---------------------------------------------------------- Kitfox-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Mon 01/18/10: 14 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 01:27 AM - Re: Northstar F210 Fuel flow gauge (dave) 2. 02:27 AM - Re: Re: Corrosion Protection for Flaperons? (Dave G) 3. 03:29 AM - Re: Re: Northstar F210 Fuel flow gauge (Lynn Matteson) 4. 05:06 AM - Re: Skis required (dave) 5. 06:15 AM - Re: Northstar F210 Fuel flow gauge (catz631@aol.com) 6. 06:46 AM - (Glenn Horne) 7. 08:33 AM - What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? (Joe & Jan Connell) 8. 09:37 AM - Re: Static Ports (WurlyBird) 9. 10:12 AM - Re: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? (mic thiessen) 10. 10:13 AM - Re: Re: Static Ports (Patrick Reilly) 11. 10:23 AM - Re: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? (W Duke) 12. 11:32 AM - Re: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? (WurlyBird) 13. 11:58 AM - Re: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? (Lowell Fitt) 14. 01:52 PM - Re: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? (kirk hull) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 01:27:05 AM PST US Subject: Kitfox-List: Re: Northstar F210 Fuel flow gauge From: "dave" Dick, I have a navman 2100 I think it called. I think the one you have replaced it . Mine is over 4 years old and put through over 7000 gallon of gas--ethanol regular avgas marine gas whatever. I have noticed a few times it stops fora minute or two but continues on. Mine us mounted on front of firewall almost vertical after the gascolator. Most of my fuel goes through a filter funnel as well. There are better fuel flow meters on the market for 300 $ up . Dave -------- Rotax Dealer, Ontario Canada http://www.cfisher.com/ Awesome *New Forum * http://rotaxaircraft.com/forum/ Realtime Kitfox movies to separate the internet chatter from the truth http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=kitfoxflyer Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=282036#282036 ________________________________ Message 2 _____________________________________ Time: 02:27:55 AM PST US From: "Dave G" Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: Re: Corrosion Protection for Flaperons? Does anyone feel that flaperon corrosion is an issue that needs to be resolved? I have never seen it come up as an issue. ________________________________ Message 3 _____________________________________ Time: 03:29:20 AM PST US From: Lynn Matteson Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: Re: Northstar F210 Fuel flow gauge Just to "balance the scales", so to speak, I've never had an issue with my F210 unit, and my transducer is located inside the cabin at an angle of not quite vertical...maybe 30 degrees from vertical, with a Purolator glass filter just before the transducer. Lynn Matteson Kitfox IV Speedster, taildragger Jabiru 2200, #2062, 839.2 hrs Countdown to 1000 hrs~162 to go Sensenich 62"x46" Wood prop Electroair direct-fire ignition system Rotec TBI-40 injection Status: flying (and learning) On Jan 17, 2010, at 11:36 PM, Paul Franz - Merlin GT wrote: > > > On Sun, January 17, 2010 12:13 pm, akflyer wrote: >> >> I wonder if you are getting it hot if it is on the front side of >> the firewall? Or >> gunk out of the tank getting into it? Do you have the filter just >> before the >> transducer? >> >> Just wondering cause I have several of them installed on my stuff >> and have never had a >> glitch, but mine is behind the seat in the plane just under the >> header tank. > > Lenny - Thanks for this thoughtful contribution. You've definitely > come up with a > plausible explanation. After Dick Maddux said: > > "Well, I have had it with this unit. The transducer has failed > again and it is less > than 2 months old and less than 8 hrs ! My first one lasted almost > a year. This unit > is coming out of my panel and a plug installed in its place until I > find something > nice to put in that hole. > I removed the transducer to see what the problem was. The impeller > is stuck and I > could not get it to move with compressed air or Kroil. I had > thought seriously of the > the method of getting my prior transducer to turn (a 5 LB sledge > hammer) ...." > > I made a mental note that I guess I won't be using one of those > Northstar units but > now I think you're on to something. It can't be so bad that it has > 100% failure rate. > It must be failing due to some configuration or usage problem. > Hopefully Dick will do > a little more experimenting before pronouncing the product dead and > useless. > -- > Paul A. Franz > Registration/Aircraft - N14UW/Merlin GT > Engine/Prop - Rotax 914/NSI CAP > Bellevue WA > 425.241.1618 Cell ________________________________ Message 4 _____________________________________ Time: 05:06:45 AM PST US Subject: Kitfox-List: Re: Skis required From: "dave" Pictures posted here and videos to follow http://rotaxaircraft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=167 Kitfox Skis 4130 tube 12 x 48 " 2 main skis with UHMW bottoms $850.00 Tail ski with UHMW $150.00 These come unpainted. Powder coated add 150$ for a set of three. You rig the cables, if you want the cables and bungees all ready for you to bolt on add $75 a ski you will get 1/8" crust cutter cable, safety cables , mil spec bungees. Bolts and tabs to bolt on. The skis in pics I can ship out same day for $1100.00 plus crate and shipping. IN Ontario that will be about 150 $ or so. Or you can Pick up Near London Ontario. Down payment today and your skis will be ready within a week. Custom made skis for most planes. -------- Rotax Dealer, Ontario Canada http://www.cfisher.com/ Awesome *New Forum * http://rotaxaircraft.com/forum/ Realtime Kitfox movies to separate the internet chatter from the truth http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=kitfoxflyer Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=282046#282046 ________________________________ Message 5 _____________________________________ Time: 06:15:33 AM PST US From: catz631@aol.com Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: Northstar F210 Fuel flow gauge Leonard, The transducer was located about 3 inches above the firewall gascolator inside the engine compartment against the firewall. I had it wrapped in heat shield material and it is about 1 1/2 ft from the muffler. I sure didn't see any caution about using it in in the engine compartment in the instructions. That's where it would have to go in a boat. I removed the transducer yesterday and looked unto the interior of the thing The small rotor was "stuck tighter then a bulls ass at fly time" to quote an old buddy of mine! I couldn't move it with compressed air or a piece of safety wire. There was no trash in there I could see. The unit looked fine otherwise. Anyway, I bought another piece of 5/16 injection hose and have removed the transducer from the system (gauge to follow) It wasn't giving me much useful info anyway. It was never accurate no mater how many times I tweaked it. Half the time the buttons would not work. I guess you get what you pay for. You must have lucked out. The net has many failures of this unit and it sure did not suprise the Northstar tech when I told him about it.There was a 5 month backlog just in replacing these transducers ! Anyway,done,nada,fine,no more of this instrument ! Thanks for your input Leonard.I appreciate it. Dick Maddux Fox 4 Milton,Fl ________________________________ Message 6 _____________________________________ Time: 06:46:49 AM PST US From: "Glenn Horne" Subject: Kitfox-List: I have a friend that just bought a Citabria and he needs a set of wheel pants for it. Anyone in the KitFox world have a set or know of anyone with a set that they might sell. Thank you GLENN HORNE Kitfox Model II ________________________________ Message 7 _____________________________________ Time: 08:33:52 AM PST US From: "Joe & Jan Connell" Subject: Kitfox-List: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot via Plane and Pilot Magazine As a former SR-71 pilot, and a professional keynote speaker, the question I'm most often asked is "How fast would that SR-71 fly?" I can be assured of hearing that question several times at any event I attend. It's an interesting question, given the aircraft's proclivity for speed, but there really isn't one number to give, as the jet would always give you a little more speed if you wanted it to. It was common to see 35 miles a minute. Because we flew a programmed Mach number on most missions, and never wanted to harm the plane in any way, we never let it run out to any limits of temperature or speed. Thus, each SR-71 pilot had his own individual "high" speed that he saw at some point on some mission. I saw mine over Libya when Khadafy fired two missiles my way, and max power was in order. Let's just say that the plane truly loved speed and effortlessly took us to Mach numbers we hadn't previously seen. So it was with great surprise, when at the end of one of my presentations, someone asked, "what was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?" This was a first. After giving it some thought, I was reminded of a story that I had never shared before, and relayed the following. I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England , with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea , we proceeded to find the small airfield. Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field-yet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field. Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the fly-past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast. Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us but in the overcast and haze, I couldn't see it. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point we weren't really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the moment that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane leveled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of ultimate knife-edge pass. Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didn't say a word for those next 14 minutes. After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadet's hats were blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburner dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I both understood the concept of "breathtaking" very well that morning, and sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach. As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight suits, we just sat there-we hadn't spoken a word since "the pass." Finally, Walter looked at me and said, "One hundred fifty-six knots. What did you see?" Trying to find my voice, I stammered, "One hundred fifty-two." We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, "Don't ever do that to me again!" And I never did. A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the Mildenhall Officer's club, and overheard an officer talking to some cadets about an SR-71 fly-past that he had seen one day. Of course, by now the story included kids falling off the tower and screaming as the heat of the jet singed their eyebrows. Noticing our HABU patches, as we stood there with lunch trays in our hands, he asked us to verify to the cadets that such a thing had occurred. Walt just shook his head and said, "It was probably just a routine low approach; they're pretty impressive in that plane." Impressive indeed. Little did I realize after relaying this experience to my audience that day that it would become one of the most popular and most requested stories. It's ironic that people are interested in how slow the world's fastest jet can fly. Regardless of your speed, however, it's always a good idea to keep that cross-check up. and keep your Mach up, too. ________________________________ Message 8 _____________________________________ Time: 09:37:53 AM PST US Subject: Kitfox-List: Re: Static Ports From: "WurlyBird" I fly primarily with my doors in the garage. I have tested with doors on and off and I can adjust airspeed by throwing the plane out of trim. It is more pronounced with the doors open but even with doors I can fluctuate speed about 10 mph. This is vented to the inside. -------- James Kitfox 3 / 582 / GSC prop The ink is still drying on my new certificate Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=282096#282096 ________________________________ Message 9 _____________________________________ Time: 10:12:03 AM PST US From: mic thiessen Subject: RE: Kitfox-List: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? ________________________________ Message 10 ____________________________________ Time: 10:13:24 AM PST US Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: Re: Static Ports From: Patrick Reilly James, Thanks for the info. One of the KF guru's says he vents with filters, directly to inside of cabin. do not archive Pat Reilly Mod 3 582 Rebuild Rockford, IL On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 11:36 AM, WurlyBird wrote: > james.t.trizzino@us.army.mil> > > I fly primarily with my doors in the garage. I have tested with doors on > and off and I can adjust airspeed by throwing the plane out of trim. It is > more pronounced with the doors open but even with doors I can fluctuate > speed about 10 mph. This is vented to the inside. > > -------- > James > Kitfox 3 / 582 / GSC prop > The ink is still drying on my new certificate > > > Read this topic online here: > > http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=282096#282096 > > ________________________________ Message 11 ____________________________________ Time: 10:23:42 AM PST US From: W Duke Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? Cool.- I went minus 4 ground speed in a Kitfox once. Maxwell Duke Kitfox S6/TD/IO240 Maule M7 235C For Sale Dublin, GA --- On Mon, 1/18/10, Joe & Jan Connell wrote: From: Joe & Jan Connell Subject: Kitfox-List: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot via Plane and Pilot Magazine ------ -------- --------- As a former SR-71 pilot, and a professional keynote speaker, the question I 'm most often asked is "How fast would that SR-71 fly?" I can be assured of hearing that question several times at any event I attend. It's an interes ting question, given the aircraft's proclivity for speed, but there really isn't one number to give, as the jet would always give you a little more sp eed if you wanted it to. It was common to see 35 miles a minute. Because we flew a programmed Mach number on most missions, and never wanted to harm t he plane in any way, we never let it run out to any limits of temperature o r speed. Thus, each SR-71 pilot had his own individual "high" speed that he saw at some point on some mission. I saw mine over Libya when Khadafy fire d two missiles my way, and max power was in order. Let's just say that the plane truly loved speed and effortlessly took us to Mach numbers we hadn't previously seen. -------- So it was with great surprise, when at the end of one of my presentations, someone asked, "what was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?" This was a first. After giving it some thought, I was reminded of a story that I ha d never shared before, and relayed the following. I was flying the SR-71 ou t of RAF Mildenhall, England , with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were re turning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three mi nutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requ ested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbi rd pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea , we proceeded to find the small airfield. -------- Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most for mer WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower a nd little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. --------- Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear u p, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field-yet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet a nd started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field. Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the ca dets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the fly -past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast. -------- Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us b ut in the overcast and haze, I couldn't see it. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flyi ng career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I notic ed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my ad renalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point w e weren't really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the mom ent that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked ob servers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane leveled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sor t of ultimate knife-edge pass. Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proc eeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didn't say a word for those n ext 14 minutes. -------- After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was re aching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the com mander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, es pecially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadet's hats we re blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburne r dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I both underst ood the concept of "breathtaking" very well that morning, and sheepishly re plied that they were just excited to see our low approach. -------- As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight su its, we just sat there-we hadn't spoken a word since "the pass." Finally, W alter looked at me and said, "One hundred fifty-six knots. ------ What did you see?" Trying to find my voice, I stammered, "One hundred fifty -two." We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, "Don't ever do that to me again!" And I never did. ---- A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the Mildenhall Officer's cl ub, and overheard an officer talking to some cadets about an SR-71 fly-past that he had seen one day. Of course, by now the story included kids fallin g off the tower and screaming as the heat of the jet singed their eyebrows. Noticing our HABU patches, as we stood there with lunch trays in our hands , he asked us to verify to the cadets that such a thing had occurred. Walt just shook his head and said, "It was probably just a routine low approach; they're pretty impressive in that plane." Impressive indeed. ------------ Little did I realize after relaying this experience to my audience that day that it would become one of the most popular and most requested stories. I t's ironic that people are interested in how slow the world's fastest jet c an fly. Regardless of your speed, however, it's always a good idea to keep that cross-check up. and keep your Mach up, too. =0A=0A=0A ________________________________ Message 12 ____________________________________ Time: 11:32:07 AM PST US Subject: Kitfox-List: Re: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? From: "WurlyBird" I landed at 5 ground speed once in the KF. [Shocked] Winds were supposed to go down not UP while I was out flying. -------- James Kitfox 3 / 582 / GSC prop The ink is still drying on my new certificate Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=282119#282119 ________________________________ Message 13 ____________________________________ Time: 11:58:56 AM PST US From: "Lowell Fitt" Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? Just a tiny bit of trivia here. I borrowed a hangar for the first flight of my original Kitfox Model IV from Burt Garrison who was then flying U-2s out of Beal Airforce base. He flew the pilot of the final operational mission of the SR-71 and the trivia part is that he was a member of the Kitfox community building an Outback. Lowell do not archive ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe & Jan Connell" Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 8:31 AM Subject: Kitfox-List: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot via Plane and Pilot Magazine As a former SR-71 pilot, and a professional keynote speaker, the question I'm most often asked is "How fast would that SR-71 fly?" I can be assured of hearing that question several times at any event I attend. It's an interesting question, given the aircraft's proclivity for speed, but there really isn't one number to give, as the jet would always give you a little more speed if you wanted it to. It was common to see 35 miles a minute. Because we flew a programmed Mach number on most missions, and never wanted to harm the plane in any way, we never let it run out to any limits of temperature or speed. Thus, each SR-71 pilot had his own individual "high" speed that he saw at some point on some mission. I saw mine over Libya when Khadafy fired two missiles my way, and max power was in order. Let's just say that the plane truly loved speed and effortlessly took us to Mach numbers we hadn't previously seen. So it was with great surprise, when at the end of one of my presentations, someone asked, "what was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?" This was a first. After giving it some thought, I was reminded of a story that I had never shared before, and relayed the following. I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England , with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea , we proceeded to find the small airfield. Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field-yet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field. Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the fly-past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast. Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us but in the overcast and haze, I couldn't see it. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point we weren't really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the moment that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane leveled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of ultimate knife-edge pass. Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didn't say a word for those next 14 minutes. After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadet's hats were blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburner dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I both understood the concept of "breathtaking" very well that morning, and sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach. As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight suits, we just sat there-we hadn't spoken a word since "the pass." Finally, Walter looked at me and said, "One hundred fifty-six knots. What did you see?" Trying to find my voice, I stammered, "One hundred fifty-two." We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, "Don't ever do that to me again!" And I never did. A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the Mildenhall Officer's club, and overheard an officer talking to some cadets about an SR-71 fly-past that he had seen one day. Of course, by now the story included kids falling off the tower and screaming as the heat of the jet singed their eyebrows. Noticing our HABU patches, as we stood there with lunch trays in our hands, he asked us to verify to the cadets that such a thing had occurred. Walt just shook his head and said, "It was probably just a routine low approach; they're pretty impressive in that plane." Impressive indeed. Little did I realize after relaying this experience to my audience that day that it would become one of the most popular and most requested stories. It's ironic that people are interested in how slow the world's fastest jet can fly. Regardless of your speed, however, it's always a good idea to keep that cross-check up. and keep your Mach up, too. ________________________________ Message 14 ____________________________________ Time: 01:52:08 PM PST US From: "kirk hull" Subject: RE: Kitfox-List: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? Would it be ok to relay this out to me EAA chapter by including it in the email news letter _____ From: owner-kitfox-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-kitfox-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Joe & Jan Connell Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 10:32 AM Subject: Kitfox-List: What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot via Plane and Pilot Magazine As a former SR-71 pilot, and a professional keynote speaker, the question I'm most often asked is "How fast would that SR-71 fly?" I can be assured of hearing that question several times at any event I attend. It's an interesting question, given the aircraft's proclivity for speed, but there really isn't one number to give, as the jet would always give you a little more speed if you wanted it to. It was common to see 35 miles a minute. Because we flew a programmed Mach number on most missions, and never wanted to harm the plane in any way, we never let it run out to any limits of temperature or speed. Thus, each SR-71 pilot had his own individual "high" speed that he saw at some point on some mission. I saw mine over Libya when Khadafy fired two missiles my way, and max power was in order. Let's just say that the plane truly loved speed and effortlessly took us to Mach numbers we hadn't previously seen. So it was with great surprise, when at the end of one of my presentations, someone asked, "what was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?" This was a first. After giving it some thought, I was reminded of a story that I had never shared before, and relayed the following. I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England , with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea , we proceeded to find the small airfield. Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field-yet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field. Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the fly-past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast. Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us but in the overcast and haze, I couldn't see it. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point we weren't really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the moment that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane leveled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of ultimate knife-edge pass. Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didn't say a word for those next 14 minutes. After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadet's hats were blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburner dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I both understood the concept of "breathtaking" very well that morning, and sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach. As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight suits, we just sat there-we hadn't spoken a word since "the pass." Finally, Walter looked at me and said, "One hundred fifty-six knots. What did you see?" Trying to find my voice, I stammered, "One hundred fifty-two." We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, "Don't ever do that to me again!" And I never did. A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the Mildenhall Officer's club, and overheard an officer talking to some cadets about an SR-71 fly-past that he had seen one day. Of course, by now the story included kids falling off the tower and screaming as the heat of the jet singed their eyebrows. Noticing our HABU patches, as we stood there with lunch trays in our hands, he asked us to verify to the cadets that such a thing had occurred. Walt just shook his head and said, "It was probably just a routine low approach; they're pretty impressive in that plane." Impressive indeed. Little did I realize after relaying this experience to my audience that day that it would become one of the most popular and most requested stories. It's ironic that people are interested in how slow the world's fastest jet can fly. Regardless of your speed, however, it's always a good idea to keep that cross-check up. and keep your Mach up, too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Matronics Email List Services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message kitfox-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/Kitfox-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/kitfox-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/kitfox-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.