Sled Driver

pictures, I might get two to four shots worth keeping. I was always assured of having
slight headache when it was over because looking sideways through a small opening
in a camera while flying through a variety of maneuvers was uncomfortable.
Shooting from the cockpit of the SR-71 created some special problems. First, I
couldn't put the camera to my eye because of the space helmet's face plate. This
was not a problem for most outside shots, because the lens could be set to infinity
to achieve perfect focus. Because I couldn't put the viewfinder to my face, I framed
some shots poorly in the beginning, but I corrected this with practice. Second, I had
to choose my shots carefully, because there was no opportunity to reload film. The
36 exposures were all I had. On one occasion, I solved this problem by taking two
camera bodies, both loaded with a roll of film. I placed one in the large leg pocket of
the space suit, and put the other on the right console. I never repeated this because
of the delicate effort involved with changing the lens from one camera to the other.
Wearing gloves made this tricky. If anything was dropped, it could not be retrieved
from the floor until after landing.
Simply finding a place to store my camera in the cockpit was a challenge. I spent
several hours sitting in the cockpit trying different combinations. Initially I tried
stowing the camera in the leg pocket of the space suit, but found it almost
impossible to retrieve when it had settled to the bottom of the pocket. I found the
console to my right to be the best location after takeoff. Small knobs there created
a channel in which the camera could rest. These knobs were used minimally
throughout the flight and were not hindered by the camera's presence. Because of
the minimal maneuvering experienced in the jet, the camera never fell from this
place. Before takeoff, I stowed the camera in a pouch behind my left elbow, since
the acceleration forces were too great for to remain on the console unsecured.
Once airborne and heading out to the tanker, I reached back, felt for the camera,
and placed it out on the right console. Because I was unable to see it amidst the bulk
of the space suit, I had to undo the Velcro and carefully pull the camera first up, and
then out of the pouch. This bit of gymnastics had to be practiced several times on
the ground before flight.
Both the camera and film were exposed to extreme temperatures within the
cockpit environment. While resting on the console in flight, the camera became
quite cold in an unheated cockpit pressurized to 25,000 feet. When I put it up on the
front windshield area, it rapidly heated up from resting against the hot glass. I could
only leave it there a couple minutes before the film suffered from the heat.