ftldave Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 A fascinating report about the use of exotic fuel additives on the A-12 spy plane, the SR-71's predecessor. From TheDrive.com: A-12 - Cesium-Laced Fuel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnuss Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Nice article -- thanks. Larry N. As Skylab would say: Remember: Aviation is NOT an exact Science! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRJ_simpilot Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 In addition, even though the SR-71 featured improved electronic warfare capabilities and never overflew the Soviet Union, it still operated in areas where there were very real threats from enemy air defenses. Blackbirds also flew over North Vietnam, for instance, and certainly flew missions around the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, which carried distinct risks. I always thought the SR-71 did fly over the USSR. Maybe the A-12 did? OOM errors? Read this. What the squawk? An awesome weather website with oodles of Info. and options. Wile E. Coyote would be impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftldave Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 (edited) I always thought the SR-71 did fly over the USSR. Maybe the A-12 did? Officially: never. Unofficially, well, lots of Cold War secrets have been unclassified in the past 10-15 years, but not all of them. Soviet missiles and, in the late 1980s, the MIG-31 with its networked\phased-array radar made SR-71 overflights very risky. MIG-31s might not have been able to intercept SR-71 in chase, but four of them, at least once, did block an SR-71 flight path on the periphery of eastern Siberia. To quote one historian's explanation: "Gary Power's [u-2 spy plane] shoot down spoiled the party." Edited September 15, 2019 by ftldave change txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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