Back in the 80s I was an intel analyst assigned to an SR 71 unit. When the program got shut down we took these photos.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1607645903.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1607645968.jpg

https://vimeo.com/488394123

The Real American, enjoy.

Random pics: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1607732549.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1607732549.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1607732549.JPG

https://youtu.be/KzwhxcETnG4

https://youtu.be/joeUtY2hBd0

Such a beautiful machine. The only aircraft I'd choose to fly that wasn't a fighter.

Some beautiful aerial footage in this film on Amazon Prime if you like Mirage jets (mostly in French).

Sky Fighters
https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Fighters-Beno%C3%AEt-Magimel/dp/B08GL23QMR/ref=sr_1_17?dchild=1&keywords=fighter&qid=16078943 75&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011&rnid=2470954011&r ps=1&s=instant-video&sr=1-17
Main jet pilot drives a 911.

I did not know that actual video of this existed.

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He had a flame out. The f-104 is a earth bound aircraft, ya needs oxygen to keep the engine lit. Chuck should have jumped on a mercury or gemini if he wanted to be Buck Rogers...
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1609194422.jpg

I found this letter in my dad's paperwork. He was a pilot, and also a ROTC instructor for a few years when we lived in San Marcos, TX

off course he had a flame out, that's the normal way of flying the NF104
you go up on the normal engine
then light the ROCKET to go into a zoom climb
http://www.kalimera.org/nf104/images/maxZoom.jpg
The darn thing had the same kind of attitude control thrusters with hydrogen peroxide that the space capsules of mercury and gemini flights had.

The NF104 was used to train them on how to use reaction controls. Chuck just has too much angle of attack on the way back down and the engines wouldn't spool up to restart and it flipped over backwards anyway so they probably would not have stayed lit.

The Starfighter got squirrelly real fast when pushing the envelope, so going where there's no air and then doing reentry was a sketchy proposition even on a good day.

Belgian Airforce had some crazy pilots in the old days

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Yeup I read the book, and saw the film, and it was very informative.

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Another pretty good film on Amazon Prime.

Trailer in link.

Squadron 303 (2018)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5475734/?ref_=vp_back

I will leave this story here. It is only a couple minutes, but a good read.

https://airfactsjournal.com/2020/12/ride-of-a-lifetime/

Local guy built a replica of The Spirit of St Louis. Took 2.5 years off and on, used pictures to go by. He plans to donate it to Triple Tree Aerodrome, a 400 acre property in Woodruff, SC that hosts aviation events and displays historical aircraft. He's a retired plumber and Coast Guard vet. I admire people with these kind of skills. Thought it was cool and worth posting.--Dave

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1609500844.jpg

Uncle and his students built a replica WW1 morane-saulnier Parasol L
The school had the engine block on the wall since the interbellum, and one moment he figures, let's build the plane around it.

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Technically it could have flow, but it's not certified and it's a plane with no moving control surfaces, the entire wing is changed shape, so it's a bit non conventional..

He also built a full size 24-30 ton WW1 Mark IV tank from scratch later on and went on ESA's vomit comet with students
He's the guy holding the plaque

https://img.static-rmg.be/a/view/q75...7078ee-jpg.jpg

Wing warping.... it worked for the Wright Brothers...