This SR-71 Blackbird Cockpit Tour Is The Most Fascinating Thing You’ll See All Week

Updated Feb 7, 2019 5:06 AM EST

Yesterday I posted a picture on my personal Twitter account showing the Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO) “office” in Skunk Works boss Kelly Johnson’s legendary creation, the SR-71 Blackbird . The photo intrigued many to say the least, and who could blame them? The rear cockpit in the “Sled” looks like something out of a Cold War era science fiction thriller, and in reality, it was just as cool.

Readers know I have written extensively on the SR-71, including articles about the jet’s most spectacular flyover and air show maneuvers , among many other topics, and have even had guest posts on the subject, including one particularly amazing story told by a decorated Blackbird pilot himself. After seeing the picture, multiple people asked me to explain the different dials, screens, and buttons in the jet’s busy cockpits. Luckily, instead of posting some third party account, I found a something way better—a complete tour of the jet’s crew stations given by a guy who sat in the front seat while traveling at Mach 3.2 and 80,000 feet while MiGs circled below him.

SR-71 pilot , former 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing commander, and successful author Richard Graham gave the following in-depth video tour of the Blackbird’s front and rear cockpits to aviation videographer Erik Johnston , and it’s simply outstanding.

At first glance the SR-71’s front cockpit may look somewhat conventional, but what you’ll notice is that the small details Graham describes—like the periscope, laser horizon system, fuel transfer panel, liquid chemical engine start injectors and so on—are anything but.

The RSO had a more roomy work area, which featured controls for the aircraft’s astro tracker navigation system, canvas curtains, and a wall of instrumentation. Oh and that thing that looks like a flip-down tray, it’s actually the moving map projection screen, and under it is the SR-71’s radar sensor display. Then there are the lights that tell the RSO to begin his ejection checklist, and then to eject should the pilot lose communications with him during an emergency. Intense stuff!

You can also see front and back SR-71 cockpit 360s by our friend Lyle Jansma and the National Museum Of The USAF by clicking here and here .

The video series also includes a tour of the J58 turbojet engine that powered the A-12 and SR-71 to amazing speeds and altitudes, and most importantly, an interview with Richard Graham about his experiences flying the Blackbird, and boy is it worth watching in full.

In it, Graham gives a ton of unique details about Blackbird operations. Some highlights including how the aircraft will become unrecoverable and will snap in half and disintegrate if it goes over 17 units of angle of attack. Or how they learned to taxi, takeoff, tank, and fly all around a hemisphere without ever speaking one word on the radio. As for the SR-71’s still debated top speed, Graham says it was really Mach 3.4 and pilots were allowed to do 3.3 if doing so could possibly save their lives and the aircraft.

I can’t overstate enough that this is a must watch video for any Blackbird enthusiast.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2019年2月7日凌晨5:06

昨天我在个人推特账号上发布了一张照片，展示了臭鼬工厂老板凯利·约翰逊的传奇之作——SR-71“黑鸟”侦察机的侦察系统官（RSO）“办公室”。这张照片引起了很多人的好奇，这也不难理解。这架“雪橇”的后座舱看起来就像是冷战时期科幻惊悚片里的场景，而实际上，它也同样酷炫。

读者们都知道我曾撰写过大量关于SR-71的文章，包括关于这架战机最壮观的飞行表演和特技飞行等诸多主题，甚至还刊登过一些关于SR-71的客座文章，其中一篇特别精彩的故事是由一位功勋卓著的黑鸟飞行员亲口讲述的。看到照片后，许多人请我解释一下这架战机繁忙的驾驶舱里各种仪表、屏幕和按钮的含义。幸运的是，我没有发布一些第三方的描述，而是找到了一个更好的资料——一位曾坐在前排驾驶座上，以3.2马赫的速度在8万英尺高空飞行，同时还要提防米格战机在他下方盘旋的飞行员，完整地讲解了这架战机的各个机组岗位。

SR-71 飞行员、前第 9 战略侦察联队指挥官、畅销书作家理查德·格雷厄姆 (Richard Graham) 为航空摄影师埃里克·约翰斯顿 (Erik Johnston) 提供了一段深入的黑鸟前后座舱视频导览，这段视频简直太棒了。

乍一看，SR-71 的前座舱可能看起来有些传统，但你会注意到格雷厄姆描述的那些小细节——比如潜望镜、激光水平仪系统、燃油输送面板、液体化学发动机启动喷射器等等——却绝非如此。

雷达系统操作员（RSO）的工作区域更加宽敞，配备了飞机天文跟踪导航系统的控制装置、帆布帘和一整面墙的仪器。哦，还有那个看起来像翻盖托盘的东西，实际上是移动地图投影屏幕，屏幕下方是SR-71的雷达传感器显示器。此外，还有一些指示灯，指示RSO开始执行弹射检查清单，并在紧急情况下飞行员与他失去联系时指示他弹射。真是紧张刺激！

您还可以通过点击此处和此处，查看我们的朋友 Lyle Jansma 和美国空军国家博物馆提供的 SR-71 驾驶舱前后 360 度全景照片。

该系列视频还包括对 J58 涡轮喷气发动机的参观，该发动机曾为 A-12 和 SR-71 提供动力，使其达到惊人的速度和高度；最重要的是，还采访了理查德·格雷厄姆，讲述了他驾驶黑鸟的经历，绝对值得完整观看。

在书中，格雷厄姆详细描述了黑鸟侦察机的诸多独特细节。其中一些亮点包括：如果黑鸟的迎角超过17个单位，飞机就会断成两截，无法恢复；以及他们如何在不通过无线电交流的情况下，完成滑行、起飞、加油和环游半球的飞行。至于SR-71的最高速度至今仍存在争议，格雷厄姆表示，其真实速度为3.4马赫，如果能够挽救飞行员的生命和飞机，则允许以3.3马赫的速度飞行。

我必须强调，对于任何黑鸟爱好者来说，这都是一部必看的视频。

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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