Forum: Military Aircraft of the Cold War

Would it be possible to take the framing out of the center canopy of the Blackbird it seems weird that it is right were the pilot would be looking you could possibly put a camera somewhere too covered with some high temp glass possibly below the canopy on the nose any ideas?

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With modern design tech, maybe, but the Sled is long since retired.

It seems they could just put a single slab of angled high temp glass and take the framing off, or modify pitot tubes and add an advanced camera. Since even the smallest of cameras have great quality with technology these days.

Elite 1K Joined: May 26, 2005 - 08:39 PM Posts: 1496

Who is "they" and why would "they" want to ugly up one of the most elegant looking aircraft ever built? Giant slab of glass? For what? A Sled pilot spent his time heads down monitoring gauges.

And as sprstdlyscottsmn said, that ship has sailed. They've been retired for over a decade now.

hmmm, but that picture right there shows why it is such a crime. 50 years later and it is still the king of speed.

Mustang, the cameras were back in the Q-Bay, behind the RSO. In fact, the RSO's cockpit actually cut into the space that was originally part of the Q-Bay in the original A-12 variant.

Changing the positions of cameras would cause Weight/CG problems.

Also, as was alluded to in Guysmiley's post, the Pilot and RSO weren't there for a sightseeing flight. They were "craniums down" doing their jobs. The pilot was checking engine tapes, making sure that they didn't experience unstarts, along with a myraid other taskings. The RSO was operating the cameras and other "goodies".

Sadly, yes, the SR's time has already come and gone. I see you're in Georgia. If that's the Atlanta variety, and not the Tiblisi variety (wow, I HAVE been to both Georgia capital cities! Wink

), then head to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB. Some great exhibits there, including the Blackbird herself. But that's the only way you'll get to see the SR anymore, is in a museum. Satellites, U-2s, RQ-4s, and other UAVs are doing the job now.

Fly safe!

Please, oh please, don't let this turn into another 10 page 'rebuild X aircraft out of unobtainium to get 5 more minutes at max speed' thread.

X2
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3!

But then again, TC's back, so you KNOW I'm not letting that Bravo Sierra happen! I control the "magic button". Wink

"The tribe has spoken." Case closed. Court is adjourned.

And in appreciation, another Reaganism for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRUbwnkEPqc
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Awesome! It seemed as though he always knew the right quote for the right moment. Here's to "Ronnie Ray-Gun"! Salute

That made my morning.

mustang65 wrote:

It seems they could just put a single slab of angled high temp glass and take the framing off, or modify pitot tubes and add an advanced camera. Since even the smallest of cameras have great quality with technology these days.

I can't believe Kelly didn't think of that! Good call!

LOL. If Kelly didnt think of it, it wasnt a good idea for his plane. REmember Mustang, you are not taking a picture across the street, you are trying to identify vehicles from 16 miles away while moving at 1 mile every 1.8-1.6 seconds.

Scottsmn, PLZ don't try to infuse that great dream killer known as "LOGIC" into this argument. Laughing

Forum: Military Aircraft of the Cold War

SR-71 question