MovieChat Forums > D.A.R.Y.L. (1985) Discussion > The SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird

posted 18 years ago by Jim_Hopper
13 replies | jump to latest

Since I was a kid I loved this movie for its heart and its sci-fi elements, but when D.A.R.Y.L. stepped into the top-secret highly classified SR-71 Blackbird to take a trip back home, it took it to another level for me. This plane is probably my favorite of all time. The thing is just pure badass. Highest altitude record, fastest speed record over a closed course, fastest speed record from point to point, shortest flight time from New York to Los Angeles, shortest trans-Atlantic flight time, and the list goes on and on.

They were smart to put the plane in the movie... it gave another reason to watch, plus some rare footage of this awesome plane.

We're gonna need some more FBI guys I guess

[–] ncrawford82 18 years ago

Well, then if you're such a fan of the plane, you'll find this tidbit of info interesting:

In real life when the SR-71 blackbird takes off it needs a second plane to refuel it in mid-air, since it burns off all of it's fuel on the take off.

[–] octopusmagnificens 18 years ago

That's untrue.

[–] ncrawford82 18 years ago

# Factual errors: Since the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird has no sealants for the fuel tanks JP7 fuel leaks from the tanks. Thus the plane takes off nearly on empty tanks and needs to refuel five minutes into flight. Otherwise it will run out of fuel.

[–] bkc6696 18 years ago

is there a reason for leaking fuel tanks?

[–] kingfuchi 17 years ago

If I remember correctly, the metal expands in flight because of the heat created by the high speed.

So they had to build the plane so that the parts didn't quite fit on ground, but corrected themselves in mid-air.

The SR-71 would actually change from black to white color in air because of the incredible heat.

[–] krasnegar 15 years ago

Yeah - the skin expands so much from heat at the kind of speeds it flies that, if the fuselage and wings were sealed tight, with no expansion joints, the skin would buckle. Thus it has a small internal tank on which it takes off, and then makes som ehigh speed sprints to heat the skin and then fills from a tanker.

It's a surveillance/reconnaisance aircraft, not an instant response fighter/interceptor (though in the early stages of development an interceptor version was suggested), and so doesn't have to be ready to scramble on a moment's notice.

[–] olisa-cassie 17 years ago

My Dad was the production designer on this film (Alan Cassie).This was the best plane to use by far!.Simon Wincer (director) told Alan to find a plane that had the most sinister look to it.
One evening in the early production stages (3 months to shooting) dad asked me if i had any plane books,at that time i was collecting warplane magazines.I found several aircraft U2 spyplane,f104 starfighter,and the blackbird.
Giving this to my dad he asked what i thought,i said the U2 at first which had the same service celling 85000ft+,but not the speed.
I mentioned the blackbird and he was more interested with the shape and design,explaining that only reported speeds and service celling were verified approximatley Mach 3.2 and 90,000ft+.Still to this day it's not concrete,from the U.S.A.F but i'm sure it flew faster and higher than they want to tell us!!
Full scale front of plane/cockpit was made and shot on Stage "J" at pinewood studios.But all footage of the plane in the hanger taxing and takeoff only shot by U.S.A.F crew,no film crew from production were allowed to do this as the blackbird was still in active service!.Cockpit footage with Barrett Oliver was made up (as above) no photography of actual cockpit allowed.But i think it looked pretty good!.
To end on i just wish the advertising budget was bigger as i'm sure it would of been a smash hit in cinemas in 1985,let alone cult hit on video and now dvd...

[–] krasnegar 15 years ago

The most sinister aircraft *ever* has to be the RAF's Vulcan bomber (featured in "Thunderball"). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_vulcan - some good pictures) Like a huge flying manta ray...

[–] adarkerlight 13 years ago

No joke, the SR-71 took this movie to another level for sure. That plane should be every little boy's dream plane. Pretty incredible to think that after two decades, our planes these days aren't any cooler. More like "unmanned".

You should read the book "Sled Driver". One of the Blackbird's pilots was an amateur photographer, and he would take pictures in the seconds he had free (they're actually busy up there!) and his description of a cockpit being lit up only by starlight after he turned off all the electronic lights... What a dream.

People above were talking about the fuel. Iirc, isn't the fuel of the blackbird thick as peanut butter because once the plane heats up, it liquifies the fuel? I can't remember if that's apocryphal or what, and I"m too lazy to look it up.

Godverdomme! Wij zullen varen, al betekent het mijn dood!

[–] Acceler8 13 years ago

Wasn't it until a fairly short time before this movie was made that the SR-71 was classified, to the point where they didn't even want pictures taken of it?

[–] Hendry_William_French 13 years ago

I agree. It was the highlight for me as well. The SR-71 was like a spaceship.

Now get up here and piss in the radiator

[–] virgiltx 10 years ago

The Blackbird was also used in Armageddon (1998) and Cloak & Dagger (1984), in which it is labelled "Invisible Bomber". However, although it may have had some early stealth characteristics, it was not a bomber. C&D also presented it as a secret plane, which, at that time, it was not.

Clearly, artistic license was used in C&D, and I think that in D.A.R.Y.L. it should simply be regarded as a mysterious plane that only exists in the movie's universe. So all "errors" or "goofs" should be regarded as artistic license, and not mistakes.

____________________
The story is king.

[–] longbond 9 years ago

What's most amazing, and sad, is that the SR-71 and its A-12 variants were flying in 1962, nearly half-way back to Kitty Hawk in 1903. THOSE were the tech-savvy guys.