Bjbpe

Quite a long time back I asked the forum if anybody knew where I could get a model of our favorite car. At that time, nobody had any idea. I knew that Revell (sic?) had put out such a model when the S4 was introduced to the market but had since been discontinued.

While hunting through the internet to find a model of the SR71 Blackbird which I had worked on many years ago I stumbled across a model of the S4. For those who might be interested, here is the site address:

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/ita/ita553656.htm

Fnic99

Just ordered one. Thanks.

Eplebnista

The more attractive shark is also available: http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/tam/tam20066.htm

Both kits can also be found on ebay at different times.

Gerg

Ordered, ostensibly for my son for Christmas.

JDY928

Hi All,

There is also a version from a company called Fujimi. I think they did a GT, so could suit for all but a GTS. Use a little putty to make some rear flairs and you could get a GTS too. You might be out of luck with the correct wheels, though. The Tamiya kit that was reissued recently has the spoilers of the S model and forged disc wheels, and is 1/20 not the usual 1/24 or 1/25. The original release of this kit had no spoilers and had 16" phone dials. I have two of each of these kits in my stash.

Regards,

Jed in Australia
83S Kiln Red

whiteNSXs

Jed,
The original Tamiya 928 back in 30 years ago had 2 versions. One was the 928 with the phone dials, and a 928S with spoilers and forged disc wheels.
Steve

finally!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fujimi-Hi-So...item3f1fc43ec7

Ed Scherer

Coolest plane of all time. So you worked on the model, huh? Or the real plane? Or you built a plastic model? Nice and ambiguous.

I've got a Franklin Mint model; an older version of the one currently available shown here. Didn't have to assemble anything; it came right out of the box ready to display.



... which reminds me: mine is still packed in a box in our basement; it used to be the centerpiece on the guest table in my work office, but I moved it back home when we changed offices a few years ago. Time to set it up at home.

Bjbpe

Worked on the engines and the fuel pumps. Pratt and Whitney single spool J58 afterburning turbojet with ramjet capability at Mach 1.2 and greater. Was originally a development engine for the navy that was canceled. Fuel pumps were MFP100 gearpumps with steel encasements. How's that for a little less ambiguity bub? Or do you need to know the turbine inlet temperature, compressor ration, etc. most of which are possibly still classified. At 77 years of age I don't think I remember much of that any more. No longer the coolest plane of all time. The Spirit is pretty cool. Worked on that one too. The plane, not the model.

brealytrent

I was looking at a photo showing the parts of the 928S model and noticed something:



Are those manual window cranks on the doors?!?

Ed Scherer

Super cool.

For me, it's still the coolest plane of all time. It's not just how far ahead of its time it was, but the whole thing is just a work of art. Off the scale.

There's one (SR-71A #61-7961) in the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson (not far from Wichita). I don't think it was there last time I visited; looking forward to seeing it sometime.

I'll bet you have some great stories to tell about you experiences working on these beauties. I'd love to hear them sometime! I hope you realize I was just joking with my comments; I rather suspected—and hoped—you actually meant that that you worked on the "real thing."

Bjbpe

I didn't mean to get my nose out of joint. I thought you might have been thinking I was "BSing" which I have a tendency to do.

I was serious when I said the engine was a former navy development. I only worked on the later (SR71) version. If you look at a picture of the engine (you can do a search for the SR71 engine; there are pictures there) you will see some huge pipes running from the front of the engine back to the afterburner. The conical device in the front of the engine on the SR71 was part of the airplane, not the engine, but it was designed to move in such a way that the front (compressor) of the engine got partially sealed off the faster the plane went. The pipes sent the "spilled" air back to the afterburner. At that point the engine/afterburner assembly was a ram jet. If I remember right (it's been a long time) the fuel consumption improved with higher speed (less fuel being burned inside the gas turbine part of the engine).

When this engine was running full tilt, the turbine cases were almost transparent due to the high temperatures. Not sure if the turbine inlet temperature is classified any more. It was at one time.

The fuel pump was not terribly unusual. However, the fuel was used to cool a lot of things prior to being burned in the engine and, hence, an aluminum pump housing, by itself, would have no structural capability. Hence the aluminum housing, needed to seal off the gears in the pump, had to be contained within a steel housing to prevent the aluminum from failing. Trying to match the growth characteristics of the two materials was a real bear.

Hope that's the sort of thing you were looking for.

Bjbpe

I'd like to add that I was a very, very small part of a very black program. Most of the stuff I worked on, I had no idea what it was until President Johnson made an announcement (I think in early 1964) that the thing existed. It was on TV and I turned to my wife and said "That's got to be what I'm working on!!"

The same is true of the B2 Spirit. We spent almost three years developing a system that never made it onto the engine. I've been retired for fifteen years. A lot of this is just o0ld stuff.

Ed Scherer

Yup... that's a start.

I find the progress being made in aerospace technology in the two or three decades following WWII to be especially fascinating. So many amazing developments, but with such limited tools by today's standards (e.g., not having loads of computers and tons of advanced software for design, modeling, and simulation; WANs to enable instant collaboration; etc.).

GT9111

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