WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Richard Graham, retired colonel through the SR

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<v Speaker 1>seventy one for eight years. Book I wrote on Flying

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<v Speaker 1>the SR seventy one as available. I think you'll enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>it takes you through a complete mission from start to finish.

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<v Speaker 1>I enjoyed talking with Steve Gates. I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>the next time we can talk more about the SR

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<v Speaker 1>seventy one. Black you're listening to the Doctor skyshaow right now.

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<v Speaker 2>And welcome back to ladies and gentlemen to the exciting

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<v Speaker 2>show that you tell us you like so much, The

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<v Speaker 2>Doctor Skyshow with great guests from the realms of astronomy, space,

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<v Speaker 2>aviation and weather. As we continue here not only on

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<v Speaker 2>the Internet, but also on major radio stations around the

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<v Speaker 2>nation and around the world, I'd like to first thank

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<v Speaker 2>our producer, extraordinary Doctor Dee, the audio physician at radio

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<v Speaker 2>station KZSB that's out of Santa Barbara, California, and to

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<v Speaker 2>the rest of you listening to us that is on

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<v Speaker 2>coast to coast AM and so many other outlets and

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<v Speaker 2>KTAR in Phoenix, the home of the Doctor Sky Show,

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<v Speaker 2>we thank you so much. A veteran aviator and a

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<v Speaker 2>military man himself, will be speaking now with a gentleman

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<v Speaker 2>who certainly has the experience of flying one of the

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<v Speaker 2>most amazing aircraft of all time, the amazing Lockheed SR

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<v Speaker 2>seventy one Blackbird. And before we introduce our special guest

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<v Speaker 2>at the State's Air Force, Colnell Retired Richard Graham. A

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<v Speaker 2>short introduction to the book that we'll be speaking about

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<v Speaker 2>as an order, entitled Flying the SR seventy one Blackbird.

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<v Speaker 2>In the content on a secret operational mission. SR seventy

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<v Speaker 2>one Blackbird covered the distance from Los Angeles to Washington,

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<v Speaker 2>d C. In sixty four minutes, crew's sixteen miles above

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<v Speaker 2>the Earth surface and avoided surface to air missiles by

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<v Speaker 2>simply out running them. For anyone who has ever wondered

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<v Speaker 2>what it was like to fly the SR seventy one

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<v Speaker 2>on a secret mock three reconnaissance mission, Colonel Richard H. Graham,

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<v Speaker 2>retired as the answers now is classic detail of account.

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<v Speaker 2>An account of piloting the legendary Blackbird is redesigned and

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<v Speaker 2>expanded with a new introduction select photos from his personal collection.

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<v Speaker 2>Fifteen year veteran of the SR seventy one community, including

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<v Speaker 2>time as a pilot and instructor Graham is arguably the

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<v Speaker 2>world's foremost expert on piloting the Blackbird. Here he walks

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<v Speaker 2>readers through the mission details from planning to donning a

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<v Speaker 2>pressure suit bringing the SR seventy one safely back to base.

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<v Speaker 2>And with that, proud guests here on the radio show

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<v Speaker 2>who's appeared before, Colonel Welcome to the Doctor Sky Show.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you much, Steve. Good to be back on there

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<v Speaker 1>with you.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, Sir, we go back just so the audience knows

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<v Speaker 2>we've known each other for quite a while, and Colonel

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<v Speaker 2>I think the most amazing day as far as my

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<v Speaker 2>learning about anything about the SR seventy one. I'm going

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<v Speaker 2>back in our time tunnel. You had the opportunity, or

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<v Speaker 2>I should say I was given the opportunity by you

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<v Speaker 2>to meet you at love Field and actually sit in

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<v Speaker 2>something that many people probably never had experience, that is

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<v Speaker 2>SR seventy one simulator, and I thank you for that.

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<v Speaker 2>But with this book, Sir, I wanted to talk about this.

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<v Speaker 2>This is amazing. We could talk so much about the

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<v Speaker 2>history of this particular I, along with so many people,

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<v Speaker 2>are just enamored by this and the great genius of

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<v Speaker 2>the skun Clerks. With Kelly Johnson and ben Rich. Talk

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<v Speaker 2>to us a little bit about your career so people

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<v Speaker 2>can set the stage here with this interview and understand

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<v Speaker 2>better you're involved in with this aircraft. Came from a

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<v Speaker 2>long time experience while flying f for phantoms in Vietnam

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<v Speaker 2>and so forth. Tell us a little bit about your background.

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<v Speaker 1>Background starts actually with my father. My real father died

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<v Speaker 1>when I was two years old. He was a merchant

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<v Speaker 1>Marine and died in the Long Island Naval Hospital. My

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<v Speaker 1>mother remarried two years later, and fortunately for me, she

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<v Speaker 1>married a Corsair pilot through the Corsairs, and I got

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<v Speaker 1>order and order up to the teenage. He had his

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<v Speaker 1>license already, so he taught my brother and I both

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<v Speaker 1>how to fly it. I sold out at sixteen and

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<v Speaker 1>got my license right after that, and I've been flying

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<v Speaker 1>ever since. Came in the Air Force. It's very lucky.

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<v Speaker 1>I stayed on as an instructor F line the T

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<v Speaker 1>thirty seven for three years, and then I got into

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<v Speaker 1>the F fours and that got me over to Vietnam.

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<v Speaker 1>I did the one year stint as an F four

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<v Speaker 1>fighter pilot in Vietnam, and then I've spent another six

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<v Speaker 1>months back in Vietnam as a wild Weasel pilot in

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<v Speaker 1>the F four which Wiles Weasel goes after the SAMs.

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<v Speaker 1>And after that, I got into the SR program in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen seventy four flew it all the way. In nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>eighty one, they wanted me to be the squadron commander,

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<v Speaker 1>so I reluctantly accepted that because I knew my flying

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<v Speaker 1>days were over. It's one of the few flying units

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<v Speaker 1>where the squadron commander does not fly the primary airplane.

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<v Speaker 1>There's just not enough hours to fly an SR seventy

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<v Speaker 1>one at the cost. And it came out of that.

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<v Speaker 1>I went to the Pentagon for four years, and when

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<v Speaker 1>I was in the Pentagon, I made colonel and I

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<v Speaker 1>came back to bl Air Force Base is the vice

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<v Speaker 1>wing commander for a year, and then after that year

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<v Speaker 1>I became the wing commander at bill and with all

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<v Speaker 1>the assets of the U two's ESR AC one fives

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<v Speaker 1>deal amazing story. Retired and came aboard American Airlines for

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<v Speaker 1>thirteen years and I'll retired from that.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a great story and we're privileging honored to have retired.

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<v Speaker 2>United Stare Force Colonel Richard Graham talking about something that

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<v Speaker 2>he knows so well. One of America's most amazing stories

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<v Speaker 2>about America's spyplane and so many other people involved in

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<v Speaker 2>the mission. You and the Rso with Don Emmons, you're

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<v Speaker 2>naturally called I guess your name's flight names, either on

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<v Speaker 2>the side of the airplane or just as they called

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<v Speaker 2>you Snake and Nate. Nate, tell us a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>about how you guys got to the Snake and Nate.

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<v Speaker 1>I think I don't know where you got How many

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<v Speaker 1>people know that that was our nickname. I was Snake

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<v Speaker 1>and he was Nape, and it sort of evolved because

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<v Speaker 1>that was my favorite ordient. I should say that my

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<v Speaker 1>best ordinance. I like drawing it dropping it over in

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<v Speaker 1>the Vietnam But you go like a bat out of hell,

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<v Speaker 1>and you go. It's low and as fast you can go,

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<v Speaker 1>and you pickle off. Nasty. It's it's not made for

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<v Speaker 1>the sensitive people because it's a very nasty instrument that

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<v Speaker 1>I really like dropping it down on a freelove.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow, powerful stuff, And we could talk forever about the

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<v Speaker 2>wonders of the F four F four phantoms forever. We

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<v Speaker 2>collect a lot of military patches and such. But how

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<v Speaker 2>did Don get his name his flying name Nate. What's

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<v Speaker 2>the story behind that.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, it just sort of became Snake and Nate Palm.

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<v Speaker 1>He was actually the he inquired the Snake part of it,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was the Nate part of it. And just

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<v Speaker 1>because he does all the secretly stuff in the back

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<v Speaker 1>and the SR. He controls all of the high resolution cameras,

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<v Speaker 1>all the sensors, all the jammers, and so that's why

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<v Speaker 1>he gets the snake. Nate.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow, fascinating that stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>We every crew that came in, we helped them with

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<v Speaker 1>some kind of a front seater and backseater combination.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, well, this is an amazing kernel. I mean, going through

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<v Speaker 2>this book, I want people to go ahead and look

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<v Speaker 2>at getting this book again and titled flying the s

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<v Speaker 2>R seventy one Blackbird in the Cockpit on a Secret

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<v Speaker 2>operational Mission. And though I'd love to be talking about

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<v Speaker 2>the history of the airplane, I believe what this book's

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<v Speaker 2>main context is is to talk about how the aircraft

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<v Speaker 2>when you get in it from the pressure suit side

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<v Speaker 2>all the way to flying it. And you have so

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<v Speaker 2>many amazing illustrations in here, and again this is you know,

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<v Speaker 2>this is so amazing because all this is unclassified. I

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<v Speaker 2>can only imagine what the classified stuff is because you

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<v Speaker 2>basically give everybody from the most amazing person who loves

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<v Speaker 2>video games, I'm sure they'd just like to jump into

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<v Speaker 2>the cockpit. So start off if you wouldn't, or short

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<v Speaker 2>interview to day sir, and just describe the process. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>you wake up at a certain time like astronauts do

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<v Speaker 2>for their flights and pre checks and things. Describe this

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<v Speaker 2>to us. You're told my higher command the missions about

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<v Speaker 2>some of it, I'm sure was very secret. But let's

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<v Speaker 2>talk about the human side of this. You get up,

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<v Speaker 2>you get showered, you get into your pressure suit. Talk

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<v Speaker 2>all about the importance of this pressure suit. Because this

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<v Speaker 2>is an aircraft, right colonel, that's flying upwards of sixty

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<v Speaker 2>five thousand feet. And I'm saying that for a reason,

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<v Speaker 2>because you're the expert here. Once you get above that altitude,

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<v Speaker 2>even if you have oxygen mask on, you're into a

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<v Speaker 2>dangerous zone where the whole body want could be seemingly

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<v Speaker 2>destroyed in a matter of seconds. Describe the pressure suit,

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<v Speaker 2>the process of getting into it, and the necessity of

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<v Speaker 2>making sure that everything from the ring locks on the gloves,

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<v Speaker 2>the helmet visor is properly secured for pressure resition.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the pressure suit is your survival. If you have

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<v Speaker 1>to echeck that anything above seventy thousand feet, you have

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<v Speaker 1>to realize that just like water, it boils here at

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<v Speaker 1>sea level at one hundred degrees fahrenheit, that's the boiling

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<v Speaker 1>water you sho you go higher an altitude, the boiling pressure,

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<v Speaker 1>the pressure of the altitude being less and less, the

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<v Speaker 1>boiling point goes lower and lower, and the actual our

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<v Speaker 1>body temperature of ninety eight point six degrees pharadheit starts boiling.

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<v Speaker 1>It's seventy three thousand feet Euoretically, anything above six seventy

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<v Speaker 1>three thousand feet, if you didn't have a pressure suit

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<v Speaker 1>on anything, your saliva, your blood, everything would start eventually

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<v Speaker 1>boiling off. And that's why you wear the pursure suit.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's the main rule to save your life more

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<v Speaker 1>than anything. It's built by David Clark, a very good suit.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been modified many many times over the years and

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<v Speaker 1>with a lot of more safety things put into it.

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<v Speaker 1>I always it takes about forty five minutes. But when

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<v Speaker 1>you get down and suit up for the in SR,

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<v Speaker 1>you get down and get out of your plate suits

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<v Speaker 1>and then on your long drawn underwear and slip your

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<v Speaker 1>feet in. They zip it up the back and you

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<v Speaker 1>lay down and put the helmet on, and then you

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<v Speaker 1>lay in these big oversized chairs and they go through

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<v Speaker 1>every button, zipper, everything in the whole suit to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure it has it's the integrity that it'll save your life.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, you have a cooling vent where you

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<v Speaker 1>keep cooling air all the way out, so you're until

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<v Speaker 1>you hook onto the airplane's air conditioning and it keeps

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<v Speaker 1>you cool the whole time. And you go out in

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<v Speaker 1>a van has an oversized chair for both you and

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<v Speaker 1>the back seater which is RSO Reconnaissance Systems Officer, and

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<v Speaker 1>go out to the airplane. You climb up, get all

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<v Speaker 1>the connections meeted to the airplane and away you go.

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<v Speaker 2>That's amazing. And as we continue here on the Doctor

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<v Speaker 2>Sky Show privileging on her, this is not the first

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<v Speaker 2>time the Colonel has been on with us, and certainly

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<v Speaker 2>not to last as far as I'm concerned. We could

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<v Speaker 2>talk forever, and so this audience of course is getting

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<v Speaker 2>entertained and education at the same time. Colonel, So I'm

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<v Speaker 2>grateful for your time and your service to this great country.

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<v Speaker 2>His book, Flying the SR seventy one Blackbird in the

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<v Speaker 2>Cockpit on a secret operational mission, well over two hundred pages,

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<v Speaker 2>goes into amazing detail, ladies and gentlemen, only about the

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<v Speaker 2>instrumentation on board the co in the cockpit, I should say,

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<v Speaker 2>basically want colonel analog. I mean we say the word again,

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<v Speaker 2>analog days. This is before the days of having what

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<v Speaker 2>glass cockpit capability of my rank.

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<v Speaker 1>That's great, that's great, totally amazing. Yeah, I wrote that book.

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<v Speaker 1>That was my third book I wrote on ESR just

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to take the reader on a complete mission

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<v Speaker 1>from start to finish. Man, we go through the entire

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<v Speaker 1>checklist from the time we get in the cockpit until

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<v Speaker 1>we come back and land, and I think it does

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<v Speaker 1>a justice of giving the reader a good feel of

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<v Speaker 1>what it's like to blow ESR seventy one.

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<v Speaker 2>And you're doing a great job, colonel. You know a

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<v Speaker 2>little backstory on this, and it's kind of humorous to me.

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<v Speaker 2>We're friends with Colonel Frank Murray, one of the A

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<v Speaker 2>twelve drivers. Yes, and I'm just reading something here from

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<v Speaker 2>your book, and I quote here the first flight a

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<v Speaker 2>Blackbird and A twelve occurred on April to twenty sixth,

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen sixty two, flown by Lucky test pilot Lou Shank,

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<v Speaker 2>was a single sea blackbird flown by the CIA civilian

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<v Speaker 2>pilots under the development program called Project and Project ox Cart.

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<v Speaker 2>They flew sorties, as you know, out of Okinawa, Japan,

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<v Speaker 2>of the operational code named black Shield, and they flew

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<v Speaker 2>for a long time from May nineteen sixty seven. The

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<v Speaker 2>program was especially terminated in May of sixty eight. They

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<v Speaker 2>flew twenty nine sorties, twenty six over not to Vietnam

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<v Speaker 2>and three over North Korea. Colonel this was a funny story,

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm sure I'll get a chuckle out of you,

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<v Speaker 2>Colonel Murray. He's just, you know, he's amazingly funny to me,

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<v Speaker 2>and what an amazing veteran too. But he said to me,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, Steve, he said, we had the A twelve

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<v Speaker 2>and that was a single theater and he said, we

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<v Speaker 2>used to call that the sport model. And then I

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<v Speaker 2>said to him, really, and I said, well, what did

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<v Speaker 2>you call the SR seventy one? He said, I called

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<v Speaker 2>that the family Wagon. And I thought that was I

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<v Speaker 2>thought that was cute, don't you thank Colonel?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I do. All of the eight twelve guys that

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<v Speaker 1>are still alive, they come to our reunion. We have

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<v Speaker 1>a reunion of the SR program, yes, every two years,

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<v Speaker 1>and they generally show up.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, let's move on in the short time we have here. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>you're in your firstsure suit, you're all checked out. You're

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<v Speaker 2>in the like astronauts, ladies and gentlemen. You know, you

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<v Speaker 2>see them in the little van that goes out to

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<v Speaker 2>the spacecraft and in this case it's amazing other worldly aircraft,

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<v Speaker 2>the SR seventy one. So colonel describe X. You're obviously

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<v Speaker 2>getting the cockpit, the rso's and seat tell us without

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<v Speaker 2>revealing national security things here, I mean, what's the next thing?

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<v Speaker 2>You go through your pre flight checklist, what are some

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<v Speaker 2>of the things that you have to do and also

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<v Speaker 2>including up to starting the amazing A fifty eight engines.

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<v Speaker 1>Once you get into the cockpit, you have to realize

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<v Speaker 1>that there's always two crews prime for the mission. There's

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<v Speaker 1>the primary crew and what we call the backup crew.

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<v Speaker 1>The primary crew is going to be the flyers and

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<v Speaker 1>the backup crew. They study the day before like you

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<v Speaker 1>do the entire mission, because if you show up the

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<v Speaker 1>next morning you're sick or can't hack it, because you

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<v Speaker 1>have to take a physical before every flight in the airplane.

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<v Speaker 1>If you don't pass the physical, then the backup crew

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<v Speaker 1>is called in to take over everything being normal while

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<v Speaker 1>you're getting suited up. The backup crew will then leave

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<v Speaker 1>operations and go out to the airplane and the hangar

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<v Speaker 1>and they go through the whole checklist, all the way

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<v Speaker 1>right up to the start engine checklist, and they make

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<v Speaker 1>sure everything's working. And then when we crawl in the

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<v Speaker 1>airplane with the pressure suits on, we pick up the

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<v Speaker 1>checklist the start engines, and that's the firs thing we do.

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<v Speaker 2>It's amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>It didn't take too long. You're in the hangar for

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<v Speaker 1>about fifteen minutes to the taxi out. The backup crew

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<v Speaker 1>are in a car. They lead you out. They want

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure there's nothing on the taxiways or runways

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<v Speaker 1>going to blow a tire. Each of the main tires

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<v Speaker 1>and the nose tire are four hundred psi gasius nitrogen

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<v Speaker 1>and very high pressure, and you run over a nut

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<v Speaker 1>or a bolt out there, it could actually cause you

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<v Speaker 1>to have to abort the whole mission.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, Colonel, now I go to the UMER Department here

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<v Speaker 2>once again, and we celebrate ladies and gentlemen. This interview

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<v Speaker 2>is being conducted here in the early portion of May

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty one, and Colonel, is you no. America's first

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<v Speaker 2>astronaut to be launched on a suborbital flight May five,

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen sixty one was Alan Shephard. And the reason I'm

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<v Speaker 2>mentioning that talking about suits, I'm reading this and I

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<v Speaker 2>was like saying this on another national show that here

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<v Speaker 2>he is getting up at whatever on godly hour, having

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<v Speaker 2>steak and eggs for breakfast, getting into his suit, getting

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<v Speaker 2>into the Redstone and Mercury capsule in Redstone Rocket and

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<v Speaker 2>you may know this too. He's lying on his back.

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<v Speaker 2>They were having a four hour hold and guess WoT Colonel.

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<v Speaker 2>His spacesuit had no contingency for when mother Nature called,

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<v Speaker 2>so he had urinate. And I'm saying this to a

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<v Speaker 2>family friendly audience in the spacesuit puddling and pulling up

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<v Speaker 2>the urin in the back of his suit. Started to

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00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:44.480
<v Speaker 2>get too much information, But the concern was that he

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<v Speaker 2>would have shorted out some of the spencers. And he

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<v Speaker 2>said after his flight, and I know you've probably known

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<v Speaker 2>this very well, but the audience may not, Hey, guys,

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<v Speaker 2>this rocket was built by the lowest bidder. But going

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<v Speaker 2>back to the serious side with our special guest, colonol

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<v Speaker 2>Richard Graham SAR seventy one pilot extraordinary, talk about the

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<v Speaker 2>contingencies that were in your suits, because obviously you're in

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00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:09.440
<v Speaker 2>there for flights to how long a duration and what

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00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:11.840
<v Speaker 2>were the contingencies built into the suit to prevent you

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<v Speaker 2>from having the same Alan Sheppard moment.

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<v Speaker 1>We had what was called a UCD that stood for

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<v Speaker 1>your Collection device, and a UCD is nothing more than

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00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:27.559
<v Speaker 1>a extra large, thicker rubber condom basically, and it's got

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<v Speaker 1>bell crow. It's got bell crow on one side. When

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<v Speaker 1>you put on your long John underwear, which is what

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<v Speaker 1>you use inside the pressure suit, the long John underwear

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00:16:38.039 --> 00:16:41.679
<v Speaker 1>has a bell crow also, so you just sort of

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<v Speaker 1>slip it on if you will, make sure it's mated,

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<v Speaker 1>and then it goes hose and on your knee you

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<v Speaker 1>have little valve. I've just done a little zipro one

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<v Speaker 1>on my knee and I opened up the valve. Now

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<v Speaker 1>it's got a free flow from where it's going to

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<v Speaker 1>collect it all the way down into my pocket and

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<v Speaker 1>my left leg there's a sponge down here to absorb

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<v Speaker 1>it all up, so we walk around.

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<v Speaker 2>That's amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>It's all taken care of. So just that there's nothing

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<v Speaker 1>else taking care of when we've.

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<v Speaker 2>Met so many others do well, we've come a long way, right,

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<v Speaker 2>Colonel's discover it first astronauts in space and how to

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<v Speaker 2>use what you need to do when mother nature calls.

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<v Speaker 2>But on a very serious note, now the aircraft has

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<v Speaker 2>given clearance for going down the runway taking off. I

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<v Speaker 2>know this. You have a point of contention with this

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<v Speaker 2>because I read these books from and back and you're

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<v Speaker 2>describing here how you find so many people in the

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<v Speaker 2>immediate world, and maybe some airline pilots or people who

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<v Speaker 2>are in the know, they talk about that theser so

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<v Speaker 2>anyone had to take off with not even a full

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<v Speaker 2>payload of fuel, and you have a different view of

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<v Speaker 2>this because that's not always the case, am I right? No?

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<v Speaker 1>The reason we just there was only one mission we

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<v Speaker 1>flew and it flew it out of Oknawa. We call

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<v Speaker 1>it the Rocket Ride. It's the only mission where we

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<v Speaker 1>really took off of a full load of gas. It's

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<v Speaker 1>eighty thousand pounds of gas. The airplane weighs sixty empty,

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<v Speaker 1>So you've got one hundred and forty thousand pound airplane

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<v Speaker 1>with a very high speeds going down a runway and

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<v Speaker 1>with a heavy load. It's just not worth it. We've

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<v Speaker 1>had back in the early days before I got into it,

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<v Speaker 1>where they had some problems at Feel where they had

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<v Speaker 1>an airplane where the tires blue and it became a

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<v Speaker 1>ball of fire. The crew got out okay, but the

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<v Speaker 1>airplane was the right off. So because of that, we

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<v Speaker 1>take off with a partial load of fuel. Generally around

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<v Speaker 1>you know, forty five pounds of gas. It holds eighty thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>So you're going to hit a tanker right after takeoff

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you go anywhere in the globe. You'll take off

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<v Speaker 1>with a partial load, and then you'll get a refuel

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<v Speaker 1>right after thirty minutes forty minutes to get to the tankers,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you take on a full load of gas.

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<v Speaker 1>And now the airplane has a maximum amount of gas

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<v Speaker 1>eighty thousand pounds, and that'll make you go through the

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<v Speaker 1>entire flight that you're going to be on.

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<v Speaker 2>That's incredible. Describe this rocket ride because many people out

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<v Speaker 2>there that are in their own pilot license routine and

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<v Speaker 2>people who want to go out get a pilot's license.

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<v Speaker 2>You're talking about this fastest aircraft ever that we know about.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, to get altitude. If you had to get

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<v Speaker 2>up to that altitude, and I'm assuming you're talking about

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<v Speaker 2>plus sixty five thousand feet, what's that ride like? I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>from the human side, it must be just outrageous. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Once you come up with the Tiger, you light the

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<v Speaker 1>affro burners. We do a little what we called a

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<v Speaker 1>dipsy doodle where you climb up subsonic and they push

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<v Speaker 1>the nose down. You want to go through the sound

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00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:39.079
<v Speaker 1>barrier on your way down. It's the most economical way

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<v Speaker 1>to save fuel to go through it real fast because

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<v Speaker 1>there's a big drag area around them. So we do

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00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:47.519
<v Speaker 1>the snipsy doodle. And then once you get to MAK one,

384
00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:49.880
<v Speaker 1>we start going up and we just climb at four

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and fifty knots. I'm going to say a number here.

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<v Speaker 1>It's called keys Nazi equivalent air speed. We don't use

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<v Speaker 1>air speed or miles prow the equivalent air speed. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>and we just sold a four and fifty knots all

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<v Speaker 1>the way up. And once you get seventy thousand feet,

390
00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:09.759
<v Speaker 1>you'll be leveling off and be guaranteed you'll be at

391
00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:12.640
<v Speaker 1>mock Tree at that time. It's just a slow gradual

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<v Speaker 1>increase of mock as you go up at the same time.

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<v Speaker 2>Is right, Is there any sensation of being at I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>if you're pushing mock three plus three plum point one, nothing,

395
00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:24.519
<v Speaker 2>you don't feel this at any way? Shake your part.

396
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<v Speaker 1>No, It's a nice, slow gradual climb and as you climb,

397
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<v Speaker 1>you're accelerated at the same time, and you'll look you'll

398
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<v Speaker 1>off at seventy thousand feet basically everyone because you come

399
00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:36.440
<v Speaker 1>off the tankler with the same amount of fuel and

400
00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:38.960
<v Speaker 1>you're gonna live off about seventy thousand, seventy one to

401
00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.680
<v Speaker 1>five maybe, and you'll be at mock Tree and then

402
00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:45.400
<v Speaker 1>from then on while you're super sonic, we always keep

403
00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:47.720
<v Speaker 1>the airplane in about a three hundred foot per minute

404
00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:51.480
<v Speaker 1>rate of climb all the time, whereas with most airliners,

405
00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:53.039
<v Speaker 1>like when I flew from market, you have to be

406
00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:55.680
<v Speaker 1>at a hard altitude. You've got to remember once you

407
00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:59.680
<v Speaker 1>get above sixty thousand feet anywhere on this globe, we

408
00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:02.720
<v Speaker 1>own in the entire airspace, so it's amazing. We just

409
00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:05.319
<v Speaker 1>have a climb. If the airlines could do that, they

410
00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:08.680
<v Speaker 1>would actually have some kind of infanteslalite maybe enter twenty

411
00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:10.480
<v Speaker 1>feet per minute rate of climb as well.

412
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<v Speaker 2>Interesting. So, from your knowledge, sir, for the latest in

413
00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:16.119
<v Speaker 2>corporate jets, I understand a lot of the corporate aircraft

414
00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:18.720
<v Speaker 2>can fly wid up into the high maybe low fifties.

415
00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:21.599
<v Speaker 2>Am I correct in this? They never reached the altitude.

416
00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:23.480
<v Speaker 1>Here exactly right. They're starting it up into the fifties,

417
00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:24.400
<v Speaker 1>the low fifties.

418
00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:28.160
<v Speaker 2>Totally amazing. You know, folks, this is an amazing time

419
00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:30.880
<v Speaker 2>to celebrate not only this gentleman's service to our country

420
00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.359
<v Speaker 2>but all veterans. But we're having a special conversation here,

421
00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:37.000
<v Speaker 2>and there are always conversations. Colonel Richard H. Graham, United

422
00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:39.920
<v Speaker 2>SAIDs Air Force, retired. He's the author of many books

423
00:21:39.960 --> 00:21:44.039
<v Speaker 2>on this particular amazing aircraft, Kelly Johnson and Ben Ritz's

424
00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:46.759
<v Speaker 2>story which would take up hours and certainly hopefully someday

425
00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:48.559
<v Speaker 2>we could do that. If it's okay with you, colonel,

426
00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.839
<v Speaker 2>just talk more about history. Fine, but this book talks

427
00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:54.119
<v Speaker 2>about this and here's the title, Flying the Srsveny one

428
00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:57.519
<v Speaker 2>Blackbird in the cockpit in a secret operational mission. So

429
00:21:57.599 --> 00:22:00.000
<v Speaker 2>now let's talk about something that I'm so fascinated about

430
00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:02.160
<v Speaker 2>and I hardly know obviously as much as you do

431
00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:04.240
<v Speaker 2>on this, and the listeners are excited to hear that.

432
00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:07.039
<v Speaker 2>The J fifty eight engine, I think from what Ben

433
00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:09.839
<v Speaker 2>Rich did, the father of what I call the inlet technology,

434
00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:14.160
<v Speaker 2>this is a RAM type engine. I'm using basic terms here,

435
00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:16.519
<v Speaker 2>so at mock three point two, I'm just reading this.

436
00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:19.400
<v Speaker 2>The J fifty eight engine, I think produces, as it

437
00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:23.119
<v Speaker 2>says here, twenty percent thrust, but the inlet produces eighty

438
00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:26.240
<v Speaker 2>percent thrust. And this is amazing. So in the simplest

439
00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:28.440
<v Speaker 2>terms for us out there that just think about jet

440
00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:30.960
<v Speaker 2>engines as being jet engines, this is a different one

441
00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:31.960
<v Speaker 2>to JAY fifty eight.

442
00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:38.200
<v Speaker 1>The engine. I'm going to give you a real simple analogy.

443
00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:40.200
<v Speaker 1>I talk to a lot of audiences and they are

444
00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:44.640
<v Speaker 1>sure they always wonder, how's how's that engine? The thirty

445
00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:47.200
<v Speaker 1>four thousand pounds of thrust for each engine for a

446
00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:49.720
<v Speaker 1>total of sixty eight thousand pounds of trust, those must

447
00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:53.319
<v Speaker 1>be tremendous jets. Well, it's not the jet, it's the

448
00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:56.359
<v Speaker 1>way it turns. It uses the spike. If you look

449
00:22:56.359 --> 00:22:59.079
<v Speaker 1>at the SR seventy one inlet. It's got two spikes

450
00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:03.680
<v Speaker 1>out in front. Spikes are on a retractable schedule. They're

451
00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:07.319
<v Speaker 1>locked forward and they unlock it passing through one point

452
00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:11.240
<v Speaker 1>I want to say, four mock they start unlocked and

453
00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:14.440
<v Speaker 1>they start moving back ever so slowly into the inlet.

454
00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:17.880
<v Speaker 1>And what they're doing is capturing that shockwave right at

455
00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:21.039
<v Speaker 1>the endpoint of that the spike, and they're bringing it

456
00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:26.039
<v Speaker 1>shockwave into the inlet. Which any airplane you've ever phone

457
00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:28.799
<v Speaker 1>F four, T thirty eight, anything that can go supersonic,

458
00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:31.480
<v Speaker 1>you do not want the shockwave to come into your engine.

459
00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:35.000
<v Speaker 1>It'll flame, you're out in a heartbeat. So this shoot bike,

460
00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:39.000
<v Speaker 1>it controls the shockwave so it doesn't get through the

461
00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:42.920
<v Speaker 1>first stage compressors of the engine. And that's where we

462
00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:46.440
<v Speaker 1>get the RAM effect. What I tell all audiences in

463
00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:50.799
<v Speaker 1>a very simplistic manner, here's what's happening. If I gave

464
00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:54.039
<v Speaker 1>you a garden hose right here on the ground, and

465
00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:57.000
<v Speaker 1>I had no spout on the end of it, just

466
00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:59.440
<v Speaker 1>an open garden hose, and I turned it on full speed,

467
00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:02.920
<v Speaker 1>and I told you to put your hand over the

468
00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:05.720
<v Speaker 1>nose of it. It would then go from about two

469
00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:07.279
<v Speaker 1>feet in front of you, and I could squeeze it

470
00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:09.319
<v Speaker 1>and it'll go about thirty forty feet out in front

471
00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:12.119
<v Speaker 1>of me with a lot more velocity. Well that is

472
00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:14.319
<v Speaker 1>exactly what's happening inside that inlet.

473
00:24:14.599 --> 00:24:16.680
<v Speaker 2>It's amazing because I'm looking at you know.

474
00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:19.720
<v Speaker 1>It was a very simplistic, simple, But that's water is

475
00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:21.799
<v Speaker 1>the same thing as air. They're both mediums.

476
00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:24.160
<v Speaker 2>So I guess insummation, it'd be something like this at

477
00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:28.000
<v Speaker 2>mocks A three point two air enters the inlet slowing

478
00:24:28.039 --> 00:24:31.039
<v Speaker 2>down the process or the engine thing two point six

479
00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:34.200
<v Speaker 2>mark I'm reading, which equals pressure and temperature, and that

480
00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:38.240
<v Speaker 2>produces energy and the RAM recovery turns it into trust.

481
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:40.920
<v Speaker 2>So that's where you're getting your extra effort to move

482
00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:44.119
<v Speaker 2>the engine and move the aircraft, I should say time

483
00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:47.480
<v Speaker 2>and space. So that whole yeah, that whole story, the

484
00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:49.599
<v Speaker 2>J fifty eight. I mean, that's real genius to me,

485
00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:51.799
<v Speaker 2>don't you think I mean that it's well, it's.

486
00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:53.400
<v Speaker 1>A genius in a lot of things they've built that

487
00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:57.759
<v Speaker 1>it's fatten with me, and it's got a unique ignition system.

488
00:24:57.799 --> 00:25:00.599
<v Speaker 1>As you know, probably most jet engines, any jet engine

489
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:04.839
<v Speaker 1>I've ever flown, my life. You ignite them with igniter plugs,

490
00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:06.920
<v Speaker 1>nothing more than a hot spark plug like we have

491
00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:09.720
<v Speaker 1>in our cars, and most jet engines have two of

492
00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:13.240
<v Speaker 1>them for redundancy in each engine. Well, they tried it

493
00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:15.759
<v Speaker 1>with our fuel, which has a very high flash point,

494
00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:19.119
<v Speaker 1>and it just drowned it out. So Kelly Johnson, who

495
00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:21.160
<v Speaker 1>was the president of the Lackey skunk Works, he put

496
00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:22.920
<v Speaker 1>his engineers together and said, how are we going to

497
00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:25.799
<v Speaker 1>light this fuel off? And they came up in a

498
00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:32.240
<v Speaker 1>very unique system. It's a liquid chemical called trithol boring EEB.

499
00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:35.519
<v Speaker 1>We called it TEB for short. Yeah. If I had

500
00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:37.720
<v Speaker 1>it in my hand right now in my house in

501
00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:41.279
<v Speaker 1>a sealed squirt gun and I squirt it out of

502
00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:43.839
<v Speaker 1>this gun right here in my house, it goes k

503
00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:47.799
<v Speaker 1>boom when it hits the atmosphere. That was our ignition system.

504
00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:50.599
<v Speaker 1>So a liquid chemical ignition system.

505
00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:52.880
<v Speaker 2>Wow. Not something you want to go to a circle

506
00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:55.039
<v Speaker 2>k and get a big gulp and put that in there.

507
00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:58.160
<v Speaker 2>Of course, I mean that's a highly explosive to as

508
00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:00.720
<v Speaker 2>you say, But it helps turn those Why because the

509
00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:03.279
<v Speaker 2>turbines are so stiff To get the turn, I guess

510
00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:04.799
<v Speaker 2>you got to get something to fire it up.

511
00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:09.279
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, use the oil on it. When they fill it

512
00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:13.039
<v Speaker 1>up with oil, they have to preheat the cans so

513
00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:17.559
<v Speaker 1>it'll pour into the into the engine and it's very,

514
00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:20.079
<v Speaker 1>very thick, and it just couldn't turn it with a

515
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:24.119
<v Speaker 1>volume of air. So they use Buicks. We have viewing

516
00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:28.240
<v Speaker 1>starting carts. Two Buick Wildcat engines would put out one

517
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:31.559
<v Speaker 1>thousand and sixty horsepower in Tantum And they go to

518
00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:34.519
<v Speaker 1>us driving shaft and it's some mechanical shaft that's connected

519
00:26:34.599 --> 00:26:36.839
<v Speaker 1>right to the bottom of the airplane the J fifty

520
00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:39.759
<v Speaker 1>eight engine, so you have a mechanical shaft rather than

521
00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:42.200
<v Speaker 1>air like airliners do. And every other JIT.

522
00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:45.880
<v Speaker 2>And then on your secret operational missions, which obviously many

523
00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:48.400
<v Speaker 2>of that bits of information I'm sure classified, they have

524
00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:51.240
<v Speaker 2>something called as asars and these are what these are

525
00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:55.240
<v Speaker 2>sensing pods that can do everything coursing, obviously optical imagery

526
00:26:55.720 --> 00:26:57.599
<v Speaker 2>and then some other things. That's the purpose of the

527
00:26:57.640 --> 00:26:59.599
<v Speaker 2>secret mission obviously to find that's it.

528
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:05.519
<v Speaker 1>Those are the censors, the acrs, and that's it was

529
00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:08.839
<v Speaker 1>a radar imaging system was asars. We usually get a

530
00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:13.240
<v Speaker 1>picture down to about twelve inchure resolution by eighty thousand

531
00:27:13.240 --> 00:27:17.559
<v Speaker 1>feet mocked three speeds. We could get real good clarity

532
00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:20.119
<v Speaker 1>out of it with radar, so it was what are

533
00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:26.640
<v Speaker 1>we called our all weather camera, if you will totally

534
00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:28.839
<v Speaker 1>imagine we had, and we had two other cameras on

535
00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:33.000
<v Speaker 1>the airplanet were even down to three venture resolution, which

536
00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:36.519
<v Speaker 1>are actually photographed kind of images rather than radar.

537
00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:39.880
<v Speaker 2>You know, folks, if you're wondering how fast this aircraft

538
00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:41.920
<v Speaker 2>could fly from point A to point B, you know

539
00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:44.519
<v Speaker 2>this because you lived it with the records and I'm

540
00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:46.559
<v Speaker 2>just looking at this and I'm quoting this right from

541
00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:49.400
<v Speaker 2>your book. Here New York to London one hour and

542
00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:52.319
<v Speaker 2>fifty four minutes. But the most incredible one, I think

543
00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:55.960
<v Speaker 2>is the Los Angeles to Washington d C. Sixty four

544
00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.519
<v Speaker 2>minutes and twenty seconds. Yes, folks, I'm going to repeat that.

545
00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:02.640
<v Speaker 2>Sixty four minutes in twenty seconds, right, colonel, beats any

546
00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:06.279
<v Speaker 2>of your commercial airliners and puts it to shame. And

547
00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:08.880
<v Speaker 2>the most SR seventy one flying time. And by the way,

548
00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:12.359
<v Speaker 2>through your courtesy, I was able and grateful to get

549
00:28:12.359 --> 00:28:14.240
<v Speaker 2>in touch with the man who has the most SR

550
00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:18.079
<v Speaker 2>seventy one flying time, Lieutenant Colonel JT. Vita, with fourteen

551
00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:21.240
<v Speaker 2>hundred ninety two point seven hours. He was an interesting

552
00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:23.599
<v Speaker 2>interview too, and I want to thank you for everything

553
00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:26.400
<v Speaker 2>that you've done sort of long learn and teach us

554
00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:28.640
<v Speaker 2>about this most amazing aircraft. I just like I said,

555
00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:31.200
<v Speaker 2>I hope we can do this again. Talk a little

556
00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:34.079
<v Speaker 2>bit more about the history, but give me your from

557
00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:36.400
<v Speaker 2>the human side. I want to ask this as how

558
00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:38.400
<v Speaker 2>always do our guests? What do you want people to

559
00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:40.519
<v Speaker 2>get out of this book? And then give us a

560
00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:43.400
<v Speaker 2>little bit of information on why this program was so important?

561
00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:47.240
<v Speaker 2>What the United States gained from the SR seventy one program.

562
00:28:47.640 --> 00:28:49.640
<v Speaker 1>Well, the book that you're talking about, that that's one

563
00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:52.039
<v Speaker 1>of the five I've written, but that one I wanted

564
00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:53.960
<v Speaker 1>to I found out there was an audience out there

565
00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:56.559
<v Speaker 1>wanted to know all the details. In fact, so it's

566
00:28:57.200 --> 00:29:01.559
<v Speaker 1>actually the flight manual in my version, I sort of

567
00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:03.079
<v Speaker 1>make it my dumb and down a little bits us

568
00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:05.880
<v Speaker 1>as technical as a flight man. Yes, and so it

569
00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:08.319
<v Speaker 1>takes you on a complete mission from starting to finish.

570
00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:10.000
<v Speaker 1>There's an audience out there that wants to know all

571
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:11.759
<v Speaker 1>those little details. That's the book.

572
00:29:12.799 --> 00:29:14.640
<v Speaker 2>Well, that's the book to get ladies and gentlemen. That

573
00:29:14.680 --> 00:29:18.119
<v Speaker 2>concludes this exciting interview. As we continue here well over

574
00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:21.720
<v Speaker 2>fifteen years on the Doctor Sky Show, heard locally, nationally

575
00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:24.359
<v Speaker 2>and around the world. To this format too, our special guest,

576
00:29:24.359 --> 00:29:27.559
<v Speaker 2>Colonel Richard H. Graham, United Say, Sir Force retired once

577
00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:29.920
<v Speaker 2>again a book, Ladies and gentlemen, if you even the

578
00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:33.319
<v Speaker 2>slightest bit interested in aviation, you're an existing pilot or

579
00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:36.599
<v Speaker 2>also a military veteran of any of the armed forces,

580
00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:38.920
<v Speaker 2>are simply just someone who wants to learn about something

581
00:29:39.240 --> 00:29:41.960
<v Speaker 2>totally amazing. The book is entitled Flying the SR seventy

582
00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:46.519
<v Speaker 2>one Blackbird in the Cockpit on a Secret operational Mission. Colonel,

583
00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:47.960
<v Speaker 2>thank you, and please stay on the line as we

584
00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:49.599
<v Speaker 2>go to the heartbreak at the bottom of the hour

585
00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:53.559
<v Speaker 2>that concludes this edition of the Doctor Sky Show. With

586
00:29:53.640 --> 00:29:56.400
<v Speaker 2>the help of our producer extraordinaire, Doctor d He's the

587
00:29:56.440 --> 00:30:00.000
<v Speaker 2>audio physician himself. He does everything on the back end

588
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:01.759
<v Speaker 2>and as I try to do my time and my

589
00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:06.480
<v Speaker 2>part on the front end is Radio Station AZSBAM twelve

590
00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:10.240
<v Speaker 2>ninety and Santa Barbara, California. Doctor Sky simply reminds everyone

591
00:30:10.279 --> 00:30:12.720
<v Speaker 2>what Colonel, always remember to keep your eyes to the skies,

592
00:30:13.079 --> 00:30:15.440
<v Speaker 2>as every day I'm trying to earn the opportunity to

593
00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:18.119
<v Speaker 2>be what you're navigator on the Highway to the heavens.

594
00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:21.119
<v Speaker 2>And thank you Colonel for being our navigator on the

595
00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:22.599
<v Speaker 2>SR seventy one Blackbird.

596
00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:24.759
<v Speaker 1>Thank you, sir, my pleasure, Thank you for having me.

597
00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:25.359
<v Speaker 2>Steven