Sled Driver

folks on the ground as we thundered by the main entrance to the museum. As we
rocketed upward in search of our tanker, our radio continued to crackle with the
excited thanks of the tower. We finally had to ask him to leave our frequency
because we needed it for the business at hand, but he made our day.
THE RARE SHOW
Normally, we landed the Sled at the same field from which we took off. We landed
away only when the airplane had a serious problem or if the weather at the home
base were bad enough to prevent a safe landing. When the jet got sick, our task
became getting the plane down safely as soon as possible. Landing away was a big
deal to everyone, from the people who used the film we brought back, to the people
who maintained the airplane. We, in turn, depended on our support people to help
us taxi in and shut down, to push the stands to the airplane, and help us unstrap and
climb out. We needed help getting out of the space suit, and even the clothes we
changed into hung in lockers at the PSD building back at Beale. Nearly every crew
had at least one experience landing away and each one was an adventure. Walt and
I landed away only one time, but the events of those few days were typical of what
other crews encountered.
We had been up since one in the morning to prepare for an early takeoff from
Beale to a target area in the Caribbean .We had flown nearly halfway across the
United States when I realized we were losing oil pressure on the right engine. We
were still climbing at 1500 knots and had not finished our accel to altitude. Walt
quickly listed the fields suitable for landing along our route. These were not fields
below us; instead they were 150 to 200 miles in front of us. This distance was
needed to slow the jet and descend before we could fly our final approach to a
landing at the chosen divert base. Peterson Field in Colorado was our destination. It
was a joint use field, meaning that in addition to being an Air Force Base, it also
served as municipal airport for Colorado Springs.
Most people had never seen an SR-71 unless they had attended an airshow with
one on display. By the excited response we received from the air traffic controllers
and airport personnel, we felt as if we were at an airshow instead of having an
emergency. The tower gave us priority to land. The controller told a United flight its
takeoff clearance was cancelled and it must hold for us. In my entire military flying
career, this was the first time this had ever happened. The Sled performed bravely
and we landed without incident.