I remember being at Edwards for a shuttle landing and walking around the hangers at 3am. There, parked in the corner, was a Blackbird. I glanced around, unlimbered my camera and sneakily tried to grab a few shots. An air policeman spotted me, walked over, and said “You can get a better shot from over there.” <big grin> I blushed a bit. “Forgot they declassified it, didn’t you? I see people like that all the time.”
Also got to see one shoot almost-touch-and-goes at March AFB once. Pulled off the 215 and parked under a “Freeway - No Parking or stopping at any time” sign with about a dozen other cars, including two CHP cruisers. When the t+gs were done, the pilot pointed it straight up and kicked in the afterburners. That sucker vanished. The chippies looked around, loudly remarked that they were going back on duty in 2 minutes, and we all jumped back in our cars and left. With big smiles on our faces.
Since it was featured in Strategic Air Command, it always reminds me of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet.
The Cold War lasted a long time. There were a great many developments in aircraft then, and it’s hard to pick just one. (Obviously, considering how many posts I’ve made in this thread.) It would be hard even if they were broken down into categories such as Bombers, Fighters, Reconnaissance, etc.
From what I understand the joke among the crews was: two turnin, two burnin , two smokin, two jokin, two standin still.
I loved the BAC Lighting, what a cool design.
I’ll have to say UH1(Huey) since that is what I flew. Sure liked the F104 however. Saw a NASA one do an afterburner climb out from El Paso at dusk one day,very nice.
I grew up in the Antelope Valley, where Lockheed kept their “house birds”. You could park at the west end of the Plant 42 runway in Palmdale and see both of these planes in the air at the same time. Once in a while. You’ll notice the Skunkworks logo on the Blackbird in the linked photo: that is the “house bird” SR-71, and the U-2 with it probably is.
SR-71. The most elegant plane in the air. Ever. (And the leakiest plane on the ground. Ever.) My personal favorite, if that’s not clear!
It does. I saw a story once upon a time about one of the overhaul/rebuild/upgrade processes done over the years. It was extensive to say the least. Tear it down to components and replace repair anything necessary.
Instead of categories, maybe we could use beauty contest scoring – swimsuit (hottest-looking), evening gown (coolness/personality), and talent (actual effectiveness in combat).
Actually, it was far more advanced than that. They had a system that locked on to 3 stars (3 of the 61 brightest stars programmed into it) within minutes of start up, or longer on an overcast day. It then tracked the chosen 3 stars throughout the flight. They claimed it was accurate to within a few hundred yards and never failed them.
I love threads like this: just spent two hours on Wiki reading more about Cold War USAF history than I have in a long while.
My vote: E3 Sentry. Such a symbol of the change in warfare in the Cold War; a flying command unit which allows forces to multiply their effects on the enemy, still in use today. A leap forward from the EC121, its predecessor.
I suppose I have plenty of favorites from the era (who could play Harpoon without loving the P3 Orion?) but I have t give the E3 my respect.
My dad used to fly the F-86 and F-100. I shoulda picked one of those. I’ve got a picture of him in front of an 86, his “Mach Buster” card and his “Super-Sonic Shoes” (the boots he wore for flight).
All the first ones that came to mind (B-58 Hustler, SR-71, F-86) have already been mentioned, and all are worthy, but for me the most iconic image of Cold War aviation is a lonely TU-95 Bear, giant contrarotating propellers flailing away, with a thoroughly dwarfed NATO interceptor alongside it for scale.
My personal favorite, if that’s not clear!
