed camera". That's a lot of tech and muscle for something whose purpose (that we know of) was to take photographs!
- Max ceiling: 85,000 feet. (16 miles!)
- SR-71 Pilots are technically classified as astronauts.
Here's a nice photo to segway to what I consider a VERY close 2nd to the SR-71: Shuttle Discovery (in the background)
To say nothing comes close to the Space Shuttle's altitude and top speed is kind of cheating, but that doesn't make it any less true! I was excited about seeing a shuttle and the Discovery didn't disappoint. Just the shear size of the spacecraft was incredible.
The entire underside of the Shuttle is clad in light-weight, heat resistant tiles that protect the spacecraft from the intense heat of re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.
The portals in the nose section are called RCS thrusters. These and others at the rear emit precise blasts of gas to maneuver the shuttle into position for docking at the ISS in orbit, or for preparing the right approach for re-entry. Very cool!
Landing the shuttle is a pretty spectacular feat! This website describes exactly why:
"The orbiter differs in at least one major aspect from conventional aircraft; it is unpowered during re-entry and landing so its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time — there is no go-around capability. The orbiter touchdown speed is 213 to 226 mph."
My #3 slot goes to the Enola Gay, B-29 Superfortress.
The B-29 was incredible because it was not just simply a larger WWII bomber than it's predecessors. The Superfortress was considered the most technologically advanced aircraft of it's day. It was the first bomber with a pressurized cabin, which meant it could cruise at twice the altitude of all other aircraft at the time, keeping it safe from enemy fighters.
The notable thing that makes this B-29 special, as you may know from it's name, is that it is the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima in 1945. A tour-guide informed us that the mission employed a lesser known piece of then top-secret tech: advanced bomb sights. The bomb sights, historically, were a separate piece of equipment that the flight engineers would check-out from the bomb-sight technicians. After running a mission, they would return the sights and report whether the sights were "a little to the left" or what have you. For the Hiroshima mission, the advanced sights employed a computer that was designed to solve for a single variable: When to release the bomb. From 6 miles high, the bomb landed 200 ft from the intended target, which is pretty incredible accuracy.
The other aircraft on display are incredible in their own right, but I don't have the time to jot down fast-facts for all of them. Instead I'll just dump some photos from here and call it a day. Thanks for hanging with the wordy post!
Only the classiest cruise-missiles were equipped with polished wood fins.
A Bell XV-15, the smaller predecessor to the V-22
An underbelly shot of the Concorde supersonic jet-liner.
Land, air, and sea.
Not a great angle, but this is a very cool P-38 WWII fighter.
F-4 Phantom
A personal favorite, the star of Top Gun: F-14 Tomcat
A helicopter drone used to deploy a single torpedo.
The incredible F-35 STOVL (Short Take Off, Vertical Landing)
Yep, vertical landing! Check out the drive train that powers both a forward thruster just behind the cockpit and and the swiveling main engine in the rear.
At screen left, the rear engine thruster in the downward position. Screen right, the vertical thruster.
The arm shooting off to one side (actually both sides) is embedded in the wings of the aircraft and provide extra downward thrust for snappy maneuverability, much like the RCS thrusters on the nose of the Space Shuttle. This is very, very cool!
Below is the Huey. It was here Rob informed me what the angled "spikes" are on the upper and lower front of most helicopters: wire-cutters! They gave the aircraft a fighting chance at cutting through low telephone or power lines instead of getting entangled.
WWII Corsair
