SR-71 Blackbird at RAF Greenham Common Airshow (IAT) 1983

[impossibledrms]

I was also there as an SP. We understood that an MOD cop didn't want to get paint on his uniform so he let the "peace women" throw the paint on the plane. I also remember the plane taking off and this filled in the blanks as to what was going on. I was sleeping in the dorm and about came stuck to the ceiling. All is good tho.

[wardtree]

I was there too .. I was honoured to be asked by BC to take a sample of the paint to a lab in Cambridge for analysis. It came to nothing in the end, and because I was on the road to Cambridge, I missed the final show. Never mind, I was part of it. And proud.

[Shamutu07]

I was there the day the SR-71 left. We'd been pulled from several bases throughout the 3rd Air Force because of the peace women incident. The painted slogans all over the KC-13Q (Dedicated tanker) then ran across the ramp and threw paint on the SR. An MOD cop was there with his dog and let it off the leash. A peace woman screamed and the dog sat down. The next day we got sent to GC and were at the front gate for orientation at the SP building when she took off, circled, and gave them a show.

[jovanystevepritchard]

What an amazing piece of craft

[frogfister]

after the greenham common women broke into the base a few days before, and daubed paint onto the sr71, the pilot decided to surprise them on his departure from the base by overflying them at 250ft, then pitched up sharply directly above their tents in full afterburn..."sounding the trumpets of freedom"!!! Would love to have seen that!

[bcthomas2h90]

@frogfister Actually, it was somewhat lower than 250 feet.

[frogfister]

@bcthomas2h90 even better! i'm guessing you were the pilot who carried out this sword waving mission-how low were you really, and did you get any idea or feedback on how the wimmin(sorry, women!) reacted?

[Thunderchief35]

@frogfister How did the women react??? I bet they loved it!!!!

[bcthomas2h90]

@frogfister I have included a description of the SR-71 departure from RAF Greenham Common above, in the overall description of the video. The narrative was too long to be included here as comments are limited.

[CimarronPeacekeeper]

@frogfister Ahhhh the peace camps @ RAF Greenham. I was in School @ Greenham when that happened. They also had many riots when I was there...

[frogfister]

never tire of looking and listening to this incedible machine

[frogfister]

still a stunning aircraft, never tire of looking at it. favourite quote comes from paul crickmores excellent book-beyond the secret missions, and relates to this show, apparently the greenham lesbians managed to break into the base and daub white paint onto the aircraft,luckily not causing any damage to the titanium. afew days later when it departed the base flown by maj jim jiggens(ex thunderbirds display pilot) it flew directly over the peace camp at 250kts and very low, applying sharp back-

[crob647gtx]

what a beautiful marvel of engineering that may never again be replicated

[Oldbmwr100rs]

Am amazing machine designed and built by an incredibly talented group of people. This plane was designed in the early '60's and was designed without the aid of computers or CAD systems, just slide rules!

It's a damn shame that talent like that has really gone, it took such trust in design to commit to making something like this, and I doubt that anything like this will ever be made again.

[eagleray3437]

and an awesome aircraft, even by TOMORROWS standards

[FrostbiteUK]

An awesome aircraft, even by todays standards.

[flegsiboy]

I think i was there actually,as an 8 year old kid.I remember going to at least one of the greenham air shows when i was little.I grew up about 2 miles away.

[Bigcityshining]

Greenham Common.... a name synonmous in Britain with "Nuclear Armageddon", "Hippies" and "CND"..... to think that after the passing of time all the crazy little old ladies with "Ban the bomb" written in felt tip pen on placards sat in tents knitting and drinking tea outside eventually got the last word!!! What a beauty of a plane, lucky enough to of seen the one at Duxford! Nice video, thanks for posting!

[lab0875]

the world watched greenham on tv and saw its power. There is nothing left now and its very sad. From the 101st to cruse. we remember you..

[dagreeno]

Oh my God, I had this whole show on tape from when it was broadcast! By the way, I think the commentator is actually Sean Maffett, though I could be wrong o course

[dvdsamples]

If this was a car it would be a classic. Lovely plane despite its age. Still never saw a video with the drone attached to the sr-71.

Yeah it would be nice if the aurora was a real project.

[cookie852]

there is a replacement for the sr-71 but The US have in as highly classified. Residents have sighted the next generation jet called the (auroura project) The US deny to posess it though.

[DukeStarbuckle]

Amazing that the SR-71 is 1950's technology. Can you imagine what we have now that's not been announced?

[sonnysinghjatt]

THEY GO 2,500 MPH

[joe2112161]

they go speed: mach 3+ and alt: 80,000+ the actual speed and altitude is classified, though by design, the plane should go as fast the pilot could stand before passing out, and fuel is always a limfac

[giantscale]

The plane was limited to a maximum Compressor Inlet Temperature of 427 degrees C - however fast you could go so long as you didn't exceed 427. However the manual states maximum tactical speed was Mach 3.3 on authorisation from your commander.

[rocker1982]

Brilliant! Nice to see English coverage of stuff like this.

[vulcanfanman]

I was there when it arrived on the Friday accompanied by a Hawk chase plane. Did a first pass then lit the burners... argh, the power and the noise.

[t0mt0mt0m3]

Ha ha "No it's not something from Return of the Jedi"!

[Aviationbuff]

Great!! The audio is a little too low.

[funtimesteve2]

you dont get many as beautiful as that these days