Major Brian Shul relays the true story of a ground speed check with Los Angeles Center, while piloting the SR-71 Blackbird over Southern California. Hiller Aviation Museum San Carlos Airport San Carlos, CA 30. December 2016
I worked with a ex SR pilot,he told me a story where a controller asked what his altitude was. His reply was " Don't worry there's nobody up where we are".
I heard about an SR pilot who requested an altitude clearance of 50 thousand feet. The control center replied, "If you can reach it, go for it." To which the SR pilot replied, "OK, descending to 50 thousand feet"
I heard another great story similar to that. A pilot was requesting permission for an altitude of 50,000. Air control said if you can make it then you got it. Pilot responds with descending to 50,000 feet.
@@navnig I'd much rather get older and have all of these wonderful toys to play with, why grow up when you don't have to. Besides, women will always say they grow up before men, so let them think that they do.
Heard the story decades ago when 41000 ft was a stretch for Learjets. A pilot came on center frequency and asked for flight level 600 (60,000 ft). The controller thought it was an airline pilot messing with him and said "Hey if you can get there, you can have it." Then the pilot said "Roger decending to 600." Total silence. Then everybody realized it was an SR71.
Perfect storytelling. One of my other favourites which I don't think is real: Allegedly the German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are renowned as a short-tempered lot. They, it is alleged, not only expect one to know one’s gate parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747, call sign Speedbird 206. Speedbird 206: “Frankfurt, Speedbird 206 clear of active runway.” Ground: “Speedbird 206. Taxi to gate Alpha One-Seven.” The BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a stop. Ground: “Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?” Speedbird 206: “Stand by, Ground, I’m looking up our gate location now.” Ground (with quite arrogant impatience): “Speedbird 206, have you not been to Frankfurt before?” Speedbird 206 (coolly): “Yes, twice in 1944, but it was dark,… and I didn’t land.”
Yeah, there's a really similar joke about an impatient French customs agent chastising an old man fumbling to find his passport. She's getting tired of waiting and she asks him if he had ever been to France before. The old man says "yes" and she sarcastically says that he should know to have his passport ready, to which he says he didn't have to show it last time. She flips out and says that it was impossible, people have always had to show their passport when arriving in France. The old man looks up at her and says that when he landed on Omaha Beach in 1944, he couldn't find any Frenchmen around to give it to
That generation’s humor was something else man. I’ve got another one: RAF Pilot and Flying Ace Sir Douglas Bader was giving a speech on his experience in a dogfight to a very prestigious all girls school. Sir Bader says, “So, there were two of the f***ers behind me, three f***ers to my right, another f***er on the left-“ before he’s cut off by the headmistress who is noticeably paler than a second ago. She says, “Ladies the Fokker was a German aircraft.” Now a more gentlemanly pilot could have recognized his crass language and corrected it, finished his speech, and gone about his life with nothing really changed by it, but not this madlad. The RAF pilot corrects the headmistress, replying, “That may be madam, but these f***ers were in Messerschmitts.”
Happy to send his children to die for 79 yrs for propaganda lies usa Todate still trying used 70 bbrain dead puppets North Korea still undefeated Ukraine to hard a basket west turns a a blind eye in Gaza to appease thier Israeli puppet
Love telling thier kids how they destroyed the Germans Vietnamese North north Koreans Afghanistan Iraq will not help Zelensky pissing in his ear tells him it’s rainin the last brain dead puppet 60th Guaido White House trashed;30 % of usa Infrastructure collapsing but the bird is in the propaganda museum
I was in Seattle when Brian told that story. The entire group loved it. I also loved that he invited all the kids to sit on the floor in front of him and then asked if they had any question.s. I saw my daughters hand go up and Brian called on her. As a dad I panicked what was she going to ask, because the SR 71 is her favorate plane. She asked what the pointy thing on the front if the engine did? Brian then went into a several minute technical explanation of what it did and how. At the end realizing what he had done he looked at my daughter and said " I apologize sweetheart you probably didn't understand any of that." Her answer was " it moves back and forth and makes the engine think it's going slower." The look in his face was priceless, as he did a drop Mike holding on to the cord and the place went wild.
@@sean_connors She actually has a degree in Music/Art and Digital Imaging and Design. She still sings in the Alumni/community choir at her university and has received a invitation to a large Choir festival at Carnegie Hall in the spring from her choir director who will be conducting the festival.
Well, there MIGHT be! I once met Ben Rich of Lockheed, just after the Blackbird was grounded - only saw him for a few minutes, he was a VERY busy man, and he was in our Lockheed facility, moving at the speed of light. But I said, "It's a shame about the Blackbird." He stopped, froze, turned around, stuck his face into mine, and whispered, "Don't Worry About It!." That's all he said - never broke security. LORDY, I'd love to know what's up there today!! -- Old Man Bob
Max Hodges I don't think so. I'm no radio expert but most of it is line of sight and line of sight from 60,000 feet is pretty far. I think they are also out of controlled airspace that high so they are communicating to keep each other apprised of their intent and status and the controllers may not be as concerned with covering their normal sectors. I have no reason to doubt what he's saying.
Absolutely. ATC radar only strings together transponder replies and estimates location from antenna pointing angle and time delay, and altitude code. The time between looks is about 12 seconds, and the angular resolution is only 1.4 degrees, or 360/256. Range to the target can be well over 100 nautical miles. At that range the uncertainty in velocity can be well over 100 kt. The SR-71 undoubtedly had state of the art inertial navigation (like the F-18). They knew their velocity to within a couple of kt.
Hiller just reported that Brian passed away recently. A real treasure, amazing to see & hear his stories, great storyteller and aviator. RIP and Godspeed, Aspen 3-0...
My dad developed film from the SR-71. He was stationed at Beale AFB and also served at Kadena in Okinawa. He served 20 years in the USAF and retired in 1970. I remember one time when dad parked our car near the end of the runway as a Blackbird flew over. Holy cow, whatta plane! Dad passed away a couple years ago. God bless dad, Lockheed and the USAF.
I have seen pictures taken by cameras mounted in an SR 71, flying over North Vietnam, during the Vietnam war, flying at an altitude of 80,000 feet. You could tell if the North Vietnamese soldiers were wearing sandals or boots, the pictures were so good!
I never tire of hearing this story. I was stationed in Okinawa from mid-'67 to spring '68. Was assigned to an ammo platoon at a small USMC camp called Camp Hague. We were about 3 miles off the end of the runway at Kadena AFB and were able to watch the B-52's and KC-135's take off in succession from the main runway on their way to 'Nam. They were just a couple hundred feet from the ground when they flew overhead, and the 52's made one hell of a racket. So did the 135's and of course the F-4's as well. But one day, I heard and saw this phenomenal black plane in the air with two engines that roared louder than anything I'd ever heard. It was the Blackbird, and I just couldn't believe it hadn't flown through a time warp from the future. It looked so much different and futuristic than any plane I've ever seen before, or since. Just plain beauty and power in the air. Gotta give it to Kelly Johnson and everyone at the Skunk Works... they made one hellova plane and it served our country well. Hats off to Brian Shul and all the other brave men that flew the Blackbird. Semper Fi.
Fun fact, the SR-71 gained its nickname 'Habu' at Kadena AFB because the Japanese locals thought the aircraft looked like an indigenous snake that they called Habu.
@@vgt Feel silly now, because I was stationed in Okinawa for 2 years, and I always thought habu meant either jungle or woods. Every time we'd go on a PT run, or walk one of the little trails from the barracks to the motor pool that went through brush and trees, people would say "be careful of the habu" or something like that. I thought it was like saying "be careful in the bush" nobody ever told me they were saying look out for snakes.
@@johns9652 haha, yeah, habu is a type of extremely venomous pit viper. count yourself lucky that you never had to find out the hard way what a habu is!
Met him.once in Beale AFB Base Ops. I was but a lowly KC-135 copilot but I saw him standing across the room with a HABU patch on his sleeve and visible burn scars. I walked over and asked if he flew the SR and he said yes. I was stunned to be in the presence of aviation royalty. I can't remember any questions I asked or what his answers were but I remember that he had not an ounce of arrogance about him while talking with an obviously junior pilot. RIP Sir!
Major Shul was a legend even before he started flying the SR-71. He is a Vietnam War vet with over 200 missions. He was shot down near the Cambodian border and could not eject so he had to crash land his jet; severely burned and injured was rescued by Special Forces. Looking at him now, you would never have guessed he had to undergo 15 surgeries for the burns and injuries he suffered.
@@magneticpine Haha absolutely. That guy was probably some late middle aged dad finally able to have the money to pursue a long held childhood dream of flying, got his own little plane to tool around in, still learning how to navigate, and innocently calls in for a speed check that becomes an epic oneupmanship.
My cousin in the Air Force told me that he was in his B-52 and heard "Aspen 22" (or whatever the callsign was) request clearance to 60,000 ft. ATC told him, "Buddy, if you can get up that high you can have it." Aspen 22 replied "Roger, *descending* to flight level six zero zero."
As a young weather specialist assigned to the US Air Force Global Weather Central, back in the mid '70's, I hand plotted every PIREP (Pilot Report) and AIREP (Air Report), and RECCO (Recon Report) on a massive chart covering the northern hemisphere. All of these came in on a teletype, in a very specific format, leading with latitude and longitude. I received one, spun the map around, and realized the lat/lon was unusual. Like over central Soviet Union unusual. I was in the non-classified part of the weather center, and I IMMEDIATELY shut down my machine, and notified my boss. I had to undergo a formal debriefing for having seen highly classified information. Best part was type aircraft "UNKN" and flight level... FL850...or eighty five thousand feet. Good times!
The ex-pilots and any interview or documentary always say "I want to make it clear that the SR-71 never overflew the Soviet Union...." I am direct quoting and not paraphrasing that. It was just post-Gary Powers times and I suppose that was the company line. The thing could get so high it probably didn't NEED to penetrate Soviet airspace for photographic intelligence. Signals intelligence they might have needed to get closer I guess? I know they always say it's ceiling is 80,000 as well when people have slipped up and said a specific figure that was 2-10K/ft higher. Lol, bet you never thought reading the weather report would accidentally get you involved in a Top Secret (probably SCI?) intelligence snafu!? That's the LAST place I would think that would be an issue but no that I think about it, from WW1 onward you had to know the weather....
@@BigDaddy-yp4mi You forget that the CIA had a 1 seater SR-71 Predecessor that was reported to fly higher and faster (the SR-71 was heavier by adding a 2nd seat and increasing the size). While the US Airforce has always maintained that the SR-71 never overflew the Soviet Union; I've never heard a similar statement about the CIA's predecessor. I personally believe that the CIA did overfly the Soviet Union with that predecessor to the SR-71.
@@BigDaddy-yp4mi Take it with a grain of salt, but I've heard of an SR-71 getting caught in a high-altitude photography setup once - perfectly in focus when the equipment was set to ~210,000 ft as a focal length. Sadly, never been able to find any concrete evidence of this though....
I heard a pilot telling this story up here in NW Washington. Another pilot spoke up, claiming he was the Cessna pilot. According to him, he was above the cloud cover and wanted to verify his position. He rolled his eyes when the twin Beech tried to show him up, smiled with satisfaction when the Navy boy chimed in, putting "Twin Beech" in his place, and couldn't help laughing when the SR-71 spoke up.
I could listen to this guy for hours. His whole story is nothing less than inspirational. He was shot down in Vietnam, rescued, almost died and coincidentally his doctors found that he could only drink fruit punch (or something similar my memory fails me). He persevered, and became a SR-71 test pilot. This story is truly deeper than the comedy of the LA Speed Check story, which is in itself hilarious. He is an inspiration to me.
I have only ever heard one SR-71 Pilot ever tell the truth about the top speed, to summarize he said "There is two top speeds, the public top speed and then the declassified top speed, and both are way slower than what we were capable of."
This guy is so smooth and polished and his timing is like a standup comedian. I'm a low time non-IFR private pilot and I sweat everytime I have to use the mic. On the other hand one of my closest friends is a former AV8 Harrier pilot and I would've liked to hear his readout, "0 knots across the ground."
Well not completely over it. You can easily see the curvature from 40,000 - 42,000 feet(nearly 8 miles up), the cruising altitude of most trans-continental commercial flights.
So, would that altitude account for the difference between the indicated speeds? If you're going 1942 knots on the ground, once you account for the curvature, how much distance are you adding at 89Kft?
I used to work at the museum during my college days and I had the honor and opportunity to talk to Brian during my breaks. He's such a humble person and thanks him and all of the talented aviators I met there I'm an aeronautical engineer and a pilot today! I definitely miss those days!
Brian was the pilot that took me on my ride in a AT28D at Udorn Thailand 1973. I almost cried the day I got the news that he crashed. he was a very cordial man and even presented me with some photos of me, my trainee, and the parking ramp from altitude. I'm very proud to have served with this man. God bless you Brian. Sgt Lynn M. Cole USAF 1971-1975
Among other things, I have been an Air Force officer, a judge, a law professor, and a karate instructor. I have used this video in many different capacities to make the point that one should never overestimate himself. There's always someone better. This is probably one of my favorite videos on the internet.
RIP Brian. You were always a gentleman and a wonderful historian of the Habu... from one of those Navy Pilots who must die. I still cherish every meeting and every book. God's Speed Major Shul!
The Blackbird is and always will be, the most beautiful bird I've ever seen. Respect and appreciation to all those fly those birds and all those who keep them safe and in the air!!
Nia the Gulf Gypsy - I actually think the *A-12* is prettier (the _”racecar”_ CIA model) but that’s just me. There’s a great video of *Frank Murray* giving a talk about the *A-12* here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MGdxpqqsHl8.html
The Blackbird was done flying many years ago and will never fly again. But yeah, it was an incredible accomplishment to design, build, fly and maintain them.
I was a Crew Chief on an F-4G Wild Weasle, and I love this story and have watched it at least 20 times in the last month! Wish I could have rode in this remarkable plane!!!
I love this story so much, I must have played it well over a dozen times. Absolute classic, and Brian tells is SO well. Thank you Brian for sharing this FUN bit of the history of the SR-71 - the most beautiful bird ever to reach for the heavens.
I was working at Mather AFB in the late 80s and planes from different bases would do touch and goes. I was watching the line of them come in and I saw in the distance a line with 2 big circles on it. SR 71 did a touch then punched it and disappeared. What a beautiful plane. I'll never forget how flat the fuselage looked coming in and how big those engines are.
This is by far my favorite story ever. I must have listened to it so many times, but I still laugh at it every time. When you watch his full speech, you finally understand what he ment by "12 years old". Awesome story!
Brian, RIP Brave Warrior. Slow salute rendered. You were a valuable asset to the USAF and even more to this country--the USA. Thank you for everything you did to serve your country and to motivate other people to excel in their lives. I will continue to think of you often. I hope I get to meet you in Paradise when the time comes.
I heard the story ended with an additional transmission from the tower stating that the planes equipment was probably more accurate then the towers would be Lol
Thanks for sharing this clip. I never tire of listening to Maj. Suhl's narrative of 'speed check'. I am so sorry to hear of his passing. Prayers going out to his family🙏🙏🙏. May his trip to Heaven be at least as fast as his quickest leg in the SR71...
This is just like when someone from the ISS called in to Car Talk. "This is John from Houston. I drive a government vehicle, and twice, it's done this weird thing. It starts shaking for about 2 minutes, then runs smooth for about 6 1/2 minutes, and at that point, engine dies." (later) "Where are you calling from?" "I'm, uh, about 200 miles north of Hawaii." "How fast are you going?" "Oh, about 17,500 mph!"
No Humor in boot camp? Hell I had one of my RDC's laughing his ass off. He had this don't look me in the face rule. OK fine. One day he was about 3 inches from my face yelling at me and his last comments were "why are you looking at me! I told you never to look at me?" My reply was "Petty Officer, you are standing 3 inches from me, I have no choice but to look at you!" The compartment was dead quiet at that point and the RDC then started busting up laughing. He forgot what he was yelling at me for at that point. Something about cleaning the floors one more time before we got on the buses to join the fleet.
Major Brian Shul, you tell one hell of a good story, my friend. Remembering the incident that made you crew mates is, I believe, something you would never forget. Thanks for your service, Major, from a Canadian that grew up in the air force, my second family.
There were a lot of things we couldn't do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane. Intense, maybe, even cerebral. But there was one day in our Sled experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be the fastest guys out there, at least for a moment. It occurred when Walt and I were flying our final training sortie. We needed 100 hours in the jet to complete our training and attain Mission Ready status. Somewhere over Colorado we had passed the century mark. We had made the turn in Arizona and the jet was performing flawlessly. My gauges were wired in the front seat and we were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves, not only because we would soon be flying real missions but because we had gained a great deal of confidence in the plane in the past ten months. Ripping across the barren deserts 80,000 feet below us, I could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet. I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Walter in the back seat. There he was, with no really good view of the incredible sights before us and tasked with monitoring four different radios. This was good practice for him for when we began flying real missions and when a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital. It had been difficult, too, for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my entire flying career I had controlled my own transmissions. But it was part of the division of duties in this plane and I had adjusted to it. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however. Walt was so good at many things, but he couldn't match my expertise at sounding smooth on the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with years in fighter squadrons where the slightest radio miscue was grounds for beheading. He understood that and allowed me that luxury. Just to get a sense of what Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit briefly), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally would not talk to them unless we needed to descend into their airspace. We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot who asked Center for a read-out of his ground speed. Center replied: "November Charlie 175, I'm showing you at ninety knots on the ground." Now the thing to understand about Center controllers was that whether they were talking to a rookie pilot in a Cessna, or to Air Force One, they always spoke in the exact same, calm, deep, professional tone that made one feel important. I referred to it as the "Houston Center voice." I have always felt that after years of seeing documentaries on this country's space program and listening to the calm and distinct voice of the Houston controllers, that all other controllers since then wanted to sound like that and that they basically did. And it didn't matter what sector of the country we would be flying in, it always seemed like the same guy was talking. Over the years that tone of voice had become somewhat of a comforting sound to pilots everywhere. Conversely, over the years, pilots always wanted to ensure that, when transmitting, they sounded like Chuck Yeager, or at least like John Wayne. Better to die than sound bad on the radios. Just moments after the Cessna's inquiry, a Twin Beech piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed in the Beech. "I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed." Boy, I thought, the Beechcraft really must think he is dazzling his Cessna brethren. Then out of the blue, a navy F-18 pilot out of NAS Lemoore came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Navy jock because he sounded very cool on the radios. "Center, Dusty 52 ground speed check." Before Center could reply, I'm thinking to myself, hey, Dusty 52 has a ground speed indicator in that million-dollar cockpit, so why is he asking Center for a read-out? Then I got it, ol' Dusty here is making sure that every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows what true speed is. He's the fastest dude in the valley today, and he just wants everyone to know how much fun he is having in his new Hornet. And the reply, always with that same, calm, voice, with more distinct alliteration than emotion: "Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground." And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done in mere seconds we'll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die now. I thought about all of our Sim training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn. Somewhere, 13 miles above Arizona, there was a pilot screaming inside his space helmet. Then, I heard it the click of the mic button from the back seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no emotion, Walter spoke: "Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?" There was no hesitation, and the replay came as if it was an everyday request. "Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground." I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that Walt and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most fighter-pilot-like voice: "Ah, Center, much thanks, we're showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money." For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the Houston Center voice when L.A. came back with, "Roger that Aspen. Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one." It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable sprint across the southwest the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on frequency were forced to bow before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of being a crew. A fine day's work. We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast. For just one day, it truly was fun being the fastest guys out there.
The black bird is indeed an amazing aircraft. Even more amazing is the fact that the aircraft was designed entirely by hand. They did not have computer aided design in the days the aircraft was built. You definitely have to respect the engineers who designed such an amazing machine and had to calculate everything manually.
@@tonkajjz109 how is that a problem? It's called progress and without computer engineering we would never be able to land a rover on Mars or even colonize space in the future.
Well, I am a long time professional pilot and flight instructor, Flying along in a 172 at around 90 knots or so GS is fine with me, best bang for the buck in GA is a Cessna 172 from about 1976 - 1984 time frame. Don't cost an arm and a leg to buy or to fly and its a great airplane to just fly and look at the beauty of our United States. Men like Major Shul defended that freedom so I could do pretty much whatever I wanted to do.
he was the pilot and the guy in the back did the secret stuff.... other funny note from Brain ...if they ever cought us I say the guy in the back is the spy...I am only the driver :D
Sad to pass this on. Brian passed away May 20 2023. May he rest in peace. I'm sure he cleared our air space and is well on his way to Paradise and asking St Peter for a speed ✔️ I personally wish our young people knew more about people like Brian and other like him instead of the people they look up to now.
Rest In Peace sir. What a life you led, great experiences, and I strongly suspect, all driven with a sense of humour. Tip of the hat from the other side of the pond.
Stationed at Edwards AFB back in 73 and the SR71 was out of AF inventory but NASA was flying one or two as research planes. I used to volunteer on graveyard flight line duty just to watch them take off at o500, what a sight!
I once met a crew of an SR-71 at an air show where my father was doing police security in virginia beach, va. They flew from CA with 2 in flight refuels and still made it in 47 mins. Simply incredible...
Uh, no, no they did not. Physically not possible for them to have flown from CA to Va Beach with 2 in flight refuels in that time. Each refuel would have required them to reduce speed to roughly 250 kts max, the refuel time itself would take upwards of 5-10 minutes to approach the tanker, synch speeds, approach, connect, refuel then detach. Lining up for approach to their arriving airport again requires substantial deceleration prior to landing. Additionally, you're looking at roughly 2700 air miles from LA(reference location) to VA Beach - the SR 71 had a top speed of roughly 2200 mph. Sorry bud, the math doesn't work.
@@apveening evidently reading for comprehension isn't a thing with you. Of you are landing or refueling, sure, the math works. However they refueled twice and landed.
I was Navy, but this story is still awesome, I was F-14 maintenance, but if I were a Navy pilot even in the F-14, I would have been in awe of that 1900 knot reading.. lol!
