PILOTS!!! I would like your help and thoughts.

[Db7566]

The gauge you have is an attitude indicator not altitude. It gives you a horizon and what the aircraft is doing in relation to the horizon; pitch and roll.

The parachute looks like it is made out a heavy canvas which would not be used for a pilot after ejection. Maybe a drag chute for after landings. Not sure if blackbirds had drag chutes.

The flight suit looks like a cold weather coast guard flight suit.

Cool stuff.


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[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by kearez

E-6Bs are still used today for flight training and pretty much still look like that. Can buy them at any Pilot shop.

Amazing. I earned my wings in 1986, after a year and a half of flight school in Pensacola FL Mississippi and Texas. I remember we were taught that computer and I had to use it for my final navigation exam. Even back then the instructors were saying you guys will probably never use this. 2500 flight hours and 12 years later they were 100% correct. I am surprised to hear it is still taught.

Originally Posted by Db7566

The gauge you have is an attitude indicator not altitude. It gives you a horizon and what the aircraft is doing in relation to the horizon; pitch and roll.

The parachute looks like it is made out a heavy canvas which would not be used for a pilot after ejection. Maybe a drag chute for after landings. Not sure if blackbirds had drag chutes.


The flight suit looks like a cold weather coast guard flight suit.

Cool stuff.


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Now that makes sense, and I am almost positive the BlackBird did have a drag on landing.

[kearez]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

Amazing. I earned my wings in 1986, after a year and a half of flight school in Pensacola FL Mississippi and Texas. I remember we were taught that computer and I had to use it for my final navigation exam. Even back then the instructors were saying you guys will probably never use this. 2500 flight hours and 12 years later they were 100% correct. I am surprised to hear it is still taught.



Now that makes sense, and I am almost positive the BlackBird did have a drag on landing.

Still taught in private as I still have mine. The best were the metal ones, end up baking in the Texas sun then try and grab it.

[Blansky]

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[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Db7566

The gauge you have is an attitude indicator not altitude. It gives you a horizon and what the aircraft is doing in relation to the horizon; pitch and roll.

The parachute looks like it is made out a heavy canvas which would not be used for a pilot after ejection. Maybe a drag chute for after landings. Not sure if blackbirds had drag chutes.

The flight suit looks like a cold weather coast guard flight suit.

Cool stuff.


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Thanks for the response and knowledge shared!! The canopy of the chute is not heavy, the container is heavy canvas. Could it have possibly been from the ejection seat? It has pilot marked on it.


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[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Blansky

.

Lol!!


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[NYC6]

The 71 flight crews suits had to be full pressure to prevent the crews blood from boiling which happens at approximately 60,000’( Armstrong affect). The 71 crew suits are similar to astronaut suits with some different features I would assume. They were a similar color but the 71 looked more yellow orange to the ones you have but don’t think they’re the same type of high pressure suits that were actually worn by crews at Blackbird mission altitudes. IMO

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by NYC6

The 71 flight crews suits had to be full pressure to prevent the crews blood from boiling which happens at approximately 60,000’( Armstrong affect). The 71 crew suits are similar to astronaut suits with some different features I would assume. They were a similar color but the 71 looked more yellow orange to the ones you have but don’t think they’re the same type of high pressure suits that were actually worn by crews at Blackbird mission altitudes. IMO

Yeah, I understand the suit is not what would have been worn in the plane. I was more asking if it could possibly have been worn by the ground crew. The individual these items are attributed to was a mechanic for the 71.


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[330ci]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

Yeah, I understand the suit is not what would have been worn in the plane. I was more asking if it could possibly have been worn by the ground crew. The individual these items are attributed to was a mechanic for the 71.


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This is where my confusion lies too, haha surely more of them had to have survived. A couple examples of the suit and none of the chute seems quite bizarre considering the usual contract #s for most military purchases.

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by 330ci

This is where my confusion lies too, haha surely more of them had to have survived. A couple examples of the suit and none of the chute seems quite bizarre considering the usual contract #s for most military purchases.

The project was secret though. So possibly these contract numbers are through Lockheed? From my research I’ve found there was only 32 planes built and only 85 total pilots throughout the project (I don’t know if this includes the guy in the backseat).


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[MrGoat]

More pics of the parachute markings and the container. It’s definitely a small chute.


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[Letsgodiving]

^ That looks like a pilot chute that would help to deploy the main.

[Letsgodiving]

Googlefoo:

[Mendota]

I can't contribute anything other than a fun story. My brother in law has a close friend who retired from the Air Force maybe 3 or 4 years prior to COVID. He never really talked about what he did or what he flew. Whenever asked, he casually would say that he flew this and that. Nothing really special. Well, on the day of his final flight before retirement, he was able to invite his wife and kids to come to the base to watch him land and "see what daddy has been up to all of these years." Turns out, he was a B-2 stealth bomber pilot! LOL My BIL sent some pics from that fun afternoon. His kids and wife got to see inside the cockpit and there are great pics of his entire family standing next to him and his plane, just looking awe struck by what he had been flying all of these years completely in secret. You can just see the tears of joy and amazement on his wife's face. Really sweet pics.

[Letsgodiving]

Some more info:

https://militaryantiquesmuseum.com/s...57.archive.htm

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Letsgodiving

Some more info:

https://militaryantiquesmuseum.com/s...57.archive.htm

Thanks for your great input!! I am almost positive this is a pilot chute for the main drag chute of an sr-71 now.


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[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Letsgodiving

Googlefoo:

That is absolutely it. I guess the container held the main drag chute which explains the bottom opening. Thanks again for your outstanding contribution!!


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[Letsgodiving]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

That is absolutely it. I guess the container held the main drag chute which explains the bottom opening. Thanks again for your outstanding contribution!!


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[904VT]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

Yeah, I understand the suit is not what would have been worn in the plane. I was more asking if it could possibly have been worn by the ground crew. The individual these items are attributed to was a mechanic for the 71.


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Not ground crew rather ground and photo op suits for the flight crew when on ground at base. Space suit not very comfortable for base time. Also no need to advertise altitudes at the time.

Here’s some public…

https://jalopnik.com/that-time-an-sr...way-1765436508

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by 904VT

Not ground crew rather ground and photo op suits for the flight crew when on ground at base. Space suit not very comfortable for base time. Also no need to advertise altitudes at the time.

Here’s some public…

https://jalopnik.com/that-time-an-sr...way-1765436508

Thanks for the link!! Fascinating stuff, makes me wonder which plane of the fleet these were attributed to.


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[Dave455]

One thing to be aware of, is that many parts are standardised, especially in military aircraft.

So, the standby attitude indicator you have is almost certainly the correct model for an SR-71, that’s easily determined, but has it actually been fitted to one? Not sure how the U.S. forces organise their inventories, but I suspect that’s harder / impossible to prove.

Same thing in the U.K. I often see something like a “Spitfire Compass” for sale. O.K. it’s the right pattern. Was it actually fitted to a Spitfire? Nobody knows. I never see a “Boulton Paul Defiant” compass for sale…!

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Dave455

One thing to be aware of, is that many parts are standardised, especially in military aircraft.

So, the standby attitude indicator you have is almost certainly the correct model for an SR-71, that’s easily determined, but has it actually been fitted to one? Not sure how the U.S. forces organise their inventories, but I suspect that’s harder / impossible to prove.

Same thing in the U.K. I often see something like a “Spitfire Compass” for sale. O.K. it’s the right pattern. Was it actually fitted to a Spitfire? Nobody knows. I never see a “Boulton Paul Defiant” compass for sale…!

I completely understand that. However, this was a secret project and the only plane to fly at the altitudes and speed it did when these would have been in use. That would lead me to believe these were possibly engineered for this plane and part of the reason for my question and post.


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[Petroc Tremaine]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Years ago, my mate who worked for Bristow Air in the east of England, predominantly working on oil and gas field support, heard over the radio that a Blackbird was approaching finals for landing at RAF Mildenhall (I think). He couldn't see it on the radar so asked it's position. The answer was just a bit north of Paris some 380km away.

That was for Mildenhall air show, and I was there. It got to Paris by the time it had slowed down enough to do a 180 degree turn. A mightily impressive beast. They set up a roped perimiter so that the audience could get relatively close to it.
I remember there was a RAF Vulcan which did a nigh on vertical climb straight after take off on full re-heat and that made the ground shake.

[MrGoat]

I found an interesting video going through every instrument in the cockpit of the sr-71 today with a former pilot. Worth watching if you’re interested in this sort of thing.

Update on the items- I can’t find a museum that promises to display them so I will probably be listing them for sale.


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[Tricolore66]

Wow, very cool thread! I'm kind of an SR-71 junky and have a bunch of books about that aircraft. I have a PDF of the actual declassified operating manual, which you can find on the web. The pressurized flight suits the Space Shuttle astronauts wore were actually those originally developed for the SR-71 pilots. It's amazing how resourceful and practical the people who developed these amazing machines were.

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

I found an interesting video going through every instrument in the cockpit of the sr-71 today with a former pilot. Worth watching if you’re interested in this sort of thing.

Update on the items- I can’t find a museum that promises to display them so I will probably be listing them for sale.


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I’m an idiot and forgot to add the link.

https://www.military.com/video/aircr.../3156632579001


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[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Tricolore66

Wow, very cool thread! I'm kind of an SR-71 junky and have a bunch of books about that aircraft. I have a PDF of the actual declassified operating manual, which you can find on the web. The pressurized flight suits the Space Shuttle astronauts wore were actually those originally developed for the SR-71 pilots. It's amazing how resourceful and practical the people who developed these amazing machines were.

Nice!! I believe I have the original “operating manual”.


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[desertyank]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

I found an interesting video going through every instrument in the cockpit of the sr-71 today with a former pilot. Worth watching if you’re interested in this sort of thing.

Update on the items- I can’t find a museum that promises to display them so I will probably be listing them for sale.


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If you're still interested in donating, you might give these folks a call. It's a smallish park, but have an A-12, and an SR-71, in addition to other cool stuff. They're related to the airpark at Edwards AFB, and they have a much larger museum on Edwards (20 miles north).

Also, years ago, they had an 'open cockpit' day there. I got to climb in the SR. A young lady also got in, after donning her relative's flight suit. If they've done it before..................


https://airmuseumguide.com/aviation-...kbird-airpark/

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by desertyank

If you're still interested in donating, you might give these folks a call. It's a smallish park, but have an A-12, and an SR-71, in addition to other cool stuff. They're related to the airpark at Edwards AFB, and they have a much larger museum on Edwards (20 miles north).

Also, years ago, they had an 'open cockpit' day there. I got to climb in the SR. A young lady also got in, after donning her relative's flight suit. If they've done it before..................


https://airmuseumguide.com/aviation-...kbird-airpark/

Thanks for the suggestion. I will check them out. I reached out to most every museum that had an sr-71 and didn’t get much interest. Many didn’t even respond.

I would love for these items to go to a place where they can be seen and touched. Plus I’d really like a picture in the cockpit of an sr-71.


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[Stan Cooper]

Castle Air Museum has an SR-71 on display. It's at the decommissioned SAC Base (Castle AFB) which is now Castle Airport near Merced, CA. They may be interested.