And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Used to work in aerospace, Ti is rugged material to work cold, mostly we manufactured ridged tube assemblies, its a difficult material to form and bend, tell you what, those guys not only built that screaming beast out of Ti they pioneered manufacturing process and procedures, a just phenomenal effort from every aspect. We also made quite a few tube sets for the engines, lot of 718 nickel alloy, stuff is tough as woodpecker lips, they had to use it because that whole engine could get to glowing bright orange from midway back, to withstand those types of heat cycles, they truly knew what they where doing those folks who built the SR71, all weld joints where class IIIA specification, thats as stringent requirements for no weld defects as there is, usually its say an O2 flexible metal hose from seat to pilots suit on the STS, critical fuel manifolds on jet and particularly rocket engines. Everything we built for the Blackbird carried those kinds of highest specs. Only the RL-10 rocket engine tube sets and ignitor tubes/fuel injector manifolds for jets spec'd out at that high quality level. Its why that beast could do what it did, they knew to the degree of heat, to the kilo newton of flex it would stand and it did exactly that, that was still slide rule days too, though early CAD was entering the picture. The SR used a lot and I mean a shit ton of high pressure bleed air to fly, requires super rugged materials like 718 and Ti, no way around it, and they figured it all out in just a few years prototyping.
I love the unofficial nicknames they come up with: SR-71 - The Sled, F-4 - Rhino, F-16 - Viper, F-105 - Thud, B-52 - BUFF, A-4 - Scooter, F-117 - Wobbly Goblin, F-86D - Dogship, B-1 - Bone, F-100 - Hun. Someone suggested the F-35 be called The Battle Penguin.
Wanna drive an F-16 driver nuts? Just keep referring to his plane as the Fighting Falcon (making sure you draw out the “F” at the start of each word. From an Eagle driver….
Used to work in aerospace, Ti is rugged material to work cold, mostly we manufactured ridged tube assemblies, its a difficult material to form and bend, tell you what, those guys not only built that screaming beast out of Ti they pioneered manufacturing process and procedures, a just phenomenal effort from every aspect. We also made quite a few tube sets for the engines, lot of 718 nickel alloy, stuff is tough as woodpecker lips, they had to use it because that whole engine could get to glowing bright orange from midway back, to withstand those types of heat cycles, they truly knew what they where doing those folks who built the SR71, all weld joints where class IIIA specification, thats as stringent requirements for no weld defects as there is, usually its say an O2 flexible metal hose from seat to pilots suit on the STS, critical fuel manifolds on jet and particularly rocket engines. Everything we built for the Blackbird carried those kinds of highest specs. Only the RL-10 rocket engine tube sets and ignitor tubes/fuel injector manifolds for jets spec'd out at that high quality level. Its why that beast could do what it did, they knew to the degree of heat, to the kilo newton of flex it would stand and it did exactly that, that was still slide rule days too, though early CAD was entering the picture. The SR used a lot and I mean a shit ton of high pressure bleed air to fly, requires super rugged materials like 718 and Ti, no way around it, and they figured it all out in just a few years prototyping.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate this comment. Thanks!
Deleteimagine whats flying today that we dont know about
ReplyDeleteWe don't have to imagine.
DeleteIt's a black triangle that does Mach 6.
I love the unofficial nicknames they come up with: SR-71 - The Sled, F-4 - Rhino, F-16 - Viper, F-105 - Thud, B-52 - BUFF, A-4 - Scooter, F-117 - Wobbly Goblin, F-86D - Dogship, B-1 - Bone, F-100 - Hun. Someone suggested the F-35 be called The Battle Penguin.
ReplyDeleteWanna drive an F-16 driver nuts? Just keep referring to his plane as the Fighting Falcon (making sure you draw out the “F” at the start of each word.
ReplyDeleteFrom an Eagle driver….
And use no cadmium plated fasteners with titanium.
ReplyDeleteSurprised boastsnipper hasn't commented on how he flew them.
ReplyDelete