Engineers in those days did their magic with slide-rules.

@goldenageofdinosaurs7192

2 ай бұрын

This!

@skunkwerx9674

2 ай бұрын

This is such an overused statement. You think they had modern computers? No shit it was the slide rule.

@Chuck_Hooks

2 ай бұрын

@@skunkwerx9674 Any other crisis in your life?

@db84drteg

2 ай бұрын

And the biggest thing: no politics from the masses, just those who were needed to make the program happen.

@icare7151

2 ай бұрын

Boeing should go back to slide rulers and real engineers based in Seattle again.

I remember my Dad (a F-104 pilot) giving me a model of the YF-12 shortly after Johnson leaked it. It was THE most outrageous looking airplane I had ever seen and it was love at first sight. Nothing else has ever even come close. Kelly Johnson designed some fantastic airplanes starting with the twin boom P-38 Lightning, the U2, the F-104 Starfighter, the A-12/YF-12 and culminating in the SR-71. All built with slide rules and in a matter of months. Incredible.

@ialrakis5173

2 ай бұрын

Agree. One of the first things I bought with my own money as a young kid was a huge poster of the SR-71. I would look at it and dream about the future.

@DUKE_of_RAMBLE

2 ай бұрын

I, by complete happenstance, stumbled upon the SR-71 in the Encyclopedia Britannica of my school library one day as a kid, in the early 90s... That was enough to cement my love of it ever since! Truth be told, I never even read the entry on it, either!! I just loved staring at the picture of it, flying over snowcapped mountains... 😅 I did get a "Metal Earth" 3D puzzle model kit and built that. Mind you, it's only like 5in x 3in in size. 😊 (it's also, unfortunately, bare stainless metal and not black)

@helifanodobezanozi7689

2 ай бұрын

Well, the Starfighter looked great, but it was a widowmaker!

@steveburton5825

2 ай бұрын

@@helifanodobezanozi7689 Not one 104 pilot ever referred to it as the widowmaker. That was an invention of the German media who were upset about the Lockheed scandals about the acquisition. Yes, it was tricky to fly and the Luftwaffe post ww2 had very few experienced pilots (and mechanics) and going straight from BF-109's to 104's was a step too far for many junior pilots. Once they got their training under control, the death rates came down although it remained higher than other similar fighters due to the role. For instance, the Canadians used it for low level nuclear attack. 650 knots at tree top level in low visibility using 1960's radar was quite challenging and a lot of pilots couldn't think 10 miles ahead of the airplane which is what was needed.

@gort8203

2 күн бұрын

@@helifanodobezanozi7689 Please just stop with the widowmaker BS. The F-104 was no more a widowmaker than other high-performance aircraft of the era.

The A-12 drivers referred to the SR-71's as the 'Family Model' while their aircraft were the 'Sport Model'. Nice burn guys!

My expectations of NGAD just went through the roof

@lisaroberts8556

2 ай бұрын

🎯 You know technology from the YF12 Black Bird. Will find its way into the Air Force’s NGAD program 👍

Few even know the YF-12 existed good job. love it

Oxcarts & Blackbirds, the most futuristic and stunningly beautiful aircrafts, that were way ahead of its time. Timeless design that looks like a machine out of space right up to present day...

Sandboxx is like a Military Aviation 1001 course. Thanks so much for your content. As a form mil engineer and enthusiast of many years, this is easily my favorite channel.

Growing up as a young lad my Father worked for Hughes Aircraft. Many times I asked my Dad what he did at his job, and he always said I can’t talk about it.

Always love when you drop a video to learn some history of these crazy aircraft

@Ottee2

2 ай бұрын

This is my daily dose of fighter porn.

Alex, just wanted to say you and your Sandboxx team are on fire man! Great stuff

Strangely I built a Y-12A while laying in my hospital bed in traction from a broken leg in 1959. I was amazed by it then and even more amazed as I learned more about the bird and its abilities. I believe it still holds the record for a maned aircraft for speed to this day. Wish we could find another Kelly Johnson. Love to see what he could come up with now.

@bryonslatten3147

2 ай бұрын

I would say the Lockheed teams that built the F-22 and F-35 are pretty sharp too.

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

Um the aircraft didn't exist in 1959.

@michaeldavis3819

Ай бұрын

I'm working on getting us another Kelly Johnson. I have a daughter going into mechanical engineering. Last time the Thunderbirds were in town I drug her all over the flightline and took her to booths from NASA, Northrup Grumman, etc. She's now thinking aerospace. 😊

F-12 to F-14 = not so bad at all!

The US Army just chose General Dynamics and Rheinmetall as finalists for the 4000 Bradley replacement IFVs. Could you do a Firepower series video about this program, the two finalists and the other three that dropped out. Or more generally the current state of IFVs (Bradley, CV90, Puma, Lynx) and their most likely future. Maybe even including anti air IFVs like some CV90 variants and SkyRanger.

@BeerGutGuy

2 ай бұрын

Start with AS21

A video about the X65 and active flow control would be cool.

Imagine a flight of 5 to 10 yf-12s coming in at 2000 mph just to wipe out every enemy fighter

@lelandhetrick205

2 ай бұрын

Just imagine over the years upgrades like the Tomcat's radar and fire control system in a F-12. I read that the airframes have a long-life, so upgrades would be to sensors, fire control and missiles.

lt is always a good day when we get to watch one of your excellent Aircraft video's Alex🇺🇸

Kelly Johnson is an American treasure.

1:31 that is a bloody amazing shot right there. The U2 must be going absolutely flat out. The SR-71 (A-12?) Looks like its approaching stall speed.

I remember hearing LBJ announcing the new airplane on the radio. He misnamed it the A11.

An A-12 is on display in front of the Air & Space Museum here in San Diego. Sadly, it is outdoors and subject to the ravages of weather, pigeons and vandalism.

Спасибо за интересный выпуск

Another great episode!

@7:00: Love the Tomcat love.

With the turn rate/radius of the SR71 and the insane speed, I have a feeling that a Falcon launch would likely be a 1 way trip.

I trained on the Genie in tech school and thought it was insane back in the 80s, and Minot AFB still had the 106 when I got there. I never even heard of the F-12 until now.

Also to remember, outside of its initial procurement the SR71 was never kept classified/hidden from public. While the YF12 was initially done that way befoe being made public in 1964, the SR71 was publicly acknowledged just a couple months later in 64 before its first flight in full public view in Dec 1964. The SR71 was never destined to be a hidden secret aircraft like the A12 was etc.

It also helps that it freaked the Soviets out, I feel like this was the bigger reason. Given it wasn't a dramatically expensive project as the A12 was developed, it helped make the MIG-25 put in place engines prone to breaking and needing heavy maintenance. So ultimately, it cost the Soviets a lot more trying to make parity (Though it did give the Air Force a lot to be freaked out about until they got their hands on one) and in some ways helped make the F15 what it is

This channel so good !!!

Technology so far ahead of it's time. I continually wonder if we, the United States of America, still walk in the foot steps of the future..

Could you do a video about the future of Shorad? Will short range air defense provided by the laser stryker? Will the Bradley replacement IFV XM30 function as an anti air cannon? Should the US look at the SkyRanger / Skynex / millenium gun system? And will there be a Stinger replacement with a better battery, targeting, and most importantly more affordable? Or is this affordable future the APKWS guidance upgrade for the cheap and plentiful Hydra 70mm rocket? Should we slap that on Avenger Hummvees? Or IRIS-T?

1959 - hard to imagine that we are only now going to beat those records with the hypersonic airframes in development.

Yet another stated excuse for not fielding the F-12 was that it took 200 miles to make a U-turn; meaning that it would be hard for it to reacquire bombers should it miss on the first pass. A 1,000 mile landing pattern didn't help much, either. Over the years, there have been many partial descriptions of the timeline from 1958 through the transfer of some to NASA (who also acquired some AIM-54s to instrument for Nach-5 testing). Thank you for adding to and maybe even correcting the previous data. And yes, I had a model of the YF-12 whose nacelles were the size of the F-4 Phantom II that I also had.

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

Lol that absolutely isn't true. It did not take 200 miles to make a u-turn, and a 1k mile landing pattern? Lol no.

@gort8203

2 күн бұрын

Where do you get this stuff? Stated by whom? Maybe by Captain Kangaroo.

Yeah I am glad you addressed this issue. When in A-12 first came out a briefing was give to our radar site (AC&W) We were both a SAGE and Manual site. We were told while calibrating the radar or working on the scopes if we saw a track sustaining MACH 2 to log it and forget it. Naturally we started looking for watching for such a track. When we were able to find one the comment was MACH 2 phooey. We were informed the night the YF-12 was making its test intercept run. B-52" were turned around at the north pole and declared unknown. The The YF took off from Holloman Air Force Base and preformed the intercept just below the mid-Canada line. We were told, I do not know if documentation exists, Canada did not like the idea having nuclear bombers shot down by US interceptors. Who would clean up the potential nuclear waste. The site was on the north bound flight path for CAP bombers, many U-2's plus the three speedily ones.

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

The YF12 never flew from Holloman, and a mission like this was never done.

My speculative vision for the NGAD is rather like a modern, stealthy version of this with added drone wingmen. This kind of speed, altitude and range would be absolutely devastating to enemy fighters, when paired with modern air-to-air missiles. AMRAAMs and AIM-260s would have substantially increased ranges and lethality when released from a launch platform at Mach 3.5 and 85,000 feet.

Please do it video about the AVRO Arrow interceptor

R-12 was the predesignate for the SR-71. Scary to release that much weight at those speeds in the YF-12. Look at those guys standing under an air burst nuke test. In March 1959, Lockheed developed a design for the A‑11. It would have a top speed of Mach 3.2, a range of 3,200 miles, and an altitude of 90,000 feet, and could be ready by January 1961. The A-11’s main drawback was that it would be more detectable than Convair’s much smaller FISH. That manned, ramjet-powered vehicle was designed to fly at Mach 4.2 at 90,000 feet with a range of 3,900 miles, and also could be ready by January 1961. Three substantial uncertainties beset the FISH, however: the unproven technology of ramjet engines; the unavailability of the B-58B that would fly fast enough to launch it; and the possibility that the B-58B could not reach the necessary speed, or that if it did, the FISH could not operate under post-launch conditions. The Air Force’s cancellation of the B-58B project in June 1959 took the FISH out of the running, but the Land committee also rejected the A-11 because its RCS was still too large. The competition continued. Archangel concepts, numbered A-1 through A-11, were driven by the need for speed and altitude, but customer (CIA) requirements for survivability ultimately led to a revolutionary design with a small radar signature. Along the path that eventually led to the A-12, Kelly Johnson explored an eclectic collection of alternative design concepts.

The YF-12 were used for very public sonic boom tests across the US. North of Chicago I saw one being refueled from one of the special tankers for the high temp fuels they used. 20 power spotting scope allowed be to watch it as it dropped off the tanker then accelerate to altitude in a hurry.

Pye Wacket Missile would make for a great video subject

THANKS. !!

If we can see the SR71 replacement it’s already decades old

@helifanodobezanozi7689

2 ай бұрын

I believe the intial decision was to go with satellites, so the SR-71's replacement isn't decades old. They've only been working on a replacement for the last 5 or 10 years max.

Talk about the Pye Wacket Missile

"Okay, so, the program wasn't feasible, but launching a missile at Mach 3 is awesome, and if there's one thing the Air Force can't resist is awesome, so we went ahead and did it... Oh, and, did I say 'screw satellites and drones'? Because screw satellites and drones."

"the f-14, and that's not so bad" oh you're gonna get some hate for that

Nice introduction video about YF- 12 fastest interceptor aircraft against past Soviet bombers..

And all of this happened in the 60's. Since then we have built the F-117, B-2, F-22, F-35, F-15EX, and B-21. NGAD is going to be epic.

I need this in war tinder so bad xD

AIM-54 greatly resembles the proposed AIM-47B. Note that ther was also an air-to-ground version proposed, the AGM-76.

considering the cost to fly an SR71 and train its pilots, , it's probably better the YF12 as a fighter/interceptor didn't come out en masse. i'm not saying an F14 can do what the YF12 could, but it could fulfill the fighter/interceptor just fine. though I wonder what Top Gun would've been like had the aircraft been a YF12 instead of a tomcat...

Makes you wonder why we don't have Mach 3.5 today

@asherwiggin6456

2 ай бұрын

Money

@Bryanh522

2 ай бұрын

Probably not necessary to have anything to fly at those speeds.

@johnpaulbacon8320

2 ай бұрын

I would say - it's probably due heat management at over Mach 3+. and the cost / availability of Titanium or other materials that could replace titanium to do the job.

@ElonMuckX

2 ай бұрын

Outside the public domain. Some past experiments didn’t end, as your lead to believe………….they evolved!

@BoraHorzaGobuchul

2 ай бұрын

Just because you don't know of it doesn't mean it's not there. It would actually be strange if the US didn't have that (and better) capability now.

Can you do a video on the Su-57s new “radar blockers” that have been floating around?

The other reason for cancelling order was that it required few hours of preparations for the flight as well as probably air refueling immediately after takeoff as A-12 & SR-71 did.

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

Neither of that is true

The F-106: what a looker!

What was that outro song? It was slamming

I always wonder, if the yf-12 hadn’t been canceled, what sort of further development and upgrades might it have gotten over its lifespan? Ground attack capability? F-14 radar? Are Phoenix missiles too big for it? Could the fire control equipment have been miniaturized and relocated to accommodate a fourth missile? Could the engines have been more optimized for the climb to altitude?

There is a lot to hate McNamara for, but killing this acquisition ranks near the top for me.

@adamb8317

2 ай бұрын

One of his less stupid moves if we are being honest, but one that is definitely very un-awesome.

When I was just a tyke, my parents bought me a model of an SR71. In the paperwork they mentioned a fighter variant. No details, just that statement. I always wondered...!!

@user-fd6rr4iz9m

Ай бұрын

Look up Century Wing's YF-12 or SR-71 1/72 cast models they are superb.

A few facts to consider: Fact 1: The YF-12 was designed to meet a specification to engage incoming targets at Mach-3 with the world's first look-down shoot-down radar capability. At those speeds it would be impossible for any aircraft in the world to engage a YF-12 in combat, but the YF-12 was capable of catching-and shooting down-anything in the air. You may need to read that again, because the short way of saying that is this: the YF-12 would have been invincible-if it had met design specifications. The thing is, it did. Fact 2: There is no law in the corpus of US defense legislation that says military and executive officials _must_ publicize accurate summaries of defense procurement quantities or policies. There is no law that says American Citizens have a right to know all of the air combat systems deployed in their defense. Fact 3: The Mach-3 capability of the YF-12 not only made it impervious to counter-interception, its speed would serve its role as an interceptor in decreasing the time-to-engage interval, an advantage that would be in play regardless of the speed of the intended target. Which means that the official reasons given for the cancellation of the YF-12 are either obtuse, or falsely construed. But, the official history is that the YF-12 was cancelled because McNamara publicly said we didn't need it. This definitely wasn't a cover story. He definitely didn't pretend to cancel it publicly in the interests of obviating an escalatory response from the Soviets. There absolutely were not any secret F-12 B squadrons in service during the Cold War. And Kelly Johnson's world-beating interceptor was indeed cancelled because we didn't need a plane that could shoot down any plane in the world with impunity. The US Air Force has never prioritized Air Superiority. And besides, the CIA and the DoD always tell us everything they're doing, even though, legally, they don't have to. That's what the history books say, and that's how it is.

4:45 That whole plausible deniability makes me wonder what the U.S. has cooking now...

yea, I'll take an AWG9 wprapped in please

Top "don't get blind at 45" tip: if you need to place your hand to create a shadow to look at something, you really shouldn't be looking at that something 😂😂

@Hebdomad7

2 ай бұрын

And if you see your bones through your hands whilst blocking said light with your eyes closed... You might have bigger problems.

I’ve never heard of Hughes company

@user-fd6rr4iz9m

Ай бұрын

Have you heard of Howard Hughes?

@616CC

Ай бұрын

@@user-fd6rr4iz9m ah

@616CC

Ай бұрын

@@user-fd6rr4iz9m it’s all coming together now lol thanks

The initial major difference between the two are frames was armament. After that the two airframes kind of separated development

@tomdave42

2 ай бұрын

It's just amazing what Kelly Johnson was able to accomplish within his lifetime we need more men like him. Not men like elan dust. I mean if I wanted to dust off old 60s plants from my balls I would call Elon but if I wanted something new and extreme and advanced and world-changing I will call up Lockheed skunk works. For some reason Elon likes the old Dusty balls taste

@tomdave42

2 ай бұрын

Again if you want something crazy and outlandish and just like off the charts call the skunk works, they most likely already have something cooking ready to pop out on Mark 7. I don't just hope but I know that the future is going to be bright knowing that Lockheed is igniting the way forward

What is your intro music

How did the IRST work when it would've been aero-heated so much?

@BoraHorzaGobuchul

2 ай бұрын

Good cooling?

So is the Phoenix missile called that because it rose from the ashes of the YF-12 program?

Ironic how the radar and fire control system and AIM-47's were handed down twice from 2 failed development programs before finding a home in the F-14 Tomcat, an aircraft that enjoyed a long and successful service life.

Was there ever a name attached?

Should have kept upgrading and developing these platforms. We would light years ahead of our adversaries. Well, if we could keep sloppy contractors from allowing it to be stolen that is.

Imagine traveling so fast that you hit the same missile you fired at your target.

@gr8crash

Ай бұрын

Not really how it works

@chaikaomoua1169

Ай бұрын

@@gr8crash it's possible if your jet is faster than the missile it uses. It's how speed works.

@gr8crash

Ай бұрын

​@chaikaomoua1169 also not very true. Missiles launched from an aircraft add their speed to the aircraft speed. Even besides that, the YF12 was mach 3, the AIM47 was mach 4.

Can you do a show on "does speed matter today?". An FB111F reportedly went Mach 3, but we have no bomber like it. The F35 isn't a speed demon nor carries much load. What matters most? Avionics?

@hoghogwild

2 ай бұрын

Survivability.

@gort8203

2 күн бұрын

Stealth replaced speed as primary for survivability some time ago. Maybe you are too young to recall the F-117 or the B-2.

Time to stop living in the past. ❤ Now we have one step to orbit, with landing back on the pad.

What speed could they actually deploy missile at ???

A YF-12 with a nuke would be like a more successful update over the Valkyrie cancellation.

What is the SLOWEST air speed of the SR-71?

@mostevil1082

2 ай бұрын

0... Stall speed? It landed at around 150 knots, but thats descending. Stall probably ~20 below that, but I don't imagine they pushed it.

triple digit range? like 101 kilometers?

AIM-47----->AIM-54

The YF-12 Drone that sat atop the YF-12 was the World’s first hypersonic weapon.

@pmayo7894

2 ай бұрын

No. The D-21 is a recon drone.

@JKS62B50

2 ай бұрын

That was a M-21 drone launcher based on a A-12 Oxcart...

I think its time to dig into the unofficial top speed of the F-111

errr ... I don't think they thought the nuclear warheads from the missiles would be attacking more than one bomber at a time. the ideas was to attack WARHEADs not bombers.

@hoghogwild

2 ай бұрын

Nuke was for bomber formations.

But I wonder how long it would take to scramble a YF-12?

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

Around 20 min

Before I watch, I'm going to guess it was so they could keep the Blackbird secret after the A-12 was cancelled.

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

The SR71 was never kept hidden/secret

An aside; you look better in blue than a red flannel shirt.

Can this channel just talk about sr-71’s and A-12’s? Thanks! -Everyone

@pmayo7894

2 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, not everyone knows about the YF-12 (and how much it played a role to the overall A-12/SR-71 development).

What about that SR 72

F-12A

@hoghogwild

2 ай бұрын

YF-12A, the production bird was to be the F-12B.

Seekers

They say we went to the moon on a slide rule.

@lyfandeth

2 ай бұрын

My physics teacher chewed me out for giving him too decimal places in answers to complex problems. I think it was 3 digits and he said you could only get two from a standard foot long slide rule. And when he was done, I showed him that mine had inverse scales, so I never had to interpolate the cursor until the final result. Which gave me one more digit, more often right than wrong. Good slide rule. The original batteries have never worn out or leaked.(g)

And the F-12 got cancelled in the end by Robert MacNamamra out of petty spite to get back at Kelly Johnson. The production F-12B (Which McNamara cancelled) was externally indistinguishable from the SR-71 (It didn't have the strange nose).

@hoghogwild

2 ай бұрын

Did it have the YF-12A 3 ventral fins?

Lyndon B. Johnson screwed up on the name of RS-71A. He said SR-71A. So Lockheed and to change the name

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

Lol no he didn't

traded the F-12 for the F-14... but was there an F-13? What happened to that?

I want to know just how many missions the CIA versions flew right over the Soviet Union

@ElonMuckX

2 ай бұрын

If I remember right, some stat says the USSR fired +800 SAM’s at the 71’s flyovers. Gotta be a bunch of missions, because not all 71’s got shot at.

@TooTallDean

2 ай бұрын

None. None directly over soviet airspace, but many flights just outside soviet airspace. North Korea, N Vietnam, Cuba, etc., no problem with overflights.

wonder how those people are doing that stood bravely under an atomic bomb

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

Just fine

It's all been on Wikipedia for years.

Modern engineers should take a cue from the geniuses who designed aircraft such as the A12, Sr71, and other marvels, usually in a matter of months or at most a couple of years. It is criminal for an engineering team to take a decade or more using the very best modern technology to design an airliner with the same wings on tube design as its predecessors. And new fighters or bombers? Forget about it. And lets not get started on cars. Everything buried five deep so one must go to the dealer just to change a serpentine belt, install a new battery, or change the oil. The on board infotainment system that spies on the driver and other occupants. Computers that must be reset at the dealer for thousands of dollars once a light comes on or one works on anything one's self. And with all of that high tech, cars weigh even more than they used to. The only thing that has really improved in cars in the past couple of decades is their safety in a crash and the advent of electric and hybrids. We need a right to repair act and a right to own act so we actually own what we purchase without subscription features that should just work, and we can repair the product the way we wish at the mechanic we like. Sometimes it is best to just make things work well than to make things perfect.

F14 For the win!

What a terrible interceptor the YF-12 would've been. Sitting there leaking fuel with the start cart idling while the pilots breathe 100% oxygen in their pressure suits any time they're on alert, then has to hit a tanker as soon as it takes off, which also has to be on alert and probably flying circles or sitting there idling all day.

@TooTallDean

2 ай бұрын

You have a point there....

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

Except most of that isn't true

@blurglide

2 ай бұрын

@@gr8crash What part?

@gr8crash

2 ай бұрын

@blurglide why would it just leak fuek? I think you are talking about the popular myth regarding these aircraft and leaking, but that wouldn't have been much of an issue. Most aircraft leakm especially alert aircraft tat sit there fueled, so this really wouldn't have been much of an issue. The start cart wouldn't sit there idling, thats just not a thing. They would have them properly positioned but would just leave them off but ready to go. These aircraft do not have to hit a tanker right after takeoff, that largely depends on the mission. And given this would have been an interceptor it would have just taken off and proceeded to target without a need to refueling. Maybe on the way back, but that really would have depended on the distance etc. The only partial concern would have been in regards to the pilots. I am following up on that with a fomer SR pilot, not sure if they would have had a rotating shift of crews that would be dressed ready to go, or if they would have adjusted the requirements for the interceptor role given the issue etc.

If they were smart, they'd bring me F-14 back

Imagine this carrying bombs.

@wastedapathy22

2 ай бұрын

Kelly Johnson did have plans for a bomber version A-12/F-12. He even envisaged it carrying an “energy weapon”, just a dense metal shape without a warhead, that would be dropped from high altitudes and Mach, and do its damage from kinetic energy (think getting hit by a meteor). But with budgets, MacNamara, and not wanting to give Lockheed a monopoly on the USAF fleet, that never saw the light of day. Ben Rich recounts all of this in “Skunk Works”.

Maybe because 12 is a lower number than 71

Let's all take a deep breath and say it together: The SR72 never existed. The SR72 never existed. The SR72 never existed. Whew! What a relief.

@ElonMuckX

2 ай бұрын

Yet the engines the size of buildings did;)

@slabrankle9588

2 ай бұрын

@@ElonMuckX Tell me more.