The KC-135Q It’s impossible to overemphasise the essential role played by the KC-135Q tanker crews, without whom successful prosecution of… Read More
The SR-71 Blackbird In the 1960’s, the US Air Force (USAF) developed the SR-71 Blackbird, a plane that could travel… Read More
A problem of flying at Mach 3+ was that at the time when the SR-71 was devised no sealant would… Read More
The SR-71 Blackbird smart valve supplied only the hottest fuel to the engines and sent cooler fuel to retracted landing… Read More
As the Blackbird entered the hangar, it encountered water on the ground, which had mixed with the SR-71’s specialized JP-7… Read More
The SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3+ spy plane could be refueled by standard Stratotankers in the event KC-135Qs were not available.… Read More
The SR-71 Blackbird was the first aircraft to use its own fuel for hydraulic fluid. It was called the fuel… Read More
No story on the SR-71 would be complete without an understanding and appreciation of just how valuable the KC-135Q model… Read More
SR-71 Blackbird crew members have said that they sometimes came down looking for a tanker, not so much because they… Read More
‘To ignite the JP-7 for engine start, and to light the afterburner section, a liquid chemical ignition system was used.… Read More
‘The NTSB lists Triethylborane [TEB] as the following most dangerous material, one step below fissionable nuclear material,’ Former SR-71 Blackbird… Read More
JP-7 production caused a nationwide shortage of bug spray. JP-7 fuel (referred to as Jet Propellant 7 prior to MIL-DTL-38219)… Read More
Upon arrival at Mildenhall to set up recovery operations, Colonel Patrick Halloran, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing Commander, was informed that… Read More
The SR-71 Blackbird used a special blend of fuel called JP7 which has a high flashpoint to prevent it from… Read More
‘Don and I were grabbing on to the wingtip to try and stop it, people were grabbing every part of… Read More
“The nose section was gone just forward of the cockpit and the canopy had caved in on me. I thought,… Read More
The J58 generated a maximum thrust of 32,500 pounds -- more than 160,000 shaft horsepower -- and was the most… Read More
