The SR71 was 1960s technology. 40 years!!! What could we possibly do today? Or have we done it?

The Air Force has retired their SR-71 fleet; there is a rumored replacement project code named 'Aurora' that is still heavily classified. (The code name was accidentally published in a summary document some years ago.)

The SR-71 flies just about as fast as an air-breathing subsonic combustion jet airplane can fly; in order to keep the engines from flaming out, the incoming air must decelerate from Mach 3+ to Mach 0.9 before it enters the combustion chamber.

Supersonic combustion ramjets (or scramjets) have been a hot research topic for the past 30+ years; it was only a year or two ago that researchers were able to demonstrate a (briefly) working model.

This article is just so cool. I know it's "guy stuff", but it is just so fantastic.

This article is just so cool. I know it's "guy stuff", but it is just so fantastic.

What a ride! WOW. Thank you very mach.

One Sunday a few years back, Ed Yeilding (correct spelling) visited my church. He's the guy who set the coast-to-coast record in an SR-71 (64 minutes) when the 'Bird was retired. He and his RSO were delivering the plane to the Air and Space museum from California. He's quite a guy. When he learned I was retired Army, he opened up and told me what he did in the Air Force when I asked.

I work at Edwards Air Force Base frequently (just ask my wife). When I am out there, I used to stay at 'Essex House' It was the place where all the military aviation types, pilots and engineers stayed.

The walls were covered with signed pictures of all kinds of air and space craft, including air and spacecraft.

It was depressing as hell walking through those halls--all the programs have been cancelled and are no longer in production. Even F/A-22 was cut to a sliver of usefulness.... Nothing has replaced them and the old airframes are flying well, well past their expiration date.

The bar there was covered proudly with decals from units that were deactivated years ago when peace broke out and History stopped--until terrorists flew the Peace Dividend into the WTC and Pentagon.

It was obviously a great time for engineering and airmanship, but I missed it by 20 years. Those days are long gone, and so is the SR-71. The Air Force can't get rid of officers fast enough now and there's a painful Reduction In Force coming.

You wonder what has replaced the SR-71? I can tell you:
The same thing that replaced our moon landers, the Space Shuttle and the Concord--Nothing. Nothing at all.

Ever wonder about what was flying the recon missions over Iraq to find Saddam's Weapons? Nothing. We ended up just guessing.

It's the Baroque Age of weapon technology now; minute improvements in bombs to avoid hitting Baby Milk Factories. Slightly improved radars to prevent shooting "wedding parties" and better avionics on C-130s to keep them flying 'cuz we aren't building any more.

The Essex House? It's an old folks home now; funded by California. The signed pictures have been sent to a museum and the unit decals all peeled off.

Mach 3.5; Altitude 80,000 Feet; 20 years ago.

Now? Mach 0; Altitude 15 feet on a piller in an airpark surrounded by a state-funded housing project....

Supersonic combustion ramjets (or scramjets) have been a hot research topic for the past 30+ years; it was only a year or two ago that researchers were able to demonstrate a (briefly) working model.

It was impressive. That model was 2 meters long and dropped from the NASA B-52 that dropped all the "X" project aircraft.

Even that B-52 was recently retired.

In a parking lot at Edwards AFB is the pit where they loaded Yeager's "Glamorous Glynnis" onto the B-29 for his historic supersonic run.

Fortunately that pit has a rusty rail around it so no one drives their Prius into it.