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SR71 Cockpits

 
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3rdRcn
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Joined: 13 Feb 2005
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:11 am    Post subject: SR71 Cockpits

For those of us that think this stuff is cool.

I've seen one take off and that was pretty spectacular but I've never seen a video of the cockpits with explanations of the gauges. This is done by one of only 86 operational pilots of this amazing aircraft that is still one of the best of it's kind so many years after it's introduction and retirement.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=674_1391299493

If anybody has any other cool ones on any type of military aircraft please post em up so we can all enjoy them.
Super Wabbit
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Joined: 18 Apr 2004
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Location: Raleigh, NC

PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:40 am    Post subject:

Man, I really geeked out on this one. Thanks for the link!
3rdRcn
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 12:06 pm    Post subject:

Super Wabbit wrote:
Man, I really geeked out on this one. Thanks for the link!


I did the same thing! I was thinking how wabbit would love this as I was watching it. Happy
Kapak
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Joined: 05 Jul 2004
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:28 pm    Post subject:

Almost as many controls as there are in my car.
Still cool though Very Happy
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Super Wabbit
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:29 pm    Post subject:

Kapak wrote:
Almost as many controls as there are in my car.
Still cool though Very Happy


What the hell kinda car are you driving?
Kapak
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:53 pm    Post subject:

Super Wabbit wrote:
Kapak wrote:
Almost as many controls as there are in my car.
Still cool though Very Happy


What the hell kinda car are you driving?







On a more serious note, I normally don't completely watch 15+ min. videos, but I completely dig that one. The stuff about cg balancing of fuel, throttle controls and pvd were pretty interesting.

The guy was also pretty good explaining all the stuff.

Thanks for the find!
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Dynamite Dan
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Joined: 19 Jun 2004
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Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, UK

PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:59 pm    Post subject:

Nice Video, I was sat in a Eurofighter Cockpit last Tuesday (got called to look at a fitting problem with an Air conditioning duct) that was kinda cool, I would have got some photos but as you can imagine, Cameras are kinda forbidden!
Super Wabbit
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:15 am    Post subject:

There is a great book calls Flying the SR-71: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission by Col Richard H. Graham, USAF (ret.) that gets very, very, very in-depth on how to fly the Blackbird. The author is the pilot in the video 3rd linked. It is damn near a step-by-step instruction guide from pre-flight, to start-up, to taxi, to take-off, to climb, to refuel, to climb, to Mach 3+, to decent, to landing, to post-flight. It really does explain it all.

If you like Tom Clancy books for the technical writing, you'll like this one.
ProfessorZ
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Joined: 21 Apr 2004
Posts: 1488
Location: Arab, AL

PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 1:59 pm    Post subject:

Here are two cockpits that I worked on during my time at Garmin. Specifically the widescreen displays and touchscreen controller (a first for this segment of aviation).

HondaJet
(Scroll down to the "Advanced Cockpit" section)

and

Cessna TTx

So of course its no SR-71 but still pretty high-tech compared to the old style of cockpits:

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Super Wabbit
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:09 pm    Post subject:

It is interesting to me that auto manufacturers have been so slow on developing the car equivalent of these aircraft displays given that cars have routinely been marketed as having been inspired by jets (I'm looking at you Saab).

Since we're now looking at pictures of cockpits, take a look at the Shuttle: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/STSCPanel.jpg
Kapak
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 8:05 pm    Post subject:

That's cool Z, I didn't know they were there now with large displays and touchscreen. How do pilot feel about these compared to the everyday reliability of the other electronic stuff?

As for the shuttle cockpit, I saw that once and I believe I looked at that picture for at least an hour trying to figure out most of the stuff and looking it up on the web.

Here are two links with pictures of Endeavour's flight and middeck:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/120307opf/index2.html
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/120307opf/index3.html
Most up to date pictures with systems powered up in Endeavour:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/poweron/

I remember seeing a much better quality picture of the cockpit interior that you could read pretty much anything inside, but can't find it.
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3rdRcn
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 7:17 am    Post subject:

My brain would splode if I had to remember what all that stuff is for in the shuttle. Shocked
Super Wabbit
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Joined: 18 Apr 2004
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Location: Raleigh, NC

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:48 am    Post subject:

3rdRcn wrote:
My brain would splode if I had to remember what all that stuff is for in the shuttle. Shocked


It ain't that hard. I went to Space Academy, they have a procedure book that contains everything you need to know! Though you do need to make sure that you are looking at the correct panel...
ProfessorZ
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Location: Arab, AL

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 11:22 am    Post subject:

Kapak wrote:
That's cool Z, I didn't know they were there now with large displays and touchscreen. How do pilot feel about these compared to the everyday reliability of the other electronic stuff?


Well they can have good confidence thanks to the amount of certification/testing that goes into developing the units. I spent many, many years making sure the displays worked under all situations: vibration, temp, sudden decompression, flying by a strong radio signal, etc

One of our biggest hurdles was what sort of touchscreen technology to use. Resistive (pressure sensitive) fails under rapid altitude changes. Capacitive (like iPhone) doesn't work with some gloves and doesn't like strong electromagnetic fields, resulting on internal arcing. Infra-red beams across the surface work pretty well but you have to be concerned with sunlight overpower sensors and with stuff like spilled drinks or smoke.

So yeah, there is a reason the gear is so expensive - lots and lots of testing. And the bigger the plane (or more passengers) the tougher the requirements to pass. And the more common it is to have double, triple or quadruple redundant systems in place.
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Dynamite Dan
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 11:50 am    Post subject:

I think most cockpits follow the same logic rules for instrument layouts. They look very complex but once you break them down into their component parts they are not that bad. Even with the shuttle picture Kapak posted, you can still make out the sections (PFD, HSI(Or Navball), Engine controls, enviroment controlls, fuel etc etc)

This is more comon in the Civil market where cross aircraft certification comes into place.
Super Wabbit
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Location: Raleigh, NC

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 12:20 pm    Post subject:

Concord cockpit:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/ConcordeCockpitSinsheim.jpg
Kapak
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Location: Quebec, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 5:30 pm    Post subject:

To me, it's the engineering controls that are the most confusing. There is just so much stuff to look at! For the pilots, like Dan and Wabbit said, everything is regrouped in different section which is common in almost all aircraft.

On a more geeky note, I do very much like the efficiency and simplicity of the LCARS interface shown in Star Trek TNG.
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