Contrails and their formation

[Orange Anchor]

Oh.. one other. The machine in Birmingham at the Southern Museum of Flight is also an A-12, not an SR.
And Alabama also has another A-12 at its museum in Mobile.

Here in Georgia, we have an SR at Robins AFB along with an odd duck, the C-130 modified for "Credible Sport". Three airplanes were modified with rockets for amazing stopping power and amazing takeoff performance. The airplane was to takeoff and land in the space of a soccer field in an attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages. Note what happens when the rockets fire early.

The airplane at Robins has had many of the mods removed but it still looks like Mr. Wizard's metal shop class got hold of it.
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This one is sans the music and more focused. Note the dorsals for the horiz slab and vertical fin. at 1:51, note the revised flaps. The video says the pilots fired the rockets early which is debated. The pilots say the rockets fired off a radio altimeter and fired early.

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[AviatorGator]

There are also A-12's at the USS Alabama museum in Mobile, AL and another on on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid in New York City.

If I recall correctly there is another A-12 on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL.

 

[OhioStatePilot]

There are also A-12's at the USS Alabama museum in Mobile, AL and another on on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid in New York City.

If I recall correctly there is another A-12 on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL.

Front and center... it's also very easily seen from the highway.

 

[Orange Anchor]

There are also A-12's at the USS Alabama museum in Mobile, AL and another on on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid in New York City.

If I recall correctly there is another A-12 on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL.

Interesting how MANY A-12s there were. Anyone know the actual number produced? (gotta run but will later research it myself. Wasn't the original design a CIA project?)

 

[AviatorGator]

Front and center... it's also very easily seen from the highway.

Very interesting... I went to space camp there when I was 10 or 12 years old and I remember the A-12 display being buried in the back somewhere in a display by itself. I was young and it was night time so my memory might be rusty.

Maybe they moved the display; glad to hear it's still there in Huntsville.

 

[AviatorGator]

Interesting how MANY A-12s there were. Anyone know the actual number produced? (gotta run but will later research it myself. Wasn't the original design a CIA project?)

I was wondering the same thing last night. From my research there were 13 A-12's produced. Five have been lost and the remaining seven are on display including the only two seat trainer version at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA. And yes, the A-12 was originally built for the CIA; they only flew them for 5 years (1963-1968). Only of the remaining A-12's is on display at the CIA headquarters in Langley, VA.

 

[Orange Anchor]

Serial number Model Location or fate
60-6924 A-12 Air Force Flight Test Center Museum Annex, Blackbird Airpark, at Plant 42, Palmdale, California.
606924 was the first A-12 to fly.
60-6925 A-12 Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, parked on the deck of the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, New York City
60-6926 A-12 Lost, 24 May 1963
60-6927 A-12 California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA (Two-canopied trainer model, "Titanium Goose")
60-6928 A-12 Lost, 5 January 1967
60-6929 A-12 Lost, 28 December 1967
60-6930 A-12 U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama 60-6931 A-12 CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia[16]
60-6932 A-12 Lost, 5 June 1968
60-6933 A-12 San Diego Aerospace Museum, Balboa Park, San Diego, California
60-6937 A-12 Southern Museum of Flight, Birmingham, Alabama
60-6938 A-12 Battleship Memorial Park (USS Alabama), Mobile, Alabama 60-6939 A-12 Lost, 9 July 1964

Fiscal year 1959? 50 years ago???