> On Jun 18, 2015, at 9:18 AM, Peter Cetinski <p...@pski.net> wrote: > >>> >> 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
Thanks. I hadn't seen that film before. I'm sort of sad about the SR-71. Our house is on a hill that can (almost) overlook Beale. It would have been *amazing* to have seen/heard SR-71s taking off. BTW, we see U-2s occasionally from our house. TTFN - Guy
