![]() Many airports in Flightgear have a detailed network of taxiways and one can start the simulation on a specified parking position rather than ready on the runway, and an ever-increasing number of airports also is populated in full detail with 3d models showing not only the main buildings, but also other operations currently ongoing. The weather conditions are ideal for reconnaisance – it’s a very clear day with dry air and few clouds. ![]() When everything is ready, we finally enter the plane and taxi to the runway. I could also, using the AI system of Flightgear, arrange for various tankers to meet me at certain points during my mission if I would want to fly a realistic long range mission profile for the SR-71. The waypoints need to be defined carefully such that the course is even possible to follow – at service ceiling, the plane is not very maneuverable. ![]() As in reality, the plane is difficult to control at high altitudes manually, so the autopilot will have to take care of the climb to 85.000 ft. I am using Flightgear’s route manager to define the waypoints. All the waypoints for this flight have to be entered into the Astro-Inertial navigation system of the Blackbird in advance. We will take off from Nellis AFB, Nevada, go north climbing, then turn around and overfly Nevada at 85.000 ft under mission conditions, then descend and head back to Nellis. On longer recon flights, we would have tankers waiting for us in certain locations, but today is just a training flight. This means that basically anything you do needs to be planned in advance. The Blackbird goes half a mile in the time it takes you to say ‘Oops’, it can be 20 miles in enemy territory by the time it takes you to check a map, and the turn radius is more than hundred miles. With the aircraft making Mach 3, you can’t simply fly where you like or take a wrong turn. Mach 3.2 at 85.000 ft – the SR-71 in Flightgear Author: Thorsten Renk Pre-flightĪ flight in the SR-71, or the ‘Habu’ as the crews call it, starts long before you enter the cockpit.
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