[noefingway]

Every time the SR-71 pops up, it's brings back a memory of seeing it do a flyby at Dulles Airport. IIRC it was supposed to be the last flight as the program was ending. This is probably 1989. I didn't know about it until the day of the event so I didn't have my camera with me.

I think my entire engineering department and a bunch from the production floor (about 15-20 of us) went over to the airport to see the bird. Back then you could drive up to and park at the upper departure level. So there we are, waiting... Someone brought a portable scanner along and was listening to air traffic control, so we knew when it would pass over.

First thing we heard was the sonic boom as it passed over (I believe this flight set the west coast to east coast speed record.) After some interval of minutes we heard which direction it would be coming from. All other landing and take off traffic was suspended while the bird circled the airport. Then turned a made a low level (like about the height of the tower) really slow. We got a really good look at it. He hit the afterburners, and took off. I've never seen anything move that fast. It practically disappeared, like something out of a movie jumping into hyperspace. Absolutely incredible, no matter how much I read about the SR-71 and the program, I'm just in awe of the designers and engineers that made it happen.

[vr46]

Amazing aircraft. Never had the pleasure of seeing it in motion but I paid a special visit to see the one at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford outside London. Bloody brilliant, and I even broke the rules to touch it briefly with my hand to feel what it was like.

[mattygee]

You gotta tell me, what did it feel like? :)

It kinda looks, to my eyes at least, like it has a matte finish in photos, so my thinking would be that it would have perhaps an almost shark skin roughness or something? Though you'd imagine surely not given the bit of extra drag when factored over the whole airframe...maybe?

But then again, at those speeds I wonder if there would be a difference or if boundary layer effects take over or something of that nature.

Disclaimer: am obviously not an aerospace engineer :)

[vr46]

It was some years ago but I think you're spot on, it was exactly like that!