Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission

Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission | Richard H. Graham | Three out of Three

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Flying the SR-71 B...

	Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission Richard H. Graham Zenith Press, 2008 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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For anyone who has ever wondered what its like to fly the SR-71 on a secret Mach 3 reconnaissance mission, this book has the answer. Flying the SR-71 Blackbird takes readers along on an operational mission that only a few Air Force pilots have ever experienced. The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird, was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed Skunk Works. The aircraft flew so fast and high that not one was ever shot down, even by a missile. SR-71 pilot and instructor Colonel Richard Graham offers a rare cockpit perspective on how regular Air Force pilots and navigators transformed themselves into SR-71 Blackbird crews, turning their unique aviation talents to account in an unprecedented way. Arguably the worlds foremost expert on piloting the Blackbird, Graham details, as no one else could, what an SR-71 mission entails, from donning a pressure suit to returning to base.

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Mach 3 Aviation Nerd Heaven

This is a great book! It's exactly what the title says it is -- a pilot's inside the cockpit explanation of flying the SR-71, in expansive detail. The author is perfectly qualified for the task as a former SR-71 pilot, instructor pilot, chief stan/eval and commander of the 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron. There are 80 pages of original SR-71 checklists, there are detailed cockpit pictures, and there is explanation of every switch you'd see in a complete mission. Make no mistake, this is not a pretty picture book, this is for true pilot nerds who want to do what is now impossible -- climb inside the Blackbird and take it flying at Mach 3.2 and FL 780.

The foreword correctly states the book, "provides the missing link among the many Blackbird volumes that have been written over the past quarter century. While many nuts-and-bolts references have been written covering the aircraft's development, flight test, and operational history in minute detail, none, until now, have addressed the subject of flying the mission from the perspective of the pilot." It includes illuminating discussions about abnormal and emergency procedures, as well as some sidebars with tales of specific flights. It also includes a few pages of color pictures. The SR-71 was a stunning thrill-ride, and also a hughly complex techno-social system. Graham has written a quality tribute to the aeroplane and the thousands of people that made the system work.

Buy the big picture books by Brian Shul for glossy photographs and fluid descriptions of the feel of flying the SR-71. Buy the various history books for the development story and technical details. But for the this-switch-does-that (and why) (and when) detail of actually flying faster than a bullet, you need to buy this book. If this sort of thing is your cup of tea, you may also enjoy 'The Concorde Stick & Rudder Book' by Mike Riley for details on flying another big plane really really fast. I hope this review helps you.

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Three out of Three

Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission
HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO FLY AN SR-71? Well there are two things you need, one is this book, the other, well an operating aircraft. That I can't help you with, but I can suggest you should get this book!

Rich Graham was an instructor pilot on the SR-71, and his infinite knowledge of operating the Blackbird is laid out in the step by step procedures of flying the aircraft. Each check list item is described and laid out to explain it in terms you can understand.

This is Col Graham's third book, and 'Flying the Blackbird' like the others is a must for the Blackbird fan. This book is unique in that it tells you the complex cockpit procedures of this marvel of aviation. No other book or writer could give you the insight that Col. Rich Graham does.

A must.

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Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission

If you are interested in knowing every minute detail about the SR-71 Blackbird, this is the book for you. I have seen the Blackbird up close, sat in the cockpit, and have spent many hours flying the SR-71 on Microsoft Flight Simulator (SR-71 sim available online). Now, with this book, I am learning all of the Blackbird's intimate secrets. The author leaves nothing to the imagination as he steps you through a mission. The planning, the preflight, the cockpit check, taxiing, runup, takeoff, climbout, mission navigation, descent, and landing. It is all there. Did you know that the SR-71 gets only 20% of its thrust from the two jet engines? Where does the rest come from? The author will tell you. There are diagrams and descriptions of every instrument, switch, and lever in the aircraft. This all was top secret stuff a few years ago.

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