Ever since “Top Gun”, people have had a fascination with the fast flying, sound breaking military jets. In terms of aircraft, they really are the most extreme vehicles in the sky. We are going to take a quick look at a list of twenty things that you didn’t know about these amazing airplanes, specifically two jets in particular: the F-15 and the SR-71 Blackbird. Let’s talk about the F-15 first.
10. From the moment the jet achieves lift, it can fly vertically. It achieves this because it has more thrust than weight. It’s all science and physics, but that should not be a surprise. In 1975, the F15 set a world record by going from the ground to 100,000 feet in 3.5 minutes.
9. Over 100 F-15’s were made by the Mitsubishi company in Japan as part of a trade agreement.
8. The F-15’s on board cannon fires up to 6,600 rounds per minute. By any standard, that is an awful lot of firepower.
7. The radar system on board can track multiple enemies from over 100 miles away. Therefore, it may not need that powerful cannon if it can track and eliminate the enemy before it gets anywhere near the jet, it just needs one missile.
6. In the mid 1980’s the F-15 shot down an anti-satellite missile and it can also be used to launch a satellite into orbit at a high altitude.
5. During the Gulf War, the F-15 used a laser-guided bomb to hit an Iraqi helicopter in mid-air. Talk about not seeing what hit you.
4. With ground sensing radar and infrared units, the F-15 can fly very low to the ground at high speeds even at night.
3. Even with one wing completely missing, the F-15 remains stable and controllable enough so to allow a pilot to land the plane.
2. It’s official record is 100 – 0. That’s right, tt has managed to shoot down 100 aircraft but not one F-15 has even been shot down. That’s quite an impressive record.
1. The F15 can fly at Mach 2.5. In case you were wondering, that roughly 1,900 mph.
SR-71 Blackbird
This plane has served many clandestine missions around the globe and holds the honor of the fastest plane on the planet, (it reaches speeds in excess of Mach 3). Its first flight was in December of 1964 and here are a few little known facts about this amazing aircraft.
10. When it reaches Mach 3, the plane’s skin heats to over 1,000 degrees.
9. Despite the fact that this plane has not officially been flown in over 15 years, it remains the record holder as the fastest plane of all time. 2,193.13 mph is the official record, set in July of 1976 to celebrate America’s bicentennial.
8. As with all speed records, the plane has to be able to fly in both directions. When this plane set the record, it burned out one engine and completed the test with only one engine, and it still broke and holds the world record.
7. The plane’s twin Pratt & Whitney J58 jet engines has the same amount of thrust as an ocean liner – 34,000 pounds of thrust. That is quite a lot of force.
6. It is quite large. At over 105 feet long, that is an enormous plane. Especially considering that it carries almost no cargo and the cockpit is very small.
5. It is so heavy, (over 170,000 pounds) that it requires a parachute and specially designed tires to bring it to a complete stop.
4. The SR-71 was built by Lockheed in Burbank, California but then shipped to the infamous Area 51 for testing further adding to its mystique.
3. Its ultimate evasive maneuver is to hit the throttle and go faster than the missile trying to shoot it out of the sky. Over 1,000 attempts to shoot it down ended in failure each time. It enjoys the record of never being shot down. Quite the impressive feat.
2. Due to the fact that nothing could shoot it down, it was able to fly over areas and photograph entire countries’ landscapes as it did in North Korea, and it only took the plane 7 minutes to do it.
1. In order to even work on, not fly, this plane, one had to be married, between the ages of 25 and 40 and be found “mentally and emotionally stable”. Extra care was employed to find just the right person to work on the plane as it was uniquely special and used for covert operations.
Photo by Suzanne Jenkins/U.S. Air Force via Getty Images, Koichi Kamoshida, Getty Images
