October 17, 2024 at 6:00PM
Guest Speaker: Peter Law
Peter Law, retired Lockheed Skunk Works Thermodynamics Department Manager, will discuss several aspects of the environments encountered by the Lockheed SR-71 strategic reconnaissance aircraft during its high altitude, high speed Mach 3.2, flight operation.
The presentation will include external and internal temperatures for its aircraft structural elements and for its several internal subsystems. Included will be schematics and design temperature values for the fuel system, the hydraulic system, the environmental control system, the mission equipment cooling distribution system, and the cockpit crew-of-two cooling details. Some flight-test data values will also be provided to substantiate predicted design calculations.
Kelly Johnson once said the SR-71 was the most difficult program he ever worked on and yet the most rewarding.