More SR-71 trivia

[Jay Honeck]

One of the best parts of owning an aviation theme hotel is getting to
meet folks who worked in the aerospace industry during the heyday of
American military aircraft development.

Today we met a fellow who worked for Pratt & Whitney on the SR-71
Blackbird's engines. He's here for a wedding, and is mad as hell at
his brother for reserving the "Blackbird Suite" ahead of him!

This morning he was talking about how difficult it was to get oil pumps
to work on those huge engines, given the incredible range of
temperatures and pressures they had to endure. In the end they had to
dilute the oil before every flight (Marvel Mystery Oil? :-) so that it
would flow at the (relatively) cold temperatures at start-up.

Later, in flight, the dilutents would boil off, leaving only "pure"
(and very viscous) oil. Thus, not only would they have to re-fuel the
Blackbird before each flight, but they would have to change the oil,
too.

The secrecy involved with the program was truly amazing. When this
gentlemen traveled to California to work with Lockheed, he would always
travel as a representative of the "American Can Company" -- NEVER Pratt
& Whitney -- and would always stay at hotels far from Lockheed's
plants. And they NEVER went in the front door at Lockheed, but would
always be secreted around to a concealed entrance.

Even his BOSS at P&W didn't know where he was going, or what he was
doing. Everything was strictly on a "need to know" basis -- and they
were all absolutely stunned when President Lyndon Johnson announced the
existence of the program on TV (and butchered the name of the RS-71 to
"SR-71").

It's amazing to me how many of these guys I've met since we opened.
They're all gray headed and stoop-shouldered now, but once they were
young bucks doing unheard of things with little more than slide rules
and imagination.

Well, and almost unlimited funding!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Michelle P]

Jay,
Fuel is frequently used to dilute oil prior to flight in cold climates.
There is actually a diluter system installed on some older Cessna's. It
will evaporate as the engine heats up.
Michelle

Jay Honeck wrote:

>One of the best parts of owning an aviation theme hotel is getting to
>meet folks who worked in the aerospace industry during the heyday of
>American military aircraft development.
>
>Today we met a fellow who worked for Pratt & Whitney on the SR-71
>Blackbird's engines. He's here for a wedding, and is mad as hell at
>his brother for reserving the "Blackbird Suite" ahead of him!
>
>This morning he was talking about how difficult it was to get oil pumps
>to work on those huge engines, given the incredible range of
>temperatures and pressures they had to endure. In the end they had to
>dilute the oil before every flight (Marvel Mystery Oil? :-) so that it
>would flow at the (relatively) cold temperatures at start-up.
>
>Later, in flight, the dilutents would boil off, leaving only "pure"
>(and very viscous) oil. Thus, not only would they have to re-fuel the
>Blackbird before each flight, but they would have to change the oil,
>too.
>
>
>

[Don Hammer]

>Jay,
>Fuel is frequently used to dilute oil prior to flight in cold climates.
>There is actually a diluter system installed on some older Cessna's. It
>will evaporate as the engine heats up.
>Michelle
>

Most all the old round engines had dilution systems that you would
activate for a bit if it was going to be really cold and you couldn't
preheat them. It thinned the oil with gas that boiled out when it got
hot. You didn't want to do that much because of the amount of lead it
left in the oil.

Check out http://www.enginehistory.org/p&w_j58.htm for a bit of info
on the J-58 used on the SR.

[Jim Burns]

> They're all gray headed and stoop-shouldered now, but once they were
> young bucks doing unheard of things with little more than slide rules
> and imagination.
>
> Well, and almost unlimited funding!

Now, can't you just hear your kids telling stories like that to their kids
about their old gray headed and stooped shouldered parents and what they did
way back then with this little old hotel on the outskirts of the Iowa City
Airport???

I particularly like the part about the unlimited funding!! Now we really
know the truth!!!

Jim

[Capt.Doug]

>"Michelle P" wrote in message
> Fuel is frequently used to dilute oil prior to flight in cold climates.
> There is actually a diluter system installed on some older Cessna's. It
> will evaporate as the engine heats up.

Study question- what solvent would you use to dilute turbine oil in a
similar manner?

D.