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Elon Musk and Grimes' favorite plane is the SR-71 Blackbird, a legendary US spy plane that could fly at 3 times the speed of sound. Take a closer look.https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/elon-musk-and-grimesapos-favorite-plane-is-the-sr-71-blackbird-a-legendary-us-spy-plane-that-could-fly-at-3-times-the-speed-of-sound-take-a-closer-look-/slidelist/75603200.cms2020-05-07T19:09:52+05:30

Elon Musk and Grimes' favorite plane is the SR-71 Blackbird, a legendary US spy plane that could fly at 3 times the speed of sound. Take a closer look.

Thomas PalliniMay 7, 2020, 19:09 IST

It's no surprise that the eccentric entrepreneur would consider such a revolutionary plane as his favorite.

Musk is a noted space and aerospace enthusiast. His company SpaceX aims to build new rockets that will bring humans to space.

NASA also used the aircraft for testing, picking up where the Air Force left off until 1997, making it one of the longest-serving spy planes in the US' stable.

The only weapons that Blackbird had were its cameras which provided invaluable intelligence that added troops and intelligence agencies on the ground.

Grimes wrote in her tweet that she and Musk are fans of the aircraft because it features no weapon. It was a completely harmless aircraft in and of itself.

Like most supersonic aircraft, it was ahead of its time. No other aircraft has managed to take its place.

The Blackbird was one of the most secretive aircraft in the Air Force's fleet as it soared at more than double the altitude of most airliners. Its capabilities, however, proved vital to the US intelligence community.

The first Blackbird flew in 1964 and began flying for the US Air Force in 1966, lasting nearly 30 years before retiring in 1990. The extensive costs associated with the aircraft enhances in satellite technology, and the impending collapse of the Soviet Union all contributed to its retirement.

Titanium was the material of choice for the aircraft as the altitude and speed conditions that the Blackbird would operate in would create temperatures levels in the thousands of degrees.

When it ran low on fuel, a tanker would be sent in to give it a top off, allowing it to stay in the air for long periods. Blackbirds would often depart with minimum fuel and then be refueled once airborne before heading to a mission zone.

The speed and height of the Blackbird meant that it could cross entire continents in a few hours. Pilots navigating by sight couldn't rely on ground features such as roads, depending instead on mountains and major coastlines.

The jet could fly at speeds of over 2,000 miles per hour, around three times the speed of sound, at altitudes greater than 80,000 feet. When in danger, the pilot could simply engage the afterburners and cruise away from any threat at supersonic speeds.

Powering the spy plane were two Pratt & Whitney J58 engines that resembled rockets rather than airplane engines. They enabled the high altitude, supersonic fleets the Blackbird would undertake.

Here's the one-man cockpit of the high-speed spy plane.

Two crew would command the bird, with only pilot in the front and a reconnaissance and navigation officer in the back. The crew would wear spacesuit-like uniforms as they embarked high in the upper altitudes.

From the A-12, the two-seater SR-71 Blackbird was produced for the US Air Force. Compared to its predecessor, the Blackbird had more radar-reflecting surface and was less easily detected by enemy anti-aircraft.

The jet was commissioned by the Central Intelligence Agency. Here's a model of it that sits outside its headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

First came the A-12 Oxcart, a single-seater spy plane that saw missions in Vietnam and North Korea. Though it was successful, fears arose that Soviet technology was catching up and could render the aircraft obsolete.

Defense aerospace manufacturer Lockheed was ultimately chosen to build the aircraft through Skunk Works, a code for the firm's Advanced Development Division. Aviation pioneer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson headed the project.

That's where the SR-71 Blackbird came in, a supersonic spy plane with emphasis on speed and stealth.

The aircraft was extremely capable but had one problem, it could be shot down, as shown when Francis Gary Powers' U-2 was shot down in 1960 over Russia. President Dwight Eisenhower, recognizing this flaw, commissioned a new spy plane capable of evading enemy missiles.

Before there were camera-equipped satellites, the US relied on airplanes to provide surveillance photos. One of the first aircraft built for the purpose was the U-2 Dragon Lady, capable of flying upwards of 70,000 feet.

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