Nestled In The California Desert, This Is A Gem For
Aero-Tourists
By ANN Senior Contributing Correspondent Kevin "Hognose"
O'Brien
In the California deserts, aviation history has been made
practically nonstop since World War II. Experimental fighters and
bombers, super-secret spyplanes, pioneering rocket planes, the new
generation of private space launch machinery and manned spacecraft.
NASA Dryden, Edwards AFB, Mojave's Civilian Aerospace Test Center,
The Air Force's legendary Plant 42 with Lockheed's more legendary
Skunk Works, are all located nearby. Groom Lake -- the Area 51 of
UFO fables -- is not near, but the machines that have flown from
there were largely built here.
Who knows about this stuff? Well, now, we do. Aero-News's Wes
Oleszewski and Kevin O'Brien linked up with Peter W. Merlin, NASA
Dryden archivist and X-craft historian par excellence. "What's good
to see around here?" we asked him.
"Have you ever heard of Blackbird Airpark?" he asked in
return.
Nope. But now we have -- and you are about to. Blackbird Airpark
is located right at the gate of Plant 42. It is, in fact, a park,
with picnic tables, benches and pathways for strolling. Between the
pathways, however, rests an example of each of the four most famous
reconnaissance aircraft ever flown: two Blackbirds (including a
rare A-12 and an SR-71A), a U-2, and an ultra-rare D-21 drone.
The presence of the two Blackbird types side by side, so
externally similar, but so different in detail, is a boon for
modelers and airplane buffs of all kinds. While the operational use
of all Blackbirds was embedded in the deepest, darkest secrecy,
here the public can get within inches of the machines in the stark
desert sun. Few indoor air museums offer you a chance to get this
close to the aircraft, and they are so arranged that unobstructed
photography is easy.
The Very First Blackbird is Here
The park's A-12, on loan from the Air Force Museum, is a rarity
-- the very first one, 60-6924. It first flew on 26 April 1962 with
Lockheed test pilot Louis Schalk at the controls (a brief,
inadvertent liftoff took place 24 April during a high-speed taxi
test).
The A-12 project was started by the CIA under the code name
Oxcart, on the theory that the utility of the U-2 would soon be
coming to an end, as missiles, radars and other defensive
technologies used by the nations that were United States
reconnaissance targets improved. Eleven earlier designs by Clarence
"Kelly" Johnson's Skunk Works were considered before the twelfth
was approved for production: Article 12, or A-12.
This A-12 is unusual in that it is all metal, whereas
operational Blackbirds, like the SR-71A in the same park, contained
extensive composite materials for purposes of radar absorption --
very cutting-edge technology circa 1960. (SR-71B 2-seat trainers
also lacked the radar-absorbing composites).
The A-12 was capable of unimaginable performance for its day:
Mach 3.35 (2,211 mph) and an operational ceiling of 95,000 feet
MSL.
Fifteen A-12s were built; even today, information about their
operations on behalf of the CIA is extremely limited.
Blackbird Airpark's SR-71A
After the A-12, the common and garden operational SR-71A is
almost boring. Almost. As mentioned above, its close proximity to
the A-12 here allows you to compare and contrast the two similar
machines at your leisure. The SR-71 wasn't quite the hot rod the
A-12 was, as it carried more fuel, more sensors, and a second
crewmember, a reconnaissance systems operator. But it wasn't
exactly a dog either: its top speed is "only" Mach 3.2 (2,112 mph)
at its max operational ceiling, 85,000 feet. An SR-71 holds the
transatlantic absolute speed record: 68 minutes 17 seconds (for
2,404 miles), set in March, 1990.
The SR-71 is also a USAF Museum Program loaner, and was restored
by Lockheed Advanced Development Company -- the "Skunk Works." This
particular example, 62-7973, flew from RAF Mildenhall towards the
end of its career and has 1729.9 total flying hours.
What Made Them Go?
The remarkable J58 turbojet engine is one secret to the
Blackbird's blinding speed. The engine produced 32,500 lbs max
thrust, and at high speeds its unique inlets and ejector flaps
moved to make it for all practical purposes a ramjet. At speed,
most of the thrust that motivates the A-12 and SR-71 is produced by
the air passing through this ramjet/bypass section of the
engine.
Like the SR-71 and A-12 themselves, the engine's physical
properties changed as it cycled through its wide range of operating
temperatures. At peak temperature and altitude, the J58 is six
inches longer and 3 inches greater in diameter than it is at room
temperature.
Even chemistry was put to work in the service of this remarkable
program, because the flight conditions demanded a special
high-flash-point fuel, which the military designed JP-7, and that
in turn demanded a catalytic igniter, triethylborane (TEB). The
special fuel meant that USAF operational SR-71As needed support
from a dedicated fleet of tankers.
When You Just Can't Risk a Pilot's Life
The third Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft in Blackbird
Airpark is the smallest Blackbird, the least well-documented, and
one of the rarest: the D-21 drone. The D-21 was air-launched from
the back of a specially modified SR-71 called the M-21. Two M-21s
were built, and one was lost in the fourth test launch of a D-21 on
July 30, 1966, when the drone and the launch aircraft collided. The
M-21 pilot survived, but the backseat launch control officer was
lost. The program was reconsidered, and no more M-21/D-21 flights
took place. The drones were subsequently launched from a B-52H
mothership.
The D-21 was powered by a Marquardt ramjet engine; 38 are
believed to have been made, and this is #525, about 25th in this
series.
Recovery of the reconnaissance data from the D-21 was also
complicated. The Mach 3 drone had no provisions for landing, and
was expended on every launch. The reconnaissance package was
ejected and -- in theory at least -- snagged in midair by a JC-130
as it descended by parachute. As might be expected, such a complex
system was prone to snags, or in this particular instance where a
snag was the general idea, to "not snags."
The fundamental concept of the D-21 -- to risk neither a pilot's
life, nor national prestige, in conducting recon overflights, was a
good one, but perhaps the technology wasn't ready -- no matter how
hard the Skunk Works wanted to push it. In the end, the D-21 was a
failure as a reconnaissance machine, but is an interesting
component of this display of recon aircraft.
The Surveillance Workhorse
The U-2 is also represented here at Blackbird Airpark. The
long-winged machine has for decades been the surveillance workhorse
of the USA. Begun as a CIA project, it was exposed after the
shootdown and capture of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers in 1960.
Today, U-2s still serve with the USAF in the world's trouble
spots.
The U-2 was a Lockheed Skunk Works Project that originally took
the form of extended wings attached to an F-104 fuselage to give
extreme high-altitude performance. It evolved considerably from
that original, simple idea, but the concept of a lightweight,
aerodynamically clean airframe was a constant. Of course, U-2s grew
all kinds of sensor-related protuberances in operational service,
and the latest versions have very large pods on the wings to
provide more places to cram gear into.
This particular airframe, the only surviving U-2D, was a test
aircraft at Edwards for many years, used in a wide range of high
altitude research programs. Its unique feature is an awkward 2nd
cockpit, marring the clean lines of the glider-like U2, but giving
a sensor operator or flight test engineer a place to work.
Other Attractions
Along with the aircraft, the park also has wind tunnel models,
some ground equipment, like AG-300/330 starter carts for the J58,
and has a nice gift shop with models, artwork, and books, all
Blackbird related, for sale.
An adjacent park, Heritage Airpark, has examples of many
aircraft that were tested at Edwards AFB, or at Plant 42, including
F-86, F-100, F-104, F-105G Wild Weasel, T-38, T-39 (Sabreliner --
in NASA markings), and F-4. A rather battered A-4 is under
restoration.
In Sum: An Unusual Aviation Attraction
This is an unusual aviation attraction. It is a must see for
reconnaissance and high-speed buffs, and plenty interesting for the
usual aviation geek. It would even be interesting if you didn't
have Pete Merlin, who literally wrote the book on one Blackbird
variant, as your tour guide, because the signs on the aircraft are
clear (and, wonder of wonders, accurate. Maybe this is because many
volunteers are former Skunk Works workers, or qualified historians
like Pete Merlin).
Some people may be amazed to see this collection of once secret
aircraft practically close enough to touch, but they are real. They
were once the USA's first line of defense and early warning; now
they sit and bask in retirement under the warm desert sun.
It makes you wonder what the gifted designers and builders of
Plant 42 and elsewhere in the military-industrial complex are
building -- and flying -- now.
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