Subject: SR-71 - Titanium
Edited by David Barth, November 21, 2008
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SR-71 in flight |
Lockheed engineers used a titanium alloy to construct more than 90 percent of the SR-71, creating special tools and manufacturing procedures to hand-build each of the 40 planes. Special heat-resistant fuel, oil, and hydraulic fluids that would function at 85,000 feet and higher also had to be developed.
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SR-71 taxiing |
Initial orders for American sources of titanium were found not to be pure enough, so the US ordered titanium from the USSR which was pure enough to make the alloy. Fortunately, the Russians never discovered that the titanium they sold to the US during the Cold War was being used to build the SR-71s that would spy on them.
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SR-71 in flight with a chase plane to its right |
Links to additional SR-71 Articles:
SR-71 - Inflight Breakup
SR-71 - Ceiling
SR-71 - Landing at Buckley ANG Base
SR-71 - Cancellation
SR-71 - Flight over France
SR-71 - Landing at Grand Forks, ND AFB
SR-71 - History
SR-71 - Flight over Libya
SR-71 - Navy challenge
SR-71 - Fueling from KC-135 Tankers
SR-71 - Titanium construction