Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Important Facts About The Blackbird Plane

By Tameka Ware


If you have taken such considerable interest with aircrafts and stuff, you would not really want to miss out getting to know as much information as you can about the blackbird plane. Developed in the 1960s, this aircraft was designed for reconnaissance purposes. It had the ability to be operated in such high speed in very high altitudes. Hence, it can easily outrace any threat present.

These aircrafts were designed in a way where they can just easily dodge any incoming attack by simply accelerating and the outrunning it. The same is true when it is faced with such threats as the presence of missiles. These planes served in the Air Force of The United States from 1964 until the year 1998. Only thirty-two units were made and twelve have been lost to accidents.

Most people who are familiar with the way these units were manufactured will find that their design was seen to be a continuation of the the bomber series in the pre-1962s. The production turned towards a different direction however, during the later stage. Instead of being designed as attack aircrafts, they were then converted into units responsible for recons.

When it comes to riding this unit, two people can be accommodated inside the cockpit. The pilot is often situated in the front part of the aircraft as he makes sure that the unit gets to face the right direction. Meanwhile, the officer who is going to be responsible for the reconnaissance task is one who will be situated in the back portion so he gets a good view of the area he has to gather data from.

When this project of creating a blackbird plane was first realized, it was thought up that coal should still be the same fuel used to run the units. However, it was cited that the use of such a fuel may not bode well especially when it comes to getting the engines properly kept in good shape. So, they have to come up with a specialized fuel that will work with the unit alone.

When people have to ride these units, however, they have to opt for a specialized suit. After all, they cannot just go ahead and use the usual suit and traditional mask when they are up in the air at such a considerable altitude. So, instead of wearing just about any random suit there is, these people have to ride a suit that has been specially made to fit the environment which they would then be exposed to.

For the recon missions in which these planes were specifically designed for, several surveillance equipment are found on board. Among these include the surveillance and tracking camera, which is used for the documentation of the entire mission. In addition, there are optical imagery systems, airborne radars, electronic intelligence systems, as well as defensive systems to counter airborne attacks.

It is interesting to note, however, that the twelve units from the original thirty-two blackbird plane that were made were lost not in mission related incidents. Hence, none of them were really taken down as a result of action from the enemy. Currently, the rest of the twenty are now being displayed in many museums. Since they have been decommissioned, their engines have since been taken out.




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