wb9omc@ea.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) (10/08/90)
From: wb9omc@ea.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) >From: Allan Bourdius <ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu> >I think it's a little late to begin asking questions about the SR-71 >since the USAF has sadly put them all in museums or in storage. Well, don't count them out just *yet*. A group that I participate in on a separate mailing list has been tracking SR71 airframes. WE discovered 7 or 8 that were not accounted for by known accidents, museum moves, or known storage. So, a member of the group called Beale AFB 9th SRW and pointedly gave them the numbers and asked "where are they". He was told that that information could not be given to him. Keep in mind that a less-than-well-known forward TDY station for SR71's was (supposedly) Incirlik, Turkey. (Hmmm..., isn't that close to Iraq?) :-) If you'd like to have your name added to this mailing group, send mail to skunk-works-request@orchestra.ecn.purdue.edu. User prm (Phil Moyer) is the list admin. and will add you promptly. Currently, FYI, I am posting a series of info. on what happened to all 116 of the B58 Hustlers....... Duane
overby@uunet.UU.NET (Glen Overby) (10/09/90)
From: plains!overby@uunet.UU.NET (Glen Overby) In article <1990Oct8.030627.12341@cbnews.att.com> wb9omc@ea.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) writes: >From: wb9omc@ea.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) >>I think it's a little late to begin asking questions about the SR-71 >>since the USAF has sadly put them all in museums or in storage. >Well, don't count them out just *yet*. A group that I participate in I recall that several SR-71s were put into "flyable storage" at the NASA Dryden facility (someone like Mary Schaefer taunted all of us about their flybys). Are they still there? A recent Av. Leak had a article + picure talking about how the U-2 is being used for reconisance in the Persian Gulf theatre. -- Glen Overby <overby@plains.nodak.edu> uunet!plains!overby (UUCP) overby@plains (Bitnet)
military-request@att.att.com (10/11/90)
From: texbell!letni!digi!digi.lonestar.org!user1 ("USER1")
In article <1990Oct8.221014.7595@cbnews.att.com> plains!overby@uunet.UU.NET (Glen Overby) writes:
>
>A recent Av. Leak had a article + picure talking about how the U-2 is being
>used for reconisance in the Persian Gulf theatre.
I have heard this also from a girl I went out with a couple of
times. We were talking about what members of our family did
and she said that her brother was a U-2 pilot in (?) Northern
California. I thought it odd and kept asking her if it really
was a U-2. She said that it was despite me arguing with her.
I thought they were all out of use, but who knows? I'll see
if I can find her again and maybe get some more info, anything
to benefit sci.military!
Rick
--
_________
________________/ SMU |
\_________|
SMU Crew, Rowing's Finest!!!bsk@portia.Stanford.EDU (Brian Keller) (10/15/90)
From: bsk@portia.Stanford.EDU (Brian Keller) In article <1990Oct11.051410.809@cbnews.att.com> writes: > >I have heard this also from a girl I went out with a couple of >times. We were talking about what members of our family did >and she said that her brother was a U-2 pilot in (?) Northern >California. I thought it odd and kept asking her if it really >was a U-2. She said that it was despite me arguing with her. >I thought they were all out of use, but who knows? I'll see >if I can find her again and maybe get some more info, anything >to benefit sci.military! > Yes, a number of U-2's are stationed at Beale AFB, N of Sacramento. This is the same place where a good bunch of the SR-71's operated from. They described the U-2 as being quite a workhorse for the AF still, especially for monitoring countries without impressive defensive systems. They specifically mentioned use over Nicaragua back when that was a hot area. They are impressive not only because of their operating altitude but also because of their LONG loiter time, on the order of 12 hours as I recall. By the way, they are now called something else (TR-2's??) but are basically the same plane but with more endurance and higher max alt than the original. We (student chapter of AIAA, Am. Institute of Aeron. and Astron.) had the good fortune to tour Beale a few years ago. U-2's were practicing take-offs - they are LOUD on take-off and really seem to leap into the air -> very high climb rate. We also saw a T-38 take-off low toward the horizon (interesting comparison). On the tour, we walked around a U-2 and got to peer into the engine (not much to see) and kick those metal-laced tires of an SR-71 as servicemen changed one of the others. In the afternoon, we saw one of the SR-71's shoot half a dozen touch-and-goes - AWESOME!!!!!!! We were all inside at the time and ran out upon hearing the engines knowing it had to be an SR-71. A T-38 was running chase as they were apparently training someone. We were shown other things at Beale, such as the suits, pressure chambers, etc. - a great place to tour, but it must be arranged fairly well in advance. Brian Keller bsk@sun-valley.stanford.edu
woody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Wayne Wood) (10/15/90)
From: woody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Wayne Wood) In article <1990Oct11.051410.809@cbnews.att.com* writes: * * *From: texbell!letni!digi!digi.lonestar.org!user1 ("USER1") * *In article <1990Oct8.221014.7595@cbnews.att.com* plains!overby@uunet.UU.NET (Glen Overby) writes: ** *I have heard this also from a girl I went out with a couple of *times. We were talking about what members of our family did *and she said that her brother was a U-2 pilot in (?) Northern *California. I thought it odd and kept asking her if it really *was a U-2. She said that it was despite me arguing with her. *I thought they were all out of use, but who knows? I'll see *if I can find her again and maybe get some more info, anything *to benefit sci.military! probably out of Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, CA. when i left Chico (about 50 miles north) the USAF had just concluded an agreement to use the municipal airport there for touch-n-goes for the U-2 and as an emergency airfield. That was two years ago. also, the last time i was beating around the Korean DMZ (about 1978) they were using U-2's out of Osan... presumably TDY from Kadena. /*** woody **************************************************************** *** ...tongue tied and twisted, just an earth bound misfit, I... *** *** -- David Gilmour, Pink Floyd *** ****** woody@eos.arc.nasa.gov *** my opinions, like my mind, are my own ******/
raymond%europa@uunet.UU.NET (Raymond Man) (10/15/90)
From: raymond%europa@uunet.UU.NET (Raymond Man) Well the NASA TR-1 is a modified U-2, so at least its derviative is still in used. Just call me `Man'. "And why take ye thought for " -- Matt. 6:28 raymond@jupiter.ame.arizona.edu
brooksp@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Peter Brooks) (10/15/90)
From: Peter Brooks <brooksp@hpcc01.corp.hp.com> Re the U-2 flying out of Northern California. NASA at Ames Labs has flown a U-2 for several years. They use it for various high altitude astronomy studies, including some microwave studies that looked for the background radiation of the universe. Sorry, no military applications. NASA Ames is in Mountain View, just NW of San Jose, and is adjacent to Moffet NAS. BTW, the U-2 engine is incredibly loud. You can hear it for miles when it is warming up if the atmospheric conditions are right. Pete Brooks pb@hpocia.hp.com
shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) (11/03/90)
From: Mary Shafer <shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov>
Glen Overby (plains!overby@uunet.UU.NET) writes:
I recall that several SR-71s were put into "flyable storage" at the NASA
Dryden facility (someone like Mary Schaefer taunted all of us about their
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I've been told there's
no one like me!
flybys). Are they still there?
Of course they're still here. We never get rid of a flyable aircraft.
Mind you, we haven't flown them. But we have done engine runs.
There are two here at Dryden and a third at Palmdale. We also have
a huge warehouse of parts at March AFB and a lake of JP-7 somewhere.
There's been some talk about taking back the SR-71s and using them in
the Gulf Crisis. This is quite nonsensical. It would take forever to
put the aircraft back into flying status with all the surveillance
gear. (Surely nobody thought that the surveillance instrumentation
went with these aircraft to museums, etc? They got pretty much bare
airframes.)
Besides, the Skunk Works turned out a very nice plane in the TR-2.
Why don't we ever hear anything about this successor to the U-2?
Anybody know their status?
--
Mary Shafer shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov ames!skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer
NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
Of course I don't speak for NASA
"A MiG at your six is better than no MiG at all"--Unknown US fighter pilotjabishop@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu (Jonathan A Bishop) (11/05/90)
From: jabishop@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu (Jonathan A Bishop) shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) writes: >Besides, the Skunk Works turned out a very nice plane in the TR-2. >Why don't we ever hear anything about this successor to the U-2? >Anybody know their status? Isn't it the TR-1? -- jabishop@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu "Ground Control to Major Tom: Your circuit's dead; there's something wrong. Can you hear me, Major Tom?" -- David Bowie