Dario Leone of The Aviation Geek Club reviews Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird by Scott Lowther.
The Lockheed ‘Blackbird’ aircraft family is arguably the most famous in the world.
There were four major types:
There were also trainer versions of the A-12 and SR-71. These were called the TA-12, SR-71B, and SR-71C. They had a second cockpit for an instructor pilot. It was located above and behind the student cockpit.
The 'Titanium Goose'
As told by Scott Lowther in the book Origins and Evolution Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, one of the A-12s was substantially different from the others. The fourth airframe, Article 124/serial number 60-6927, was the sole two-seat trainer. It has been variously designated as the A-12T and the TA-12, but it has become better known as the ‘Titanium Goose’.
A second, raised cockpit for the instructor-pilot was added to the airframe, occupying the former Q-bay. Delivered in November, 1962, its first flight occurred in May 1963. It was equipped with J75 engines and was never upgraded to J58s. The less powerful engines, coupled with increased drag from the raised second cockpit, meant that the Titanium Goose was never able to reach Mach 3. It was in fact limited to Mach 1.6 and 40,000ft. This was not a problem, however, as takeoff and landing, together with basic control of the aircraft, were more important for the trainee to learn about than high Mach flight.
The Titanium Goose was built with the original wedges in the chines, covered in triangular sheets of titanium. This was non-stealthy, but once again that was not an issue for this trainer aircraft. The aircraft survives and has been on display outside the California Science Center in Los Angeles since 2003. It is the only A-12 currently in a bare-metal finish. While this has allowed the skin to be stained and oxidized by the weather, it has resulted in a visually rather remarkable display. The Titanium Goose is also notable for being the only A-12 in which Kelly Johnson himself took a flight.
In January 1966, the seventh SR-71 completed and delivered was the first SR-71B trainer, with a gross weight of 139,200lb carrying 59,0001b of fuel.
Configured like the A-12T with a raised second cockpit for the instructor, this aircraft was conveniently the first SR-71 to enter operational US Air Force inventory. Two SR-71B trainers, tail numbers 64-17956 and 64-17957, were delivered. Along with the raised second cockpit, they featured the outboard ventral fins of the YF-12A to offset the yaw moment produced by the added area of the raised cockpit. The raised cockpit, while the same idea as that of the A-12T, was configured quite differently, being substantially longer and sleeker.
The instructor’s cockpit was, unlike the station of the reconnaissance systems operator in a standard SR-71, fitted out to allow for control of the aircraft in the event the trainee pilot proved incapable. However, it did not have a full set of controls; the electrical system, for instance, was solely controlled from the forward cockpit. Flying the aircraft from the rear cockpit was apparently something of a chore. Fortunately, trainee pilots were all experienced experts long before they took to the air in the SR-71B. Not only were they among the best pilots the Air Force had to offer in the first place, they underwent a substantial training process on the ground using advanced (for the time) simulators.
SR-71B 64-17957 suffered a double-generator failure in January 1968 while over Montana. All possible landing sites between there and Edwards Air Force Base were ruled out due to winter weather conditions and unfortunately, seven miles short of the runway, the aircraft crashed. Fortunately, both pilots safely ejected.
To replace the SR-71 B that crashed, a trainer was built from the front half of a static test SR-71 fuselage, the aft section of the first YF-12A, and a new instructor’s cockpit. Designated SR-71C, SR-71 S/N 61-7981 was the only C model Blackbird ever built and the last SR-71 to be manufactured. Given that the aircraft was a hybrid comprised of a functional engineering mockup of an SR-71A forward fuselage built for static testing and of the rear fuselage of the first YF-12A (S/N 60-6934) it was nicknamed “The Bastard.”
Today it is on display at Hill Aerospace Museum, located on the northwest corner of Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
The other SR-71B went on to fly for NASA and is now on display in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Origins and Evolution Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is published by Mortons Books and is available to order here.
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