The Not-So-Stealthy 17955 by auntietk
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Description
You might be surprised to find a photograph of an airplane in the midst of our travel pics! (Well, Sig won't be surprised, because he knows where we stayed last night!)
All you normal people can just look at the picture and skip the rest of this. For my airplane friends, though, you might be interested in the following:
This is an SR-71A, #61-7955 (aka 17955 ... that's what's painted on its tail). You can read more about it HERE if you've a mind to. (The specific plane, not the general model. I'm sure you all know oodles about the SR-71 line already.)
Notice the shiny paint! No stealth here. It was only used as a test aircraft, so it didn't matter that it wasn't invisible to the naked eye and all that.
It lives at Edwards AFB, which is where we stayed last night! (We stayed in their RV park, not at the museum.) I got more plane shots, of course. If any of them turned out, I'll share some. When I saw this, though, I stopped cold and had to post it. SO imposing!
Comments (25)
Richardphotos
beautiful capture.if you are talking about Sig in Phoenix,he is a real friendly person. Jock and myself met him and Dennis Reed for a late lunch there
beachzz
Wow, this is one impressive airplane--LOVE the POV!!
wysiwig
Nice head-on shot Tara. It is called the Blackbird and has a ceiling of 80,000 feet, beyond ground missle and interceptor range. I saw the one in New York City aboard the Intrepid aircraft carrier. Impressive indeed!
mbz2662
It looks like a UFO :) Cool~
Faemike55
Flies high enough that the Migs couldn't climb and fast enough that the missles couldn't catch up with her. Sweet aircraft!
blinkings
A very cool Blackbird well captured Tara.
bazza
Lovely capture looks a bit like a spaceship lol
durleybeachbum
Very ominious presence this thing has! Superb pic.
whaleman
Hard to imagine this sneaking up on you. By the time you realized it you could no longer realize. Nice shot!
awjay
lovely lines
gonzojr
excellent photograph!
lyron
Great shot!!
bmac62
Faster than a speeding bullet. Great POV. A display of symmetry...always a fine thing to a military mind:)
MrsRatbag
What a wonderful POV and capture; pretty bird!
EyeOfTheJen
That is a great shot. Love the angle.
helanker
WOW THat is an amazing POV you did here. Beautifully done :)
onefromb5
Very impressive POV. Still can't believe this was thought up and built back in the 60's. Still holds air speed records. NYC to Vegas in under 2 hours I think. Flies higher and faster than anything of its time and still today.
goodoleboy
Neat POV in this shot of the Ninja SR-71 Blackbird, a big mother, faster than lightning, and retired from service quite a while ago. I also have several shots of this beauty, taken at the March Airfield Museum back in 2001. But what was a plane that size doing aboard an aircraft carrier (as mentioned by wysiwig)? Besides, it wasn't a Navy aircraft, so why, why, why?
npauling
A stunning capture of this very impressive plane. It looks very intimidating in this photo.
RodS
Indeed a masterpiece of Kelly Johnson and the Skunk Works! This plane was such a radical departure, and so ahead of its time. A truly amazing machine... Excellent photo of this classic, tara!
nikolais
without wings looks like a cosy home. a new look of the moster and I really like it!
moochagoo
Very impressive plane :)
aksirp
think have seen one of this 1986 on a airbase in California? super shot, impressive!
Bothellite
Ri-vot, Ri-vot!
i-c-e-blue
OMG! a superb shot :) I have one taken on Lackland AFB ;)