In Combat Aircraft, Warren Thompson reminds us of the awesome power of the Lockheed SR-71 spy plane, which with its hybrid turbojet-ramjet engines could exceed Mach 3 and 70,000 feet:
One pilot, who flew the SR-71 operationally, commented, “At the Mach numbers we fly at, the aircraft really heats up. I could touch the windscreen and burn my fingers even through the the pressure gloves. … You literally can’t turn because you are going faster than the muzzle velocity of a .30-.30 rifle bullet.”
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