Sled Driver

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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 <strong>Sled</strong> 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 <strong>Sled</strong> performed bravely and we landed without incident.
An excited crowd watches crew prepared to fly the showstopper. The simulated single engine pass a crowd favorite at airshows. Large rudder deflection was necessary with one engine in idle and one in full afterburner.
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Flying the World's Fastest Jet by B
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• 1 ) I I I
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CHAPTER IV Going Operationa1 . Supp
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Introduction In 1966, I was still i
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The cockpit was my office. It was a
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CHAPTER I First Meeting When I was
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Only with a feeling closely resembl
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The Buick V-8 Start Cart. Tetraethy
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In the run-up area, a Sled waits fo
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Mach indicator read 13.' Throughout
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A crew is formed: Brian and Walter,
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There was much to learn, and the bo
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J-58 casing glows red from intense
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Full thrust on takeoff- a sight and
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The "B", the only Sled on the ramp
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the cockpit passing through 52,000
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can slip into the blood stream. Thi
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straw to my mouth through a small o
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military jets I had flown. Normally
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The final closing of the canopy pri
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Regardless of the weather or the mi
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25,000 feet. Normally, military jet
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at refueling in the B-model were hu
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Sled driver's view of the approachi
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Streaked with fuel, a satisfied Bla
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THE DEEP BLUE It felt good to level
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SYSTEMS Though the RSO was responsi
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Mach 3 if the autopilot failed, as
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eflections and could more easily se
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"We did Nebraska in 7Y2 minutes tod
Page 72 and 73: Passing by Mount Lassen the rigors
Page 74 and 75: She was an armful in the landing pa
Page 76 and 77: Sled taxis in after flight. Open dr
Page 78 and 79: f"' Once training was completed, th
Page 80 and 81: The HABU patch was a prized collect
Page 82 and 83: The guys that kept us flying. Long
Page 84 and 85: Every landing required a chute, and
Page 86: Beale tanker displays nose art refl
Page 89 and 90: Climbing out on a foggy day in Engl
Page 92 and 93: After hours in a clear blue sky, co
Page 95 and 96: helmet, overshooting my mouth and p
Page 97: THE UNPREDICTABLE One night near th
Page 100 and 101: Ferrying the Jet from Beale AFB to
Page 103 and 104: Most of our sorties from Okinawa to
Page 105 and 106: A barren hostile Iandi with no sign
Page 107 and 108: A self portrait, helmet visor refle
Page 110: path through the evening sky. The c
Page 113 and 114: T-38, the sports car of Beale. Auth
Page 116 and 117: CHAPTER VI On Display I was fortuna
Page 118 and 119: I really enjoyed talking to these y
Page 120 and 121: Flying the SR in front of thousands
Page 124 and 125: A flurry of excitement greeted us o
Page 126: he could take his people in the wea
Page 129: the program couldn't last forever.
Page 133 and 134: hoping somehow to keep her alive, b
Page 137 and 138: Photography Notes All the photograp
Page 139 and 140: Like the Jet my cameras had to be r
Page 141: make if only there was more light.
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Sled Driver

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