Why SR-71 Pilots Counted to 58 to Dodge Missiles

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CHAPTERS
00:00 What happened when missiles were fired at the Blackbird 
01:51 Why one third of Blackbirds were destroyed 
2:51 What happened when the SR-71 lost control
5:15 The SR-71’s most dangerous mission
6:34 What did it take to become a Blackbird pilot?
9:27 Three Sunsets & three Sunrises in one hour
10:11 Most boring commute in the world and the Glowing Heat alternative 
11:14 How was the Blackbird prepared to fly?
12:39 Why it took two Buicks to start a Blackbird
14:30 The SR-71’s fuel leak myth
15:24 How the fastest airplane in the world took sharp images 
16:39 The SR-71’s theoretical maximum speed

REFERENCES:
Script is based on “SR-71 Blackbird Stories, Tales and Legends” Book by Richard H. Graham

Music:
Universal Solution – Robert Ruth
Craft – Anthony Earls
Mortal Blow – Dream Cave
Truce No More – Dream Cave
Inbound – Brendon Moeller
Where the Air Is Thin – Jay Varton
No Stone Unturned – Brendon Moeller
Just the Right Amount – Arthur Benson
Solve It – Max Anson
Virginia Highway – Tigerblood Jewel
Amalthea – Van Sandano
Thyone – Ben Elson
On the Trail – Tigerblood Jewel

Footage:
Select images/videos from Getty Images
Shutterstock
National Archives
NASA
US Department of Defense

Note: “The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.”

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36 thoughts on “Why SR-71 Pilots Counted to 58 to Dodge Missiles”

  3. Very interesting documentary but the AI-generated voices are still ugly and unnatural. Whether it's laziness or a desire to save money, I still can't really understand the reason because it spoils my enjoyment of following the video.

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  6. I used to work with an engineer who had previously worked at Lockheed. He seemed to be a part of whatever engineering team inherited the legacy of the SR-71 blackbird.

    We were at an air and space museum that had an SR-71 and he looked for the radar on the bottom of the plane. He was pleased that it was still there, and he said the images from the SR-71 were not actually from photography, but from a radar. He said this like it was a secret, as if no one, not even the museum staff, had realized this critical piece of equipment was still on the aircraft.

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  10. 2024 ก็ยงดูเป็นการออกแบบที่ล้ำสมัย ชอบลำไอพ่นที่ดูเสถียรและทรงพลังมากกว่าเครื่องบินไอพ่นยุคนี้ซะอีก😊

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  11. I believe those start carts, no matter what you want to call them, had 454 Chevrolet engines in them….not Buick engines. You may want to put a pin comment about that….

    (Source was a television special I watched while the SR-71s were still flying. Unless I'm badly mistaken, Buick only started using Chevrolet engines when they stopped making their own engines. Otherwise they would have been 455 Buicks….

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  12. During the Vietnam War, SR-71 Blackbird pilots developed a specific tactic to evade surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) launched by North Vietnamese forces. Upon detecting a missile launch, the crew would initiate a countdown from 58 seconds, corresponding to the approximate flight time of the SA-2 Guideline missile to their altitude. This countdown allowed the crew to anticipate the missile's approach and implement evasive maneuvers or rely on the aircraft's superior speed to outpace the threat.

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  21. The RSO is a bitch & look at the pilot run like one also. Not like the have millions of secret dollars in a handsie situation or no that’s what a dipshit out them in. Hi yeah that dipshits you soon to be moron & chief because he failed culinary school you non chef

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  25. The other limit to the SR-71's range was the number of times it could re-light the engine or afterburners, which was usually 16.
    Due to the ridiculous amount of thermal heating experienced by the SR-71, they developed a new jet fuel blend (JP-7) with less volatility and thermal sensitivity; so it could be used as coolant. While it stopped the fuel from igniting accidentally, it also unfortunately made the fuel rather hard to ignite on purpose (to start the afterburners!). Instead of electrical or compression ignition, they were forced to use shots of TEB (a liquid that ignites powerfully and reliably on contact with oxygen/air) to ignite the afterburner instead. Unsurprisingly, they decided that it was a bad idea to attempt aerial refuelling of the TEB as it's another liquid to handle and keep separate (and one that ignites on contact with air, no less) – which meant that SR-71 mission planners had to carefully consider when to use the afterburner during a mission.

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  35. Ive watched a lot of documentaries about this bird and it still amazes me how badass this thing was. What blows my mind is this thing was made in the 60's where people still thought smoking was good for their health and cigarettes used asbestor filters. 😅

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