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.

FMI: www.edwards.af.mil/museum/docs_html/blackbird_airpark.html www.sr-71.org