Thread

1. 0xbadcafebee · 1790728000 · focus · HN ↗

   To give you an idea how ridiculous this is: to start each engine, they made a cart out of two Buick V8 engines tied together - so four V8 engines to start the plane. Those V8 engines were long since out of production, so at one point they went around the country, to every junkyard, buying up every one of those V8s they could find, so they would have spares to start planes up in different places. If an SR71 had an issue and landed at an unusual airport, they had to fly the start cart and other equipment to that airport to start the plane again. Everything about this plane is expensive and one-of-a-kind. It's a hot rod that goes to space.

   1. dboreham · 1790731592 · focus · HN ↗

      Granted there are likely many obstacles to getting this airframe flying again, but the V8s probably isn't one of them. All those V8s did (and I've seen them in action) was turn a shaft. There's an infinite number of alternate options available to turn the same shaft.

      1. 0xbadcafebee · 1790788346 · focus · HN ↗

         It's an example of how weird and custom everything about them is. Not just the plane but the tools too, and the knowledge of how to work on them. It's like reinventing the plane again.

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