09-12-2006, 15:10 PM
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#6 (permalink)
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Senior Contributor
Join Date: 01-27-06
Location: DPRK, Democratik People's Republik of Kalifornia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Horrido
Been debating about whether or not I really want to edit it, since people know what an SR-71 is, but few know what an A-12 is.
Also, what does the display plaque claim it is?
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Thanks Horrido.
The plaque at the exhibit said the following:
Quote:
Spy in the sky
The A-12 Blackbird flew high and light
A-12 Trainer Specs
Material: Titanium
Length: 31.2 meters (102 feet, 3 inches)
Wingspan: 16.9 meters (55 feet, 7 inches)
Height: 5.6 meters (18 feet, 6 inches)
Takeoff weight: 53,000 kg 117,000 pounds)
Landing weight: 23,600 kg (52,000 pounds)
Speed: Mach 2.0, twice the speed of sound
Altitude: 18,000 meters (60,000 feet)
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney I-75 engines, each rated at 17,000 pounds of thrust
First flight: January 1963
Number of flights: 614
Hours of flight: 1,076 hours flying time
Did you know?
The A-12 trainer has two cockpits: one for an instructor and one for a pilot in training. Black paint on the plane's nose kept reflected sunlight from blinding the pilots.
Built for extreme performance
The Skunk Works, a special classified-projects group at the Lockheed Aircraft Company, made huge advances in aircraft technology to build the A-12. Since the A-12 as the first titanium aircraft, the project team discovered a lot about how to work with this challenging metal.
The A-12 team developed new methods so fuels and oil could stand up to the extreme heat in the plane's engine. They also tested new ways to make aircraft less visible to radar.
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From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:A12Blackbird.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-12_Oxcart
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