Son of Blackbird?
I couldn’t believe my eyes, but there it was, in big print on the cover of Aviation Week & Space Technology (AW&ST)—Son of Blackbird!
We all remember the Blackbird, otherwise called the SR-71, by far the world’s fastest airplane. It was in many ways one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built, and the most evil looking machine I ever saw. It was built by Lockheed’s Kelly Johnson Skunk Works, and there would never be anything like it again.
The story was that no airplane faster would ever be built again. The theory was that satellites did the job of the Blackbird, so we didn’t need such a fast machine. Besides, it was way too expensive.
Yet there it is on front cover and they say it will go almost twice as fast as the Blackbird!
I’ve read that story several times, and I must admit I don’t understand half of it. One part, however, did sink in. The problem is to build an airplane—a real “air-breathing” airplane, not a rocket—that can take off by itself then accelerate up to speeds at which a ramjet can take over. Ramjets don’t work below a certain speed. Normal turbine engines have trouble pushing an airplane up to the minimum speed at which the ramjet will operate.
The Skunk Works folks—yep, they’re gonna build this one, too—think they have figured out how to do this, but it’ll take awhile.
I have seen the Blackbird. Hope I live long enough to see the Son of Blackbird.
Dang, it’s a wonderful time to be watching aviation!
About the Author
Ralph Hood
Certified Speaking Professional
Ralph Hood is a Certified Speaking Professional who has addressed aviation groups throughout North America. A pilot since 1969, he's insured and sold airplanes at retail and distributor levels and taught aviation management for Southern Illinois University.
Ralph Hood is also an award-winning columnist (he writes for several publications), a salesman and sales manager (he sold airplanes, for crying out loud!), a teacher (he taught college-level aviation management) and a professional public speaker who has entertained and enlightened audiences from Hawaii to Spain, and from Fairbanks to Puerto Rico.
- Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), National Speakers Association
- Past member, National Ethics Committee, National Speakers Association
- Past president of Alabama Speakers Association
- Member, Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame
- Past National Marketing Mentor, AOPA Project Pilot