As an aside, the SR-71 that is in the Udvar-Hazy Annex of the National Air & Space Museum in Virginia set the record for quickest cross-country flight. It was flown from California to Virginia, it landed and pulled into the hanger where it now sits.

I was gonna say that POS leaks fuel everywhere when on the ground.

My vote goes to comparing the YF-22 to the twins. Both vehicles take so many lateral G's that the next generation will have to be unmanned as there is no G suit that can allow a human body to withstand those forces.

Please note: this is only true with upgraded tires for the twins.

Probably not anymore, thanks to a certain person in the district of corruption.

and who would that be?

Google it. :)

i thought this was gonna a cheap shot at obama but he wasnt really in a position to retire the blackbird from nasa in 1999 or whenever that happened. i just dont have enough contextual clues to figure out what youre getting at.

It involves NASA, no money = no flying SR-71. Since when does telling a fact qualify as a cheap shot?

BRZ Wins!
 

Color choice:

BRZ: Crystal Black Silica, Dark Gray Metallic, Galaxy Blue Silica, Lightning Red, Satin White Pearl, Sterling Silver Metallic, WR Blue Pearl

SR-71: Black

Winner: BRZ


Mileage:

BRZ: about 30 mpg at 70 mph on a highway

SR-71: about 0.4 mpg at Mach 3.1 at 70,000 feet (not counting the fuel needed get the airplane up to that altitude and speed, or the fuel leaked on the runway while waiting to take off)

Winner: BRZ


Climate control system:

BRZ: Heater and air conditioner that allows shirt-sleeve wear in almost any weather.

SR-71: Self contained pressure suit (like a space suit) that must remain sealed for the duration of the flight.

Winner: BRZ


Availability of fuel:

BRZ: Almost any gas station.

SR-71: At the air force base where it took off or from a custom designed, high-speed airborne refueling tanker.

Winner: BRZ


Cost of fuel:

BRZ: about $4 per gallon

SR-71: about $3 per gallon in 2005, so probably about $4 per gallon now, but the cost must also include the previously mentioned custom airborne refueling tanker and the previously mentioned fuel leaked on the runway before takeoff.

Winner: BRZ

because when the blackbird was retired, we had a fuckton of money. blindly blaming a president for something that happened well over a decade ago based on "facts" is a cheap shot

Exclusivity is priceless, your argument is invalid

Winner: SR-71

He took pretty much all of NASA's money out of their budget a year or two ago. Now we have to rely on private and Russian space programs to even dream about going out there again. I'd blame someone else if they were at fault for it but they aren't he is. My idea of space exploration is something like this.

http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/att..._ncc1701_2.jpg

SR-71 wins hands down in my book.

I'd trade my FR-S just for the opportunity to sit in a SR-71 long enough to spool up the engines and taxi it 6 feet down the runway.

If they let me fly it at Mach 3, I would throw in a couple of children and a body part or two.

If they had given the money the government spent on the space program to date to someone like Burt Rutan in the private industry, you'd probably have that by now.

i get that nasa is a ghost of its former self but it wasnt obama that ended the blackbirds stretch. i spent a lot of time with physicists and dosimetrists involved with nasa over the years and it is fascinating to say the least. it is hard not to cut a relatively vestigial department in response to such a large economic issue that was going to happen regardless of who was at the helm