Sleek, Fast and Powerful

Status: Wishing I'd visited the dentist earlier.
Song: Bye Bye Beautiful - Nightwish

B-1 Lancer

When at the Hill Aerospace Museum I approached an older gentleman sitting at one of the information desks and asked him if there was a B-1 Bomber anywhere in the hangers. He looked at me wistfully and said, "I wish we had one." It turned out he had actually flown one, so I got to ply him for all kinds of information. His enthusiasm for the aircraft was understandable.

The first time I ever saw one of these it looked like this, going over my head.

It was so close to the ground I could see into the afterburners.

The bomber wasn't alone. Accompanying it was a smaller fighter which I honestly don't remember very well. So not like me because I'm always trying to identify the fighters that fly over head. The only thing I noticed was how much bigger the B-1 was. And how loud it was.

Not the B-1 I saw, but this shows the size difference.

I could tell the sounds of the planes apart and the B-1's engines (four turbofan engines) were huge. The air and ground actually shook. I could feel it clear through my bones. It was the most exciting thing I'd ever heard. A real adrenaline rush.

The second time I saw one, I heard it coming long before I saw it. It went right over my house. I got a good look at its belly and then the afterburners again. The ground shook, the air vibrated, my ears rang, and boy! did the adrenaline surge. By the time it was gone over the mountains, I was a fierce fan.

I really love machines with tons of power and speed. This aircraft was the most powerful one I had ever seen.

I wanted one!

Isn't it gorgeous?

I could park it in front of my house. Really.... Never mind that it would take up all of my drive way, the street and half of the parking lot to the new hospital going in across the way. It would be way more impressive than the Hummer I had sitting there for a little while.

I mean--what girl wouldn't love to have her own Bomber sitting in the front yard?

The last time I saw a B-1 it was on the ground,
taller than the hanger it was sitting beside.
It would dwarf my house.

Bigger than the SR-71 Blackbird, the B-1 Lancer is a strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force. Its origins began in the 1960s as a supersonic bomber with sufficient range and payload to replace the B-52 Stratofortress, (which is also really big), but developed primarily into a low-level, subsonic penetrator with long range.

The B-1B is the last variable-sweep wing aircraft remaining in U.S. military inventory.

Wings swept forward.

You know, I envied the gentleman at the Air Force Museum his time flying the B-1.

I didn't get the chance to go see it up close, like I did the SR-71, though I really would have loved to.

My secret dream...to fly one of these giants? So not going to happen.

Though, I'd settle for just a ride.

I'd have a better chance getting my hands on a Lamborghini Reventon, the most exclusive, and expensive super car on the market.

Length: 146 ft (44.5 m)
Wingspan:
Extended: 137 ft (41.8 m)
Swept: 79 ft (24.1 m)
Height: 34 ft (10.4 m)

None of the photos are mine.

Supersonic Power

Status: AWAKE
Song: Chasing Shadows at Midnight - Pillar

The Blackbird

Those of you who have been following my various meanderings since I've started this blog know about my obsession with speed and really gorgeous vehicles. See [here] and [here] and [here]. However, the Porsche, and the Lamborghini, as fast and yummy as they are, can't compete with the power of the supersonic aircraft.

One of my favorites is the SR-71 Blackbird. Unlike the super cars, I think its safe to say I will never get the chance to sit in one of these machines, but I can drool.

The SR-71 Blackbird.

Long, stream lined, really sexy. Super fast.

A stealth craft.

You wouldn't hear this one overhead. Wouldn't be able to see it either because of its altitude.

It's retired now, but one defensive feature of the Blackbird was its high speed and high operating altitude. If a surface-to-air missile launch were detected, standard evasive action was simply to accelerate. Wow. Impressive.

The first time I saw one of these, it looked like this.

Short, flat, and looked almost as small as the other fighter planes around it.
18 and a half feet high.

It was in the Hill Aerospace Museum at the Hill Air Force Base south of Ogden, Utah. I had seen the plane on TV and expected the front view, but I was surprised at how small it looked. I knew the thing was 107 feet long. It should have looked BIG.


It's size became apparent as I walked around it. It was a lot longer than all of the other fighter planes in the hanger. It was gorgeous.

Even though the signs said not to touch it, I just had to. The Blackbird's skin is 85% titanium and 15% composite materials. I wanted to know what that felt like. So I picked a spot where the rope was close to the plane.

It felt like leather.

So, how fast is the SR-71 Blackbird? It's listed as being a Mach 3 aircraft, which means it can fly 3 times the speed of sound. But the speed of sound varies with temperature, so no single answer can be given to that question. Just know it's really fast.

Length: 107 ft 5 in (32.74 m)
Wingspan: 55 ft 7 in (16.94 m)
Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)

(None of these pictures are mine...So have to figure out that camera.)