Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird G1R
"The Big Bird You Wouldn't Worry For Ground Speed Check When Flying It"
Forewords
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. It was operated by both the United States Air Force (USAF) and NASA.
The SR-71 was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft during the 1960s by Lockheed's Skunk Works division. American aerospace engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the aircraft's innovative concepts. The shape of the SR-71 was based on that of the A-12, which was one of the first aircraft to be designed with a reduced radar cross-section. At one point, a bomber variant of the aircraft was under consideration, before the program was focused solely on reconnaissance. Mission equipment for the reconnaissance role included signals intelligence sensors, a side-looking airborne radar, and a photo camera; the SR-71 was both longer and heavier than the A-12, allowing it hold more fuel as well as a two-seat cockpit. The SR-71 designation has been attributed to lobbying efforts by USAF Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay, who preferred the SR (Strategic Reconnaissance) designation over simply RS (Reconaissance). The aircraft was introduced to operational service in January 1966.
During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes (85,000 feet, 25,900 meters) to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile. On average, each SR-71 could fly once per week due to the extended turnaround required after mission recovery. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents with none lost to enemy action. During 1988, the USAF retired the SR-71 largely due to political reasons; several were briefly reactivated during the 1990s before their second retirement in 1998. NASA was the final operator of the type, retiring their examples in 1999. Since its retirement, the SR-71's role has been taken up by a combination of reconnaissance satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); a proposed UAV successor, the Lockheed Martin SR-72, has not yet been pursued. The SR-71 has been given several nicknames, including "Blackbird" and "Habu". As of 2020, it still holds the world record it set in 1976 for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, previously held by the related Lockheed YF-12.
The SR-71 was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft during the 1960s by Lockheed's Skunk Works division. American aerospace engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the aircraft's innovative concepts. The shape of the SR-71 was based on that of the A-12, which was one of the first aircraft to be designed with a reduced radar cross-section. At one point, a bomber variant of the aircraft was under consideration, before the program was focused solely on reconnaissance. Mission equipment for the reconnaissance role included signals intelligence sensors, a side-looking airborne radar, and a photo camera; the SR-71 was both longer and heavier than the A-12, allowing it hold more fuel as well as a two-seat cockpit. The SR-71 designation has been attributed to lobbying efforts by USAF Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay, who preferred the SR (Strategic Reconnaissance) designation over simply RS (Reconaissance). The aircraft was introduced to operational service in January 1966.
During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes (85,000 feet, 25,900 meters) to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile. On average, each SR-71 could fly once per week due to the extended turnaround required after mission recovery. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents with none lost to enemy action. During 1988, the USAF retired the SR-71 largely due to political reasons; several were briefly reactivated during the 1990s before their second retirement in 1998. NASA was the final operator of the type, retiring their examples in 1999. Since its retirement, the SR-71's role has been taken up by a combination of reconnaissance satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); a proposed UAV successor, the Lockheed Martin SR-72, has not yet been pursued. The SR-71 has been given several nicknames, including "Blackbird" and "Habu". As of 2020, it still holds the world record it set in 1976 for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, previously held by the related Lockheed YF-12.
The Design Phase
This parkjet is probably the biggest parkjet we at PI have ever designed. The fuselage itself reaches 1.5m long in order to make it look scale and capture the thin airfoil in both wings. Construction is quite simple. The engine tubes is highly recommended to be formed from thick paper in order to maintain the strength and easy to construct.
The Prototypes
Jeff Reimer built the first prototype. It's having gorgeously stunning look. Jeff was also experimented with 2 tractor motors in front of the engine tubes and one on the end of the fuselage. He's using tiny quad copter motors and it seems to be delivering more than enough thrust.
The Flight
Each maiden flights confirmed how well the PI A-10 G1R flies. When inheriting the scale lines from the real A-10, it seemed like this PI parkjet design is inheriting the flight envelope of the real A-10 as well. It didn't stop to amaze us how beautiful this plane on the ground and in the air as well.
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Highlights
We could say that we managed to survive the most challenging design phase for us to come up with this parkjet design. :
- True scale lines with dihedral canards.
- True airfoil wings.
- Incredibly stable when airborne. Thanks to its big area of vertical stabilizer.
Notes on Setup
Below are the recommendation setup for this parkjet to get the most joy and fun, in flying it.
- Turnigy 2826 2200KV as standard motor that will not break the budget and is still being able to fly fast. If you want to fly faster, a DYS BE2208-7 2600KV or Sunnysky X2208-7 2600KV II motor will give the most punch out of the power setup and still give exceptional flight time.
- ESC: 40A Brushless ESC for casual flying. If you love WOTS, then go for 50A ESC. This ensures the ESC will stay cool.
- 1,800mah 3S 30C or 35C battery. The weight of this battery match the stock CG. It will give around 10 mins flight time as well on mix punches of throttle.
"A smart choice for a delta wing parkjet, that will deliver tons of excitements to builders/flyers."
Additional Information Each release of the Parkflyers International PDF Parkjet plan package contains:
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How to get the Plan The PDF plan is available for a small amount of donation (USD 11.99) which would be used to support underprivileged kids and help less fortunate families to learn how to build scratchbuilt rc planes and try to make a living from it by creating rc plane toys and repairing it.as well as teaching school students to start learning about aerospace design. We encourage you not to share or distribute the plan, individually or publicly as it may not bring support to the teaching activities we conduct for those kids and families. Notes:
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