>> > My son is stationed at Beale AFB (where the SR-71s were originally based) and > 7963 is on static display there. I've been up to it (you can actually > *touch* it!) They are wicked cool looking and *big*. They also have a > static display of the drone which could be launched from the back of an > SR-71. After some initial testing (can't remember if they lost an aircraft > in the process), they decided it wasn't a particularly good idea. The > clearance between the drone and the vertical stabilizers/rudders is not large. > > TTFN - Guy
I worked on the cameras on the SR-71 at Beale in the late 1980s. Still gives me goosebumps thinking about it. The drone was the D-21 which flew on the back of the M-21 (which was modified A-12 (which itself was the SR-71s predecessor)). You can see a video of that fateful test here. https://youtu.be/GMyC2urCl_4
