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LaurenOlimina

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79. Fun fact about that spyplane's titanium fuselage. Guess where the titanium came from...

Sun Dec 8, 2019, 07:32 PM

Dec 2019

The Soviet Union. Bought from exporters by various shell corporations to hide the ultimate destination.

http://www.mining.com/bbc-future-sr-71-blackbird-the-cold-wars-ultimate-spy-plane-11725/

“The airplane is 92% titanium inside and out.

“Back when they were building the airplane the United States didn’t have the ore supplies – an ore called rutile ore. It’s a very sandy soil and it’s only found in very few parts of the world.

“The major supplier of the ore was the USSR. Working through Third World countries and bogus operations, they were able to get the rutile ore shipped to the United States to build the SR-71.”

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50 years old and still the most impressive, menacing looking plane ever engineered [View all] packman Dec 2019 OP

LA to NY in six minutes The Blue Flower Dec 2019 #1

I think it was closer to one hour and six minutes Zorro Dec 2019 #5

Er, closer to sixty minutes. But still damn fast. ZZenith Dec 2019 #7

Interesting, how time catches up. 3Hotdogs Dec 2019 #32

Right, firing through the arc of the propellors caraher Dec 2019 #82

There's also a more modern example caraher Dec 2019 #84

"SLOW DOWN, DAMMIT!" I think is the lesson here. ZZenith Dec 2019 #86

More to the point, it flew faster than anything that could shoot at it caraher Dec 2019 #83

That's upwards of 28,000 mph. Codeine Dec 2019 #35

Right you are, the Blackbird has very briefly hit Mach 3.5 or approx 2593 mph. MasonDreams Dec 2019 #55

What's your favorite color? GeoWilliam750 Dec 2019 #57

Ni! nt Codeine Dec 2019 #63

Closer to 60 years now Zorro Dec 2019 #2

I always found it interesting the U-2 outlived the SR-71 Brother Buzz Dec 2019 #21

I had one of these bad boys use me for target-practice once...... lastlib Dec 2019 #22

"....and it's supporting you, then it's totally angelic looking" sarge43 Dec 2019 #23

Funky looking, but deadly El Mimbreno Dec 2019 #30

I got to see one of those landing Crabby Appleton Dec 2019 #31

AN-225 taking of at DIA.... diverdownjt Dec 2019 #74

i saw one once at dryden research centre in southern ca whilst following a space shuttle . AllaN01Bear Dec 2019 #3

I found something like that on the beach once. TheCowsCameHome Dec 2019 #4

+1 Blue_Tires Dec 2019 #6

Is it a SR-71? The Wielding Truth Dec 2019 #8

Great video. Dem2theMax Dec 2019 #29

LOL! lunatica Dec 2019 #42

Ha! That was fun. blaze Dec 2019 #58

Great story and video SnowCritter Dec 2019 #66

Hilarious! Thanks for sharing that. nt crickets Dec 2019 #68

My vote would be for the B 52 gibraltar72 Dec 2019 #9

I once saw a sortie of B-52s fly overhead at low altitude Zorro Dec 2019 #10

Carpet bombing are us. gibraltar72 Dec 2019 #17

Once saw a B-52 on a *very* low practice run on a military training route in Nebraska. The Velveteen Ocelot Dec 2019 #24

I once saw James48 Dec 2019 #41

I've seen B-1s doing the same thing in ND Major Nikon Dec 2019 #44

One of the amazing things about the B-52 is its longevity NoPasaran Dec 2019 #48

To me the F-4 Phantom always looked like it was born to kick ass. lpbk2713 Dec 2019 #11

My choice too jpak Dec 2019 #14

Yeah, that was a bad ass plane... Wounded Bear Dec 2019 #25

So did I. skydive forever Dec 2019 #60

MCAS El Toro, early 70s... Wounded Bear Dec 2019 #62

During the first Gulf War (91) The Wizard Dec 2019 #59

Yes. Menacing and Yet Beautiful DarthDem Dec 2019 #12

XB-70 Valkyrie. MicaelS Dec 2019 #13

She used to greet visitors driving by the National Museum of the USAF, right by Col. Glenn Highway OilemFirchen Dec 2019 #20

I've seen it a couple of times Major Nikon Dec 2019 #45

Reminder: The YF-12 was the *armed* two-seat version of the A-11. SR-71 was the later modification. eppur_se_muova Dec 2019 #15

It has the face of a peevish Daffy Duck. Ron Obvious Dec 2019 #16

I had one join on my right wing once. trof Dec 2019 #18

If you'd snapped a pic, you'd probably have been arrested... Wounded Bear Dec 2019 #26

Pictures were OK, but not of the ground cart. rickford66 Dec 2019 #65

I always thought the F-86 Sabrejet was a beatifully proportioned plane. brush Dec 2019 #33

This message was self-deleted by its author Hotler Dec 2019 #19

The SR-71....The Blackbird.... ProudMNDemocrat Dec 2019 #27

Wicked cool. nt Ilsa Dec 2019 #28

Thanks burrowowl Dec 2019 #34

Pretty scary, but... B Stieg Dec 2019 #36

Me too. Aristus Dec 2019 #50

Phffffft! You can't draw big dicks in the sky with it. Kaleva Dec 2019 #37

The B-58 Hustler deserves mention. Marcuse Dec 2019 #38

True gwyllm Dec 2019 #69

I grew up around B-58s Zorro Dec 2019 #71

I remember Bunker Hill AFB gwyllm Dec 2019 #72

This message was self-deleted by its author PuffedMica Dec 2019 #39

This biplane looks menacing to me! Ptah Dec 2019 #40

You can get pretty close to one for free, here in Huntsville. House of Roberts Dec 2019 #43

Glad to know she is still there, I still think they should bring her indoors. MasonDreams Dec 2019 #54

Late DH worked on a component of that plane, marybourg Dec 2019 #46

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2019 #47

What Made the SR-71 Blackbird Such a Badass Plane Glaisne Dec 2019 #49

It was built with titanium which came from - wait for it - Russia. LastLiberal in PalmSprings Dec 2019 #76

wow! what is it? samnsara Dec 2019 #51

Knew a retired Air Force mechanic who worked on these randr Dec 2019 #52

Even before clicking, I knew it was the SR-71 yonder Dec 2019 #53

My wife and I love this plane more than any other. marble falls Dec 2019 #56

Kansas Cosmosphere has one hanging from the ceiling! lastlib Dec 2019 #61

I knew one of the engineers who worked on that beast. hunter Dec 2019 #64

Fun fact: It was actually supposed to be called an RS-71 William Seger Dec 2019 #67

There's one at the Udvar Hazy center of the National Air and Space Museum IronLionZion Dec 2019 #70

My favorite museums William Seger Dec 2019 #73

Here's Queen Amadala's space ship from Star Wars LastLiberal in PalmSprings Dec 2019 #75

It was quite the upgrade for the X-men! LaurenOlimina Dec 2019 #80

I rode a few times at a farm near the Ottawa airport. I was out when all of a sudden i noticed applegrove Dec 2019 #77

The original skunkworks building is part of the office campus I work at. Kablooie Dec 2019 #78

Fun fact about that spyplane's titanium fuselage. Guess where the titanium came from... LaurenOlimina Dec 2019 #79

And the only weapons it carried Warren_Pointe Dec 2019 #81

Favorite SR-71 story, you've read this one somewhere right? roscoeroscoe Dec 2019 #85

Aah yes, Major Shul and the boys bluedeathray Feb 2020 #87