Sled Driver

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There was much to learn, and the books couldn't leave the building. A sim instructor reviews students. It will encompass the entire western United States - plenty of time for the instructor to create multiple emergencies. The sim instructor reaches for the 'fa il' switches, ensuring a miserable time for the guys in the box.
so engrossed in describing indications to my RSO, my words became unintelligible. I had no clue why the sim was out of control. I pressed on undaunted with even more words, similar to raising my voice to a foreigner in hopes he will better understand my language. My instructor mercifully put the sim on freeze. I turned around and realized Walt had climbed out of his simulator cockpit and, along with my instructor, was peering over my shoulder. Totally frustrated, Walt asked to be shown the gauges with the new names. The communication problem had to be solved. Walt and I spent hours sitting on the floor of his den, learning to speak to each other in shorthand about emergency procedures. This was no easy task. Walt was an engineer who wanted details; I was a fighter pilot who talked in adverbs. Eventually we got better and progressed well through the sim phase. The turning point for us came when we did a simple thing that affected the rest of our days in the Blackbird. We had the sim to ourselves one day, and decided to show each other the details of what went on in the other man's cockpit. Walt eagerly put me in his seat, and for an hour he showed me all the RSO had to contend with. His workload was more overwhelming than I had thought. I then introduced him to the front seat and let him try driving for a while. He was exhausted. We got more from those few hours than any previous sim we had. We looked at each other's job differently and walked out of the simulator building with a new understanding of each other as professionals and friends. The thread of mutual respect woven that day enabled us to get through many trying flights later. Not all of our training took place in the simulator. We learned about SR-71 systems in special classes with only the instructor, the pilot and the RSO in attendance. Only a few crews entered training each year, so academic classes were small. We learned fascinating things about the airplane. For example, JP-7 served not only as a fuel, but as a coolant and a hydraulic fluid as well. Some of the Blackbird's systems had to withstand extreme temperatures that resulted from high Mach. Fuel was routed around these systems to absorb heat and carry it away. The engine oil was thick like peanut butter before start, but then flowed smoothly when heated up. The jet expanded three to four inches under the heat of sustained high speed. Joints were designed into the airplane to accommodate this expansion in flight. Under normal temperatures on the ground, the jet leaked fuel profusely from these joints. Throughout our training, the jet's personality continued to grow as we learned more about the genius of its construction.
Page 2 and 3: Flying the World's Fastest Jet by B
Page 4 and 5: • 1 ) I I I
Page 6: CHAPTER IV Going Operationa1 . Supp
Page 12 and 13: Introduction In 1966, I was still i
Page 14 and 15: The cockpit was my office. It was a
Page 16 and 17: CHAPTER I First Meeting When I was
Page 18 and 19: Only with a feeling closely resembl
Page 20 and 21: The Buick V-8 Start Cart. Tetraethy
Page 22 and 23: In the run-up area, a Sled waits fo
Page 24 and 25: Mach indicator read 13.' Throughout
Page 26 and 27: A crew is formed: Brian and Walter,
Page 30 and 31: J-58 casing glows red from intense
Page 32 and 33: Full thrust on takeoff- a sight and
Page 34 and 35: The "B", the only Sled on the ramp
Page 36 and 37: the cockpit passing through 52,000
Page 38 and 39: can slip into the blood stream. Thi
Page 40 and 41: straw to my mouth through a small o
Page 42 and 43: military jets I had flown. Normally
Page 44 and 45: The final closing of the canopy pri
Page 46 and 47: Regardless of the weather or the mi
Page 49 and 50: 25,000 feet. Normally, military jet
Page 51 and 52: at refueling in the B-model were hu
Page 53 and 54: Sled driver's view of the approachi
Page 55 and 56: Streaked with fuel, a satisfied Bla
Page 59: THE DEEP BLUE It felt good to level
Page 63 and 64: SYSTEMS Though the RSO was responsi
Page 65: Mach 3 if the autopilot failed, as
Page 68 and 69: eflections and could more easily se
Page 70 and 71: "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 122 and 123:
folks on the ground as we thundered
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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