Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/08/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Aug 6, 2007, at 11:14 PM, Ira wrote: >> As requested, I've attached two >> additional pictures of the D-21, which indeed was designed by >> Kelly Johnson's >> Skunk Works, and can be considered the "Son of SR-71." >> >> _http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Ira+Silverman/Aircraft/Lockheed >> +D-21+_1_.jpg >> .html_ >> (http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Ira+Silverman/Aircraft/Lockheed >> +D-21+_1_.jpg.html) >> >> >> _http://gallery.leica-users.org/ >> v/Ira+Silverman/Aircraft/Lockheed+D-21+_2_.jpg.html_ >> (http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Ira+Silverman/Aircraft/Lockheed >> +D-21+_2_.jpg.html) >> A blast from the past. These are excellent photos of an artifact of a bygone era in military aviation. For more photos and a full description of the D-21, look up "D-21" in Google Images. It is a favorite of aviation history freaks. Actually the D-21 was a CIA project so the resurrected airframe should really adorn the headquarters at Langley, VA. After you get done Googling the D-21, look up the B-70 to see a really futuristic large airplane. Built largely of stainless steel, almost as long as a football field, and looking like something out of a science fiction movie, it could cruise at Mach 3 for 5000 miles. Aircraft aficionados call it the "most beautiful airplane ever made." I have a bit of nostalgia connected with the B-70. I designed the CCM system for it nearly 50 years ago. It was obsoleted, along with the B-58, by ICBMs. The only remaining B-70 is in the Airforce Museum at Wright-Dayton. Larry Z