Reddit reviews Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission
We found 7 Reddit comments about Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
>desinged to operate for long periods at 3.5 times the speed of sound
FTFY!
This is, to this day, my favorite aircraft ... hell my favorite machine, built by man.
May I recommend picking up a copy of Flying the SR-71 by retired Colonel Richard H. Graham? I always get the weirdest boner reading this book.
Edit: Hell, if you haven't read it yet and do not have the means to pick up a copy, I will buy it for you. Just send me your info in PM.
What everyone said is correct: math, math, math, and enjoy your last summer ;) You may also want to learn how to code in C++ or Fortran (yes, yes, it's ancient, but pretty much all NASA codes are written in C++ or Fortran) or even Matlab, if you have access to it.
Also, if you want to read some inspirational type books: Kelly Johnson's Memoir, the man basically invented Skunk Works. I also loved Flying the SR71, which is all about the Blackbird. It may sound corny, but Rocket Boys is my go-to book and/or movie when I feel discouraged and like I can't hack it as an engineer. And Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" was really interesting to me.
What I found pushed me through the grueling classes, assignments, 50% on a test... was my passion for space exploration and propulsion methods. So I suggest in addition to the math and enjoying the free time you have left that you find what makes you passionate to be an engineer :). Because sometimes, at 2 am in a computer lab, after staring at the same chunk of code for 3 hours and not understanding why it doesn't seem to friggin work out... passion is all you have!
Best of luck to ya!
http://www.amazon.com/Flying-SR-71-Blackbird-Cockpit-Operational/dp/0760332398
I believe it is in this book as an exert.
I have read couple of books, like this one
https://www.amazon.com/Flying-SR-71-Blackbird-Cockpit-Operational/dp/0760332398
Quite hard core on it's level of detail, he literally flies checklist item by item on the book, so casual reader might want to skip this one.
But yes, I can believe it was stressful. Picture this: you are somewhere over freezing cold ocean. Flight has not gone by the book, you are low on fuel. Your planned rendezvous point with tanker is in the middle of thunderstorm. Neither has tanker's flight gone exactly as planned... your
radar screen is flickering... no contact yet... (insert heavy breathing here).
If you manage to survive this one, there's still two fuelings to go before you're home.
I just read this book: Flying the SR-71
http://www.amazon.com/Flying-SR-71-Blackbird-Cockpit-Operational/dp/0760332398
It's in the kindle store.
It's a very instructional book. You could probably fly a sortie after reading it ;)
http://www.amazon.com/Flying-SR-71-Blackbird-Cockpit-Operational/dp/0760332398/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323891882&sr=1-4
Can someone confirm this is the book in reference? I see one on Amazon for like $200+ but it seems to be a "picture book". This book (linked) is what I get when searching "sled driver".
It has to be pressurized, there was 3 nitrogen canisters at the front of the ship in the landing gear bay to pressurize the 6 tanks.
As they empty of fuel during flight, the pressure increase from descending would crush them. They were integral tanks so if that happened, you would probably have catastrophic failure.
Source: https://www.amazon.ca/Flying-SR-71-Blackbird-Cockpit-Operational/dp/0760332398