I could also see burning wreckage on the ground a few miles from where we would land. I tried to rotate the parachute and look in other directions. The SR had a turning radius of about mi. But, because it was about p. At about ft. I then tried to recall what survival items were in that kit, as well as techniques I had been taught in survival training. Looking down, I was startled to see a fairly large animal—perhaps an antelope—directly under me. Evidently, it was just as startled as I was because it literally took off in a cloud of dust.
My first-ever parachute landing was pretty smooth. I landed on fairly soft ground, managing to avoid rocks, cacti and antelopes. My chute was still billowing in the wind, though. I struggled to collapse it with one hand, holding the still-frozen face plate up with the other. Was I hearing things? I must be hallucinating. Then I looked up and saw a guy walking toward me, wearing a cowboy hat. A helicopter was idling a short distance behind him.
The gentleman was Albert Mitchell, Jr. I had landed about 1. Amazed to see him, I replied I was having a little trouble with my chute. He walked over and collapsed the canopy, anchoring it with several rocks. Extracting myself from the parachute harness, I discovered the source of those flapping-strap noises heard on the way down. My seat belt and shoulder harness were still draped around me, attached and latched. The lap belt had been shredded on each side of my hips, where the straps had fed through knurled adjustment rollers.
The shoulder harness had shredded in a similar manner across my back. The ejection seat had never left the airplane; I had been ripped out of it by the extreme forces, seat belt and shoulder harness still fastened. I also noted that one of the two lines that supplied oxygen to my pressure suit had come loose, and the other was barely hanging on.
If that second line had become detached at high altitude, the deflated pressure suit wouldn t have provided any protection. That the suit could withstand forces sufficient to disintegrate an airplane and shred heavy nylon seat belts, yet leave me with only a few bruises and minor whiplash was impressive. I truly appreciated having my own little escape capsule. He climbed into his helicopter, flew a short distance away and returned about 10 min.
I asked to see Jim and, after verifying there was nothing more that could be done, agreed to let Mitchell fly me to the Tucumcari hospital, about 60 mi.
I have vivid memories of that helicopter flight, as well. The little helicopter vibrated and shook a lot more than I thought it should have. I tried to reassure the cowboy-pilot I was feeling OK; there was no need to rush.
However, we made it to the hospital safely—and quickly. The test team there had been notified initially about the loss of radio and radar contact, then told the aircraft had been lost. They also knew what our flight conditions had been at the time, and assumed no one could have survived. I briefly explained what had happened, describing in fairly accurate detail the flight conditions prior to breakup.
In the end, the A was able to produce higher-resolution photography, but the SR became the successor due to its side-looking radar and cameras. This ability meant the SR could achieve its reconnaissance missions without penetrating the airspace over enemy territory. The same day another SR set an absolute speed record of 3, Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search.
Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Physics How many Sr 71s are left? Ben Davis May 30, How many Sr 71s are left? Could the SR go to space? Are any sr71 still flying? Has the sr72 been built?
What is the real top speed of the SR Blackbird? What made the SR so fast? Is the SR faster than a missile? How many SR pilots were there? How does the SR engine work? How did they have to start the engine on the SR? The Board knew that finding that answer would be key to identifying the primary cause of the accident. The analysis of engines, hydraulics, flight controls, and other associated equipment showed no signs of any failures. About 7 weeks into the investigation, Bill Campbell and the Accident Board found a significant clue.
When the nose of was modified for the new Optical Bar Camera, the pitot-static lines were in the way.
Inside one of the two static lines, a piece of "duct tape" rolled up into the shape of a cigarette was found. The Board assumed it was placed there as a makeshift dust plug when the line was fabricated and forgotten. The normal ground testing of the pitot-static system before flew was completed satisfactorily.
But since some air could pass though the obstructed tube, this steady state test, which is basically a leak test, did not reveal any problems. The NASA facility at Edwards, the Dryden Flight Research Center, performed a line lag test on the tube to determine how much the static pressure available to the flight instruments would lag behind the actual aircraft altitude during climbs and descents because of the obstruction caused by the duct tape.
This analysis provided an exact correlation of the discontinuity between what Joe Rogers thought was doing and what the MRS actually recorded. When Rogers' SR finished refueling and descended about 3, feet, he was reading an altitude about 2, feet higher.
When he tried to level off at 25, feet, the altimeter and rate of climb continued to show a slight descent so he started to climb back. A little later, when Rogers thought he had returned to 25, feet, he was actually about 27, feet and knots slower than indicated.
But the engines were starved for airflow at the same time and compressor stalled. Campbell stated, "There were those that said: 'If only he had looked at the TDI, he would never lost the airplane. We are currently searching for more photos of the crash site taken during the investigation. If you have any - please contact us. Click here to own a piece of this SR
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