The Insane Engineering of the SR-71 Blackbird

Links to everything I do:

Credits:
Writer/Narrator: Brian McManus
Editor: Stephanie Sammann
Animator: Mike Ridolfi
Sound: Graham Haerther
Thumbnail: Simon Buckmaster

References:

Thank you to AP Archive for access to their archival footage.

Songs:
Desert Dew - Alec Slayne
Waltzer - Dye O
Striwal - Pulsed
Night Vibes - Moon Craters
Inspir8ion - Pulsed
Papaya Island - Dye O
Only on the Surface - David Celeste

Thank you to my patreon supporters: Adam Flohr, Henning Basma, Hank Green, William Leu, Tristan Edwards, Ian Dundore, John & Becki Johnston. Nevin Spoljaric, Jason Clark, Thomas Barth, Johnny MacDonald, Stephen Foland, Alfred Holzheu, Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Binghaith, Brent Higgins, Dexter Appleberry, Alex Pavek, Marko Hirsch, Mikkel Johansen, Hibiyi Mori. Viktor Józsa, Ron Hochsprung

[charlesbissey]

It’s almost 60 years old yet it looks like something from the future

[mikeoneil]

lets not forget, this insane engineering is from the 50’s. kelly johnson was truly a man ahead of his time.

[hyypersonic]

The fact that the engineers calculated all the math using slide rules is the true marvel for me.

[Epicmonk]

It's so funny to me that the Blackbird's anti-missile strategy was to just fucking floor it

[danieleriksen]

My step Dad, now 95 years next month, November 2020 was the lead engineer for the SR-71 engine, when he worked for Pratt and Whitney Aircraft back when we all lived in Connecticut. I forwarded this to him today. Lots of memories for him.

[somethingtojenga]

SR-71: *goes out on a mission*
Alien UFO visiting Earth: WTF WAS THAT??

[DanielIXVIMCMLXXXI]

Its crazy to think this thing was engineered without computers.

[carolinef]

While most girls had pictures of their crushes on their walls when they were young, I had pictures of the SR-71 Blackbird.

[Legandos]

"Before their atoms begin to diffuse and slide over each other" - that has to be the most scientific way of saying "before it melts".

[harrisonjuhasz]

An utterly stunning piece of engineering. Looks beautiful and futuristic even now!

[BigMoney]

The coolest thing about the blackbird, seeing footage of it creeping out of a hangar you’d swear the plane was just revealed the day before, but then you see the chase cars from the 60’s to show its actual age. Beautiful plane

[JeremyPickett]

I've watched just about every SR71 documentary, and it never quells the pride I feel. From a little kid playing with the miniatures, to model airplanes of the thing, to an engineer that gets the work of thousands of engineers and scientists, it never gets old.

[angelusnielson]

"the military doesn't care about cost."

Truer words have never been spoken.

[surubutna]

I see a Real Engineering notification, I smile. I see that it's about the SR-71, I get chills.

[b.p.]

It's hard to believe how old this aircraft is now. Mind boggling! This was my favorite airplane growing up, and I had multiple models of it!

[labontepetty]

When in middle school and high school I loved planes like the SR-71 but after going to school for mechanical engineering and learning how each of these individual parts work, I have so much more of an appreciation of what a work of utter genius this plane is. The question they always asked was, how can we get more. And no matter what the obstacles were that stood in the way, they still managed to find a way to make it work. Even more key, they were able to do it WITHOUT compromising their previous breakthroughs. THAT is what makes this such an incredible plane. There were no tradeoffs in the engineering. They somehow managed to make EVERYTHING work together. I will forever be enamored with this plane. It's just nuts.

[FixitWiz]

I served with the 9th SRW in the early 70's in the Supply section (they call it Logistics now). We had a list of all the items that could (and could not) be used near the aircraft, down to even the brands of coffee. The tools used were all deplated, ie soaked in acid to remove the outer layer of rust protection. We were told this was to remove the cadmium from the tools, which would react with the titanium in the aircraft. Then in mid 1973, someone came up with a money saving idea (yes, they received an award) that every maintenance man on the line did not need his own tool kit, that each shop could have a couple of sets for everyone to use. So, there was a mass turn in of wrenches, screwdrivers, sockets, etc to us in Supply. However, we could not declare them as serviceable item because they did not have plating, and needed to be sprayed with protectant to keep them from rusting. We tried to send them to Redistribution and Marketing (Surplus Sales), but they refused to take them because they looked serviceable. These were the early days of $800 hammers and $1200 toilet seats, and they were wary of trouble. Typical Catch-22, not serviceable, not unserviceable.
We were locked down during the October 1973 Israeli war, (flying missions over the Suez from New York and then South Carolina), we had 4 large (pallet sized) boxes of tools that were "Redistributed " to people in the wing. Problem solved. I am proud to have worked with the Blackbird, my part of it included keeping 70 lb and 140 lb rolls of film in refrigerated storage sorted by pull date, and getting up at 4 in the morning in our Operating Location to help put drip pans under the Aircraft after it had taken pictures of jungle. MSgt Richard C Olson, USAF, Retired

[OmarAQQ]

What makes this machine amazingly interesting is that, it was designed and engineered in an era where computerized assistance was minimal.

[babylovr]

SR-71 look like future space fighter jet

[MWL]

Titanium can be tough to work on but the stainless steel alloys can be a nightmare in the machine shop. Hastalloy, Inconel and the other wear resistant alloys work harden quite easily and will make you pull your hair out !! I just cant imagine working on this stuff back in the late fifties. Lots of respect to those machinists and engineers !