Download or read book Black Lightning The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds written by Jeannette Remak and published by Speaking Volumes. This book was released on with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Black Lightning—The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds Revised edition of The Archangel and the Oxcart Black Lightning—The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds—brings to life the unique and mesmerizing story of Kelly Johnson’s Lockheed Blackbirds; The A-12 Cygnus, M-21/D-21 mother daughter reconnaissance drone, the YF-12 Interceptor and of course, the magnificent SR-71. As the Cold War became more deadly, the United States needed to find answers to the Soviet Union and their dangerous games. As the USSR progressed in technology, the United States had a need to know what was happening on the other side of the Iron Curtain. The "spy on the ground" was not viable anymore. The CIA had to find an answer to replace that spy. Aerial Reconnaissance in the U.S. was in trouble. The USAF was recycling its WWII methods of aerial reconnaissance. The "Silent Warriors", those who took those reconnaissance missions unbeknowest to family and many in the military itself, were crews that were becoming casualties of the USSR MiGs faster than anyone thought possible. A new answer was needed and that answer was speed. Lockheed and the CIA came up with the speed, Mach 3 speed for the first time in aerial reconnaissance and aviation history. Black Lightning—The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds tells the story of the men and aircraft that covered enemy territory, alone, and unarmed. These CIA pilots and their speed hungry aircraft returned the "photographic material" for the U.S. faster than ever before. Black Lightning—The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds documents the history of the fastest aircraft ever known and the men that flew them.
Download or read book Eagle Eyes written by Jeannette Remak and published by Speaking Volumes. This book was released on with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eagle Eyes—the Development of Aerial Reconnaissance in the United States encompasses the amazing history of how the U.S. developed its most potent weapon, along with the aircraft, methods and tools that carried the load. Beginning with the start of the Civil War and the use of balloons as a method of finding out what the enemy was doing, aerial reconnaissance came into its own. The U.S. learned much of what it needed from the British Intelligence during WWI and WWII. From there, the United States developed its awe inspiring tactics of how to get the “goods” on the enemy. Through WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the current hot bed of the Mid-East, aerial reconnaissance has been the means to a most critical end. Eagle Eyes explores the development of not only the aircraft, but the methods for image interpretation. Cameras, film T.V. and satellites are all a part of this mosaic of U.S. Intelligence gathering. It also looks at the very near future of the next high speed, stealth aircraft and how drones developed from a loitering camera in the sky, to a killing machine. Eagle Eyes is a fascinating look at a critical and important part of the U.S. intelligence gathering operations.
Download or read book To Slip The Surly Bonds written by Jeannette Remak and published by Speaking Volumes. This book was released on with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To Slip The Surly Bonds—NASA, The Shuttle Disasters and the Demise of the U.S. Manned Spaceflight Program: To Slip the Surly Bonds—enters into the world of NASA and tells the story of not just why the shuttle disasters happened, but exposes NASA’s inner workings and what actually led up to the two most horrifying space accidents known. It explores the new CEV and explains the need for the United States to pay more attention to space. NASA’s budget had been gutted many times by various Presidential administrations and Congress, following the halcyon days of Apollo and the Moon. NASA was short on money and mission profile after we landed on the moon. The Space Shuttle was truly a successful program and the ISS gave the shuttle an excuse for being. Congress was also having a field day with budget cuts, not to mention devastating the programs with pork barrel projects that were hooked into the NASA budget. NASA too, had been its own worst enemy due to its static, bureaucratic, way of doing its internal business. China, and Japan, and India are forging their way to the stars while NASA sits on a lonely launch pad, waiting for the next crumb to fall from the Congressional table. The U. S. Commercial Aerospace sector has had some brilliant successes with reaching the space station with robotic cargo flights, but there is nothing that is now man-rated for travel to the ISS or anywhere else. The new CEV or Crew Exploration Vehicle is in the process of testing, but the money is again short. NASA must continue to struggle for its needs while other nations reach higher. To Slip the Surly Bonds explores the intricacies of how and why NASA was created, the Manned Spaceflight program, how the shuttle disasters happened and why the United States’ position in the space frontier is in jeopardy.
Download or read book From Archangel to Senior Crown written by Peter W. Merlin and published by AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics). This book was released on 2008 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Lockheed Blackbirds hold a unique place in the development of aeronautics. In their day, the A-12, YF-12, M-21, D-21, and SR-71 variants outperformed all other jet airplanes in terms of altitude and speed. Now retired, they remain the only production aircraft capable of sustained Mach 3 cruise and operational altitudes above 80,000 feet.This is the first book to address the technical aspects of these incredible aircraft. The author describes the design evolution of the Blackbird, from the Archangel to the Senior Crown (the Air Force's SR-71.) He describes in detail the construction and materials challenges faced by Lockheed, as well as the Blackbird's performance characteristics and capabilities.A NASA historian, the author describes NASA's role in using the aircraft as a flying laboratory to collect data on materials, structures, loads, heating, aerodynamics, and performance for high-speed aircraft. The reader will benefit from the technical and programmatic lessons learned.This volume was produced in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Download or read book Lockheed Blackbird written by Paul F. Crickmore and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-17 with total page 894 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using previously unpublished information, globally renowned expert Paul Crickmore builds upon his definitive account of the SR-71 Blackbird, In 1986 Paul Crickmore's first groundbreaking book about the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was published. At that time, the Cold War was at its height and the SR-71 was an integral element in securing crucial intelligence from all parts of the globe. The highly sensitive nature of its missions couldn't be compromised, and it wasn't until the end of the Cold War that the operational exploits of this incredible aeronautical masterpiece could be openly written about. As time passed has more and more information has come to light, with a vast number of official documents declassified and key military figures able to talk openly about the Blackbird programme. Paul Crickmore has used these updated facts to revise his previous history of one of the world's most iconic aircraft of all time, creating what will surely be considered the definitive, timeless volume about the SR-71 Blackbird.
Download or read book Lockheed Blackbird written by Paul F. Crickmore and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-11-23 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The SR-71 Blackbird is an iconic aircraft that has come to symbolize America's technological superiority during the Cold War. Using recently declassified information, globally renowned expert Paul Crickmore updates his definitive account of the aircraft. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird ranks as one of the most elegant, sleek and powerful aeroplanes ever designed. But it was not built to be admired – it was built not to be seen at all. The high-altitude aerial reconnaissance sorties it was to perform were top secret and carefully concealed from public knowledge. However, as the aircraft have become museum pieces and details of their work declassified, the whole story of their design and operation can finally be told. This updated edition of Paul Crickmore's classic Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Missions is based on 850 pages of documentation and images declassified by the CIA covering the A-12 Oxcart programme. These highly significant documents range from discussions at the highest levels of the US government concerning the rationale for Oxcart's development and eventual deployment, to extremely detailed intelligence data gleaned from each of the 29 operational missions flown by Oxcart during Operation Black Shield. The Blackbird family of aircraft continue to fascinate a wide age group and, since the aircraft will never fly again, its history has become timeless. This new edition will provide the last word on the SR-71 Blackbird and its operational history.
Download or read book The Blackbirds and Me My Incredible Journey with the Lockheed Skunk Works written by Lew Williams and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-03-31 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I walked into the future on a February morning in 1961. I had an exciting career in which I had the privilege of working on all of the BLACKBIRD aircraft. These aircraft were so sleek, so futuristic, so far beyond any other aircraft I had ever seen. There I was, standing in the future of Aviation. The airplane called the A-12 was the predecessor to the SR-71. This airplane was so secret that only a very select few people would know of her presence. The SR-71 would be a follow on of the A-12 and the whole world saw her for the first time on September 1, 1974 in a speed run from New York to London. The world speed record would be one hour and fifty four minutes. The SR-71 was already being used to bring pertinent information from all over the world back to the U.S. concerning the current political situation.
Download or read book From Rainbow to Gusto written by Paul A. Suhler and published by Library of Flight. This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on recently declassified CIA documents; Lockheed and Convair photographs, reports and technical drawings; and oral histories, memories, and interviews with the scientists and engineers involved, this is a technical history of the evolution of the Lockheed A-12 Blackbird.
Download or read book Lockheed Blackbird Family written by Tony Landis and published by Specialty Press (MN). This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Still the world's most popular and most exciting aircraft, the Lockheed family of A-12, YF-12, D-21/M-21, and SR-71 Blackbirds are to this day the highest-performance jet-powered airplanes ever flown. They have set numerous world speed and altitude records for manned aircraft powered by air-breathing engines that theoretically may never be broken. Although no longer operational, A-12s and SR-71s flew for nearly three decades at speeds in excess of Mach 3 and altitudes of up to 90,000 feet. Expanding on the successful sales of all Specialty Press Blackbird publications is this natural extension of our product line created by compiling many never-before-published photos coupled with new de-classified information recently released by the CIA, including black-and-white and color photos of A-12 cockpits, early camera installations, and never-before-seen special camouflage schemes.
Download or read book Lockheed s SR 71 Blackbird Family written by James Goodall and Jay Miller and published by . This book was released on with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Lockheed Blackbirds written by Anthony M. Thornborough and published by . This book was released on 1988-01-01 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beretter om udviklingen og anvendelsen af de berømte amerikanske Lockheed-"spionfly" fra 1950-60erne, U-2 og SR-71 i deres mange forskellige varianter.
Download or read book Lockheed Blackbird Family written by Tony R. Landis and published by . This book was released on 2012-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The photos in this edition are black and white. Still the world's most popular and most exciting aircraft, the Lockheed family of A-12, YF-12, D-21/M-21, and SR-71 Blackbirds are to this day the highest-performance jet-powered airplanes ever flown. They have set numerous world speed and altitude records for manned aircraft powered by air-breathing engines that theoretically may never be broken. Although no longer operational, A-12s and SR-71s flew for nearly three decades at speeds in excess of Mach 3 and altitudes of up to 90,000 feet. Expanding on the successful sales of all Specialty Press Blackbird publications is this natural extension of our product line created by compiling many never-before-published photos coupled with new de-classified information recently released by the CIA, including black-and-white of A-12 cockpits, early camera installations, and never-before-seen special camouflage schemes. The photos in this edition are black and white.
Download or read book Lockheed A 12 written by Paul F. Crickmore and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-01-20 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the early years of the Cold War, the most effective way to gather strategic intelligence about the Soviet Union and its allies was manned overflight. Lockheed's U-2 was spectacularly successful in this role, however, much to the concern of US President Eisenhower, its shape meant that it could be tracked on Russian radars. Given the highly sensitive nature of such flights, the President insisted that every effort should be made to reduce to zero the U-2's radar cross section (RCS), thereby making the aircraft invisible. When this was proven to be impossible, the stage was set for a U-2 replacement. Following a competition between Lockheed and Convair, the former was declared the winner and the result was the A-12. Designed to incorporate 'stealth' features before the term was even coined, the A-12 has to date proven to be the fastest, highest flying jet aircraft ever built. This book will also cover a two-seat variation of the design built as an advanced interceptor – the YF-12.
Download or read book Blackbird written by James Hamilton-Paterson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-06-01 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American 'spy' aircraft, the SR-71 'Blackbird' was deliberately designed to be the world's fastest and highest-flying aircraft and has never been approached since. It was conceived in the late 1950s by Lockheed Martin's highly secret 'Skunk Works' team under one of the most (possibly the most) brilliant aero designers of all time, Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson. Once fully developed in around 1963/4 the Blackbird represented the apogee of jet-powered flight. It could fly at well over three times the speed of sound above 85,000 feet and had an unrefuelled range of 3,200 nautical miles. It flew with great success until 1998 (with NASA 1999). Despite extensive use over Vietnam and later battlefields none was ever shot down (unlike the U2 in the Gary Powers incident). The Blackbird's capabilities seem unlikely ever to be exceeded. It was retired because its job could be done by satellites, and in today's steady trend towards unmanned military aircraft it is improbable that anyone will ever again need to design a jet aircraft capable of such speed.
Download or read book Lockheed SR 71 Blackbird written by Steve Pace and published by Crowood Press UK. This book was released on 2005-03-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird remains to this day the most sophisticated manned spyplane ever built and operated. It grew from the CIA-funded A-12, which made its maiden flight at the legendary Area 51 on April 26th, 1962. The A-12 was developed into the legendary SR-71 Blackbird, but not before its siblings, the F-12 and M-21 were created. These four very different - yet closely related - aircraft form the Blackbird series. The author has closely researched this extraordinarily advanced family of aircraft and this book includes full details of their design, manufacture and thirty-year service with the American Central Intelligence Agency, Us Air Force Strategic Air Command and NASA.
Download or read book Lockheed Blackbirds Warbirdtech written by Tony R. Landis and published by . This book was released on 1997-08 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 26 April 1962, Lockheed test pilot Lou Schalk took the first flight in an aircraft at a classified desert test facility in Nevada. The aircraft was far more advanced than anything in the sky, and when made public several years later it would capture the world's fascination like few other aircraft ever have. Three distinct variants were eventually manufactured, but surprisingly, none of them ever had an official name. Unofficially, they have all been referred to as "Blackbirds" and "Habu," the fastest, highest flying air-breathing aircraft in the world. The Lockheed model number of the first variant was A-12, but by a sort of inspired perversity it came to be called Oxcart, a code name also applied to the program under which it was developed. The other two variants carried the Air Force designations YF-12 and SR-71. This is the story of the Lockheed Blackbirds - fifty of the fastest, highest-flying air-breathing aircraft ever developed and deployed. This book is crammed with detailed photos and illustrations and is a fantastic resource for scale model builders. Photos in this edition are black and white.
Download or read book SR 71 written by Michael D. O'Leary and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
