Talk:Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

to remove the nonsense

Please remove this popular nonsense:SR-71 pilot Brian Shul states in his book The Untouchables that he flew in excess of Mach 3.5 on 15 April 1986 over Libya to evade a missile. On April 15, 1986 over Libya, the SR-71 did not Dodge the s-200 missile, but flew around the area where the S-200 complex was located. And Speed was 3.15 Mach, not 3.5.[1]. boastful stories of retired pilots have no place in the encyclopedia, as well as fantastic stories of fishermen and hunters. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pelmen220 (talk • contribs) 10:11, 14 June 2019 (UTC)

The text clearly says "states in his book" which is a kind of quoting – removal reverted. --Zac67 (talk) 16:33, 14 June 2019 (UTC)

Well, the problem is that with the declassification of the SR-71 Flight Manual we find that despite Brian Shul's assurances, the SR-71 can't fly in excess of Mach 3.5, now the speed limitations are in black & white in the manual. — Preceding unsigned comment added by John Simpson54 (talk • contribs) 04:39, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

"he states in his book" is equivalent to "he claims". That claim is a fact to read in his book, regardless of whether the claim itself is true. --Zac67 (talk) 05:52, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

Misleading thrust values in Specifications Power plant

I don't know how to edit this. Is there someone out there who can help?

The thrusts quoted are for an uninstalled engine which are misleading for an aircraft article. The flight manual emphasizes that max afterburning thrust on an ISA day at sea level is 34,000 lb uninstalled. It shows the corresponding installed values as (ISA SLS) dry 18,000 lb and 25,500 lb wet. ie there is a considerable pressure loss in the inlet. Note the correct values are shown in Pratt & Whitney J58. Pieter1963 (talk) 20:42, 26 June 2020 (UTC)

SEEALSO

Per what, exactly, makes this exempt from WP:SEEALSO? That it's in an awkward template doesn't create an exemption, and they're both linked prominently in the lede already. - Aoidh (talk) 21:48, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

It's a long story. The short is that {{aircontent}} was originally part of a navbox, but was forced to be moved into the See also section. The "Related development" and "Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era" fields. are by their nature goimg to repeat links from the article. However. the "See also" parameter does follow the guidelines. BilCat (talk) 21:57, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

Maximum Speed

There is a problem with the maximum speed listed.

It is quoted as Mach 3.2 with 3.3 when a specific metric is met.

The problem is Mach 3.2 = 2455mph or 2133.5 knots but the maximum speeds listed do not match the calculated speed when you converts Mach to mph or knots.

I tend to believe the Mach number to be accurate (probably faster still, we may never know?) but can somebody investigate and edit the maximum speed numbers so they are consistent in their accuracy?

Thanks 115.64.74.126 (talk) 16:34, 5 November 2022 (UTC)

You can't use the speed of sound at standard conditions (sea level, 15°C). The speed of sound and subsequently the Mach number vary with temperature. Between 12,000 and 24,000 m the speed of sound is roughly 295 m/s or 660 mph. --Zac67 (talk) 16:50, 5 November 2022 (UTC)

To show the difference, {{convert}} has a Mach facility that accepts height as a parameter.

Height	Markup	Displayed
0 ft	{{convert|3.2|Mach|altitude_ft=0|mph knot}}	Mach 3.2 (2,440 mph; 2,120 kn)
40000 ft	{{convert|3.2|Mach|altitude_ft=40000|mph knot}}	Mach 3.2 (2,110 mph; 1,840 kn)
85000 ft	{{convert|3.2|Mach|altitude_ft=85000|mph knot}}	Mach 3.2 (2,140 mph; 1,860 kn)
100000 ft	{{convert|3.2|Mach|altitude_ft=100000|mph knot}}	Mach 3.2 (2,160 mph; 1,880 kn)
0 ft	{{convert|3.3|Mach|altitude_ft=0|mph knot}}	Mach 3.3 (2,510 mph; 2,180 kn)
40000 ft	{{convert|3.3|Mach|altitude_ft=40000|mph knot}}	Mach 3.3 (2,180 mph; 1,890 kn)
85000 ft	{{convert|3.3|Mach|altitude_ft=85000|mph knot}}	Mach 3.3 (2,210 mph; 1,920 kn)
100000 ft	{{convert|3.3|Mach|altitude_ft=100000|mph knot}}	Mach 3.3 (2,230 mph; 1,940 kn)

The height parameter makes an estimate of the temperature and pressure at that altitude.  Stepho  talk  22:26, 5 November 2022 (UTC)

Mach only depends on temperature. In practice the top speed was set by the skin temperature (from memory), which would have varied at a given mph depending on both the density and the temperature of the air. Mach only depends on one of those things. That is they could fly at higher mach at higher altitudes, even at the same atmospheric temperature, because the density was lower. https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/aerodynamic-heating-calculator-advanced.84537/ has an interesting discussion Greglocock (talk) 22:46, 5 November 2022 (UTC)

In Popular Culture?

How about an "in popular culture" section? X-men, etc. Theanthrope (talk) 20:28, 30 March 2023 (UTC)