Habubrats SR-71
@Habubrats71 • 25,722 subscribers
Air Force Brat. Writer. The only female aviationgeekclub contributor. My Father, Butch Sheffield, flew the SR 71. Book out 3-31-26 “Ohio to Supersonic”. 🇺🇸✝️
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The SR-71 Blackbird converts supersonic air to subsonic speeds using a movable, conical "spike" in the engine inlet that generates a series of shock waves, slowing air from over Mach 3 to roughly Mach 0.4 before it reaches the compressor. This process, crucial for the J58 engine, transforms high-speed, low-pressure air into high-pressure air at a manageable speed, generating a majority of the total thrust. Mechanism for Slowing Air •Inlet Spike Position: The sharp, cone-shaped spike moves up to 26 inches backward as the aircraft accelerates, optimizing shock wave alignment. •Oblique Shock Waves: At supersonic speeds, the spike produces a series of angled oblique shock waves that slow and compress the air. •Normal Shock Wave: A terminal shock wave forms at the inlet mouth, effectively slowing the air to subsonic velocity. •Variable Geometry: The inlet computer automatically manages the spike position and bypass doors to prevent "inlet unstart"—an immediate loss of thrust caused by shock wave misalignment.  Benefits and Components •Pressure Conversion: The inlet acts like a "garden hose in reverse," where the reduction in speed is converted into massive pressure increase. •Subsonic Compression: The engine itself is a turbojet, which can only function on subsonic air. •Bypass Air: Excess air is bled off and reintroduced at the exhaust, adding more efficiency and thrust.  •YouTube : How the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird works by Amimagraffs
Habubrats SR-7171,811 views • 1 month ago
Did you know that the Cubans shot down and killed an American pilot in 1962? Because our enemies could shoot down the U2, we had to have an SR 71 who proved over and over again that it could not be shot down. We need to remember Rudy Anderson. Also flying these missions was Major Buddy Brown who later flew the SR 71. Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was the only combat casualty during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, killed on October 27 when his U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba by Soviet-supplied missiles. As a seasoned U-2 pilot, his reconnaissance mission provided vital intel, but his death escalated tensions near the brink of nuclear war.  Key Details About Major Anderson's Death: •The Mission: On October 27, 1962—known as "Black Saturday"—Major Anderson was flying a U-2F Dragon Lady from McCoy Air Force Base, Florida, on a reconnaissance mission over Banes, Cuba. •The Incident: Soviet personnel in Cuba fired two S-75 Dvina (SA-2) surface-to-air missiles, one of which exploded near his plane, killing him instantly. •Impact on the Crisis: His death brought the U.S. and Soviet Union closer to war, but it also prompted U.S. leaders to stop fighting and start negotiations to end the crisis. •Awards: He was the first recipient of the Air Force Cross, awarded posthumously for his bravery.  Major Anderson's death was a turning point, as it caused both sides to realize they were nearing an uncontrollable conflict, resulting in the start of secret negotiations immediately afterward.
Habubrats SR-71104,411 views • 2 months ago
After the Gulf War I took Ben Rich ( Head of the Skunk Works) into the Pentagon to see Air Force Brigadier General (B/G) Buster Glosson. Buster had been the person who assigned aircraft to the targets during the 1991 Gulf War. Buster told us the story of how each night he would expect several F-117’s not to return to base because they had been shot down. He had assigned the F-117’s the hardest targets in downtown Baghdad. He said that he never had seen an F-117. He knew little about them. Each night, when all the F-117’s returned unharmed, he would say to himself, thank God, that stealth stuff must really work. The more he talked the more emotional he got, finally, tears came to his eyes. Ben stood up and hugged him; Ben had tears in his eyes too. I will never forget that moment. Whenever I hear people, run down the so called; “military-industrial Community,” because they work so close together, I think of what I saw; the man who provided the machine (F-117) that saved the flyers lives while destroying the most highly defended targets in the history of man. And the man who had put the pilot’s lives on the line, hugging and crying, because they had together won the war while saving the lives of those put into harm’s way. Written by Colonel Richard “Butch” Sheffield.
Habubrats SR-71776,100 views • 2 years ago
The SR 71 could takeoff with a full tank of gas. It was called a rocket ride. But to do so they needed to do a yo-yo. The last official Air Force flight was in 1990 .SR 71s were reinstated briefly in 1996. The Air Force generals were jealous of the SR 71 they wanted the money for their own special projects. That’s why it was retired. The U2 is still flying the SR 71 should be also.
Habubrats SR-7180,882 views • 4 months ago
This is Linda Sheffield in her father‘s cockpit. This is just one of the 20 SR 71s that Butch Sheffield flew in (he flew all of the SR 71s.) Dave Burns a maintainer is talking to me about what the RSO did. This video was taken Father’s Day 2025 in Oregon. I am sitting in the 971.
Habubrats SR-7145,252 views • 2 months ago
Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara was a nightmare for the Blackbird program. He had his own agenda, which at times seemed unsound. He ordered the destruction of all the tooling for the A-12 SR-71 and YF-12. He did not want the A-12 to fly over Vietnam for fear of upsetting the Chinese. Secrets of the Skunk Works. The full video can be found on YouTube
Habubrats SR-7193,909 views • 8 months ago
Turn up the volume and listen to the lullaby of my childhood
Habubrats SR-7169,504 views • 8 months ago
![After a few “Hail Kelly’s” Bill Burke and Tom Henichek flew over France without Permission One of the most entertaining stories about flying the Blackbird comes from Lt. Colonel William Burk Jr., who shares about a particular mission he flew [according to SR-71 pilot Stormy Boudreaux, Tom Henichek was Burk’s RSO for that mission] over Lebanon back in 1982 in the book Skunk Works by Ben Rich. ‘In the fall of ’82, I flew from Mildenhall on a mission over Lebanon in response to the Marine barracks bombing. President Reagan ordered photo coverage of all the terrorist basis in the region. The French refused to allow us overfly, so our mission profile was to refuel off the south coast of England, a Mach 3 cruise leg down the coast of Portugal and Spain, left turn through the Straits of Gibraltar, refuel in the Western Mediterranean, right turn into Lebanon and fly right down main street Beirut, exit along the southern Mediterranean with another refueling over Malta, supersonic back out the straits, and return to England. As we entered Lebanon’s airspace my Recon Systems Officer in the rear cockpit informed me that our defensive systems display showed we were being tracked by that SA-5. About 15 seconds later we got a warning of active guidance signals from the SA-5 site. We couldn’t tell whether there was an actual launch or the missile was still on the rails, but they were actively tracking us. We didn’t waste any time wondering, but climbed and pushed that throttle, and said a couple of “Hail Kellys.” We completed our pass over Beirut and turned toward Malta, when I got a warning low-oil-pressure light on my right engine. Even though the engine was running fine I slowed down and lowered our altitude and made a direct line for England. We decided to cross France without clearance instead of going the roundabout way. ‘We made it almost across, when I looked out the left window and saw a French Mirage III sitting ten feet off my left wing. He came up on our frequency and asked us for our Diplomatic Clearance Number. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I told him to stand by. I ask my backseater, who said, “Don’t worry about it. I just gave it to him.” What he had given him was “the bird” with his middle finger: I lit the afterburners and left that Mirage standing still. Two minutes later, we were crossing the Channel.’ Written by Dario Leone of aviation geekclub.](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2034004537564909781/amplify_video_thumb/2034004478991495168/img/0es-yhakyfSJ5iMe.jpg)
After a few “Hail Kelly’s” Bill Burke and Tom Henichek flew over France without Permission One of the most entertaining stories about flying the Blackbird comes from Lt. Colonel William Burk Jr., who shares about a particular mission he flew [according to SR-71 pilot Stormy Boudreaux, Tom Henichek was Burk’s RSO for that mission] over Lebanon back in 1982 in the book Skunk Works by Ben Rich. ‘In the fall of ’82, I flew from Mildenhall on a mission over Lebanon in response to the Marine barracks bombing. President Reagan ordered photo coverage of all the terrorist basis in the region. The French refused to allow us overfly, so our mission profile was to refuel off the south coast of England, a Mach 3 cruise leg down the coast of Portugal and Spain, left turn through the Straits of Gibraltar, refuel in the Western Mediterranean, right turn into Lebanon and fly right down main street Beirut, exit along the southern Mediterranean with another refueling over Malta, supersonic back out the straits, and return to England. As we entered Lebanon’s airspace my Recon Systems Officer in the rear cockpit informed me that our defensive systems display showed we were being tracked by that SA-5. About 15 seconds later we got a warning of active guidance signals from the SA-5 site. We couldn’t tell whether there was an actual launch or the missile was still on the rails, but they were actively tracking us. We didn’t waste any time wondering, but climbed and pushed that throttle, and said a couple of “Hail Kellys.” We completed our pass over Beirut and turned toward Malta, when I got a warning low-oil-pressure light on my right engine. Even though the engine was running fine I slowed down and lowered our altitude and made a direct line for England. We decided to cross France without clearance instead of going the roundabout way. ‘We made it almost across, when I looked out the left window and saw a French Mirage III sitting ten feet off my left wing. He came up on our frequency and asked us for our Diplomatic Clearance Number. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I told him to stand by. I ask my backseater, who said, “Don’t worry about it. I just gave it to him.” What he had given him was “the bird” with his middle finger: I lit the afterburners and left that Mirage standing still. Two minutes later, we were crossing the Channel.’ Written by Dario Leone of aviation geekclub.
Habubrats SR-7118,233 views • 2 months ago
A short video from the movie The Blackbird Story shows the 955, the first SR-71 that my father, Butch Sheffield, flew on October 4, 1965. This was before the record books. His pilot was Pete Collins. We moved to Beale about a year later after my father finished all of the flight testing that he had to do. I’m working right now on his book, “The SR 71 to Skunk Works, “the Story of Colonel Richard Butch Sheffield. Please click and join me on Instagram
Habubrats SR-7132,973 views • 1 year ago
I can’t believe this was my father’s job! This was it Dresden flight research center now Armstrong flight research Center at Edwards Air Force Base California. This is SR 71 number 956. Pilot was Stephen Ishmael RSO Marta Bohn-Meyer Linda Sheffield daughter of Habu
Habubrats SR-7131,002 views • 1 year ago
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