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Before the SR-71 Blackbird, there was a faster, more secretive spy plane: the CIA’s A-12 Oxcart. -Developed in the 1960s at ...
The SR-71 Blackbird, a marvel of engineering and innovation, remains unparalleled in speed even fifty years after its ...
Spinning up its massive J58 engines takes a lot of grunt, which is why hugely powerful “start carts”—comprised of two American V8 engines and two automatic transmissions with a single output ...
At that speed, combustion chambers in the SR-71’s two huge Pratt & Whitney J58 engines reach a temperature of 2,800°—hotter than any other operational engine.
The J58 required the use of a special AG330 engine starter cart to spool the engines up to the proper rotational speed for starting. The cart was powered by two unmuffled Buick Wildcat V-8 racing ...
A ground test of the Pratt & Whitney J58 engine’s afterburner at full power. It’s truly amazing that only 61 years and five days separate this from this: And it’s even more unbelievable that ...
Twin Pratt & Whitney J58 engines and the inlet that fed them air were the key to the SR-71’s high speed. The engines operated in afterburner mode during all phases of flight save mid-air refueling.
Boeing’s hypersonic airliner also would use a turboramjet configuration, with some variations compared to the J58. Instead of ducting only a portion of the airflow around combustor over M2, Boeing’s ...
INDUCTED: Engine maker Pratt & Whitney has been inducted into the Blackbird Laurels Society to recognize its contributions to the U.S. Air Force's SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft.