SR 71 Blackbird stories

[NomoneyNohoney]

As a boy, and like most boys, I was fascinated by tales of derring-do. Whether it be Zorro escaping from some evil hombre, or any archetypal general hero - usually Errol Flynn - didn't matter, as long as the story was entertaining, featured a self-effacing genuine do-gooder hero, then I was there. We lads used to walk home from Saturday morning pictures, throwing our imaginary capes back over our shoulders, adjusting our imaginary masks, and then having exhilarating imaginary sword fights, all the way till we got home for lunch.

Today I'd like to introduce two videos for you, both of the same man, Brian Shul, best know for being pilot of the Blackbird SR71 aircraft. The second video has become a time-honoured classic, which - if it's new to you, I hope you will find to be like a fine wine, a taste to be savoured, lingered over and enjoyed. Like most fine wines, the first taste with its joy of discovery is the one that lingers best, so if you haven't either read the story or seen it on video before, I hope the second story, "LA Speed Story" is a delight for you.

To lead into the second video, I'll start however with a long video which will best set the scene. This first video - "Author Brian Shul on piloting the SR-71" - first mentions the SR71 from 17.00 minutes onwards, should you want to get straight into the meat of it.
Enough waffle - two videos, the first long, the second shorter, which I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nuAZfKSvvg
Author Brian Shul on piloting the SR-71

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILop3Kn3JO8
LA speed story

Enjoy!

[NomoneyNohoney]

I left it too late to edit the original because I got mixed up. The "LA Speed Story" is included in the first video, from about 56 minutes onwards, so ignore watching it as a separate video. Doh!

[AleisterCrowley]

Brilliant stuff - but I did notice a lot of borrowed footage from Close Encounters (one of my fave films)
"Air East 31 can you say aircraft type?"

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Very entertaining video.

I'd like if I may please to offer up a rebuttal on behalf of "Flt Lt Hale". Now before y'all go off hoping for an entertaining speech by this gentleman I have to say that ain't gunna happen. It's a dull boring video filled with boring old facts.

But I'd like to suggest that by the end of it you will feel that little bit more proud of a small part of military aviation history that will forever belong to the UK. If the USA had the fastest aircraft with the highest ceiling that's all well and good. But in the UK we had something that came a close second.

Apologies up front for the lack of entertainment of the video. As noted above this is fact filled only.

And one of the two heroes of this story now resides in Bonny Scotland as a Gate Guardian (or it did at the time of the video)

AiY

[NomoneyNohoney]

Although not really on-topic, I'd like to offer a couple of anecdotes for you.

I used to work at Heathrow, in the time that Concorde was flying. There were a couple of flights a day, around lunchtime and early evening. With the midday flight (when I assume the plane was landing), obviously it was low to the ground at Heathrow, and the noise was staggering. Childish it might have been, but every day I giggled as the rumble faded away, just leaving the bleeps and whoops of many car-alarms that were close to the flight path.

My strongest memory though, was of finishing work at about 6.30pm one winters' evening. I drove away from Heathrow and started going down some "agricultural" roads near Colnbrook, single track with hedges either side and poor visibility. As I poodled along, all of a sudden there was an earth-shaking roar and huge blue flames in the sky. I instinctively hunched up in fright, and started to swerve the car, but luckily corrected quickly, as my pulse rate soared, and I got a wonderful close-up view of Concorde taking off directly in front of me. The noise was incredible, and it was like looking into a furnace. Absolutely awe-inspiring and soul-stirring. God, I loved that plane!

[servodude]

Am I the only one trying to remember to "think in Russian"

[AleisterCrowley]

I used to work at Heathrow, in the time that Concorde was flying. There were a couple of flights a day, around lunchtime and early evening. ...

I drove away from Heathrow and started going down some "agricultural" roads near Colnbrook,...

I was based in our Slough office in the 90s, and can remember seeing Concorde coming in to land on many occasions, snout down and fairly low. Amazing sight!

O/T did you ever go to the Ostrich in Colnbrook ? My friend worked there late 80s/early 90s

[NomoneyNohoney]

Yup, I was a summer-time Ostrich visitor.