Dale L Jenkins

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@Habubrats71 As cool as the F-14's are the way Maury tells the story of himself doing the fly by at Sac Metro the SR-71 wins hands down every time.

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@mrspoindexter Still a smokeshow.

[Habubrats SR-71 @Habubrats71]

I had a question about could the SR 71 fly into Outer space and how did it fly along the curvature of the Earth...so naturally I asked Gork The **SR-71 Blackbird** (and its predecessor variants like the A-12 and YF-12) flew at operational altitudes typically around **80,000–85,000 feet** (about 24–26 km, or roughly 15–16 miles up). This is high enough that pilots could clearly see the **curvature of the Earth** and the sky appeared dark blue to black, but it's still well within Earth's atmosphere—nowhere near "outer space."

The internationally recognized edge of space (the **Kármán line**) is at **100 km** (about 328,000 feet), more than **3–4 times** higher than the Blackbird's maximum sustained altitude. The SR-71 never came close to that boundary in normal flight.

### Why didn't it fly off into space or "straight" out into orbit?

The key reasons are:

1. **Speed was far too low for orbital mechanics or escape**
- The SR-71's top speed was around **Mach 3.3** (~2,200–2,300 mph or ~3,500–3,700 km/h).
- Orbital velocity at low Earth orbit requires ~**17,500 mph** (~28,000 km/h or ~Mach 23–25).
- Escape velocity (to leave Earth's gravity entirely) is even higher: ~**25,000 mph** (~40,000 km/h or ~Mach 33) from the surface, slightly less at altitude but still vastly beyond the Blackbird.
- At the SR-71's actual speed, gravity easily dominated—there was no risk of "flinging" itself into space or orbit. The plane behaved like any other aircraft: gravity pulled it downward constantly, and lift from the wings balanced that pull to maintain altitude.

2. **"Level" flight automatically follows the Earth's curvature**
- When a pilot (or autopilot) flies "straight and level," they maintain a **constant altitude** above the Earth's surface using instruments like the altimeter, pressure instruments, and attitude/gyro horizons.
- Because the Earth is curved, holding a constant altitude means the flight path is gently curving downward at the same rate as the planet's surface (about 8 inches per mile squared, but imperceptible over short distances).
- The pilot doesn't have to actively "nose down" every few minutes to follow the curve—the aircraft naturally does this as long as altitude is held constant. Gravity provides the centripetal force needed for that curved path.
- If the plane truly flew a perfectly straight line (tangent to the Earth), it would gradually climb relative to the surface and eventually leave the atmosphere—but that's not how aircraft are flown. "Level" = constant altitude = curved path parallel to the ground.

3. **Atmospheric and engine limits kept it from going higher**
- The J58 engines were air-breathing turbojets/ramjets—they needed oxygen from the atmosphere. Above ~85,000–90,000 feet, the air was too thin for sustained powered flight (engines would flame out or lose thrust).
- Even in a zoom climb (pulling up sharply to trade speed for altitude), the SR-71 could briefly reach a bit higher, but it would quickly arc back down in a ballistic trajectory without enough speed to orbit or escape.

In short: the SR-71 followed the Earth's curvature the same way any airplane does—by flying at a constant altitude. Gravity kept pulling it "down" toward the center of the Earth, lift kept it from falling, and its speed was nowhere near what's needed to overcome that pull and enter space. The stunning views of the curved horizon came from being high up in a very thin atmosphere, not from being in orbit or space itself.

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@ElonMusk_LordX No Reagan holds that title.

[ArchaeoHistories @histories_arch]

In April 1985, high above the Irish Sea, photographer Adrian Meredith captured what has since become one of the most legendary images in aviation history. From the back seat of a Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado, Meredith photographed the *Concorde* at an altitude of around 50,000 feet, racing across the sky at Mach 2. The opportunity was fleeting—the Tornado, powerful as it was, could only stay alongside the supersonic airliner for a few minutes before falling behind. Within this narrow window of less than four minutes, Meredith managed to frame and capture an image that revealed Concorde in its full glory.

The photograph itself is striking, not only because it shows the sleek, delta-winged jet in motion, but because it places it in a context rarely seen— the curvature of the Earth visible in the background, a view usually reserved for astronauts. The clarity of the shot conveys both the elegance of Concorde’s design and the immense challenge of supersonic flight. It was not merely a picture of a plane, but of a technological marvel at its absolute peak, suspended in an almost otherworldly setting where art and engineering seemed to merge seamlessly.

Nearly two decades later, when Concorde was retired in 2003, the image took on even greater meaning. It now stands as a symbol of a bygone age, when commercial aviation dared to dream beyond the limits of speed and altitude. Meredith’s photograph preserves that dream, a frozen moment in time when the future seemed to arrive early, soaring faster than the speed of sound above the clouds. It remains both a celebration of human ingenuity and a nostalgic reminder of an era that has yet to return.

© Aviation Historia

#archaeohistories

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@OzzyOsbourne A music Legend he'll never be forgotten.

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@myhappynats Depending on the brand some American outlets have the option to place the bare wire directly into the back of the outlet just like the Japanese one.

[Dirty Mo Media @DirtyMoMedia]

RT this if you’re ready for the Daytona 500 🏁

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@ElizaMonarch Since he's an ex that shows his intelligence level and his opinion can't be trusted.

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@sweetiepiebri Thank them.

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@sarahntuned Didn't they use one of those in the second Cannonball Run movie?

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@sarahntuned The Fugitive

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@DRIVETRIBE May's car for sure.

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

The quality is as expected now waiting on extended wheel studs to finish the installation. https://t.co/Xg42E2XzB4 via @targetbay

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@DRIVETRIBE @thegrandtour @primevideouk @MrJamesMay @RichardHammond Captain Slow is the new King 🤴. Hail to the King.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Liz Cheney announces that, in the coming weeks, she will launch an organization dedicated to educating Republicans about Trump’s ongoing threat to our democracy — & to stopping Trump from winning the party’s primary. RT TO THANK LIZ CHENEY FOR CONTINUING TO FIGHT TRUMP!

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@mrosebarista One thing that nobody has mentioned is the tread life, the Nitto will perform the best but is only good for about 25k because they're made out of softer rubber, the Bf KO is similar with slightly better tread life at 30k,Coopers are almost as good a performance and a 60k rating

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

Sport Clips: https://t.co/MZM50vk59Z

[ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring @24hNBR]

What's your racing name? #24hNBR

[Dale L Jenkins @DaleLJenkins3]

@24hNBR Quick Rider