5 ms·

That story is out of Brian Schul's book (he used to be an SR-71 pilot). I am lucky enough that years ago, a girl who had a crush on me bought me that book. It

That story is out of Brian Schul's book (he used to be an SR-71 pilot). I am lucky enough that years ago, a girl who had a crush on me bought me that book. Its out of print now, and I've seen copies on eBay for > $1000. Next to Ben Rich's "Skunk Works", it is one of the best books on the SR-71 that I have ever read.

gbrown_ 9y ago
> Its out of print now, and I've seen copies on eBay for > $1000. For the rest of us there's this great talk from Brain Schul which covers this story and a few others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wigZsFypdyI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wigZsFypdyI
- Cyph0n 9y ago
  That was amazing. Thanks for linking it!
da02 9y ago
What happened to the girl? Did you marry her? That was a good, thoughtful gift.
- cyberferret 9y ago
  It's one of those "it's complicated" things. She had a boyfriend at the time etc., then she moved cities and we lost touch. Shame - she was a really good friend too, and we used to talk about planes and Formula 1 racing for hours.
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    You should try to get back in touch. Good friends are hard to find; hold on to them tightly.
dboreham 9y ago
Wow. $1000!! I own two copies because I thought I had lost mine and so bought a second for $10 or so. Then I found the first one.
- cyberferret 9y ago
  For fun I check eBay every year or so. I've seen them on there anything from $50 sometimes, right up to $3600 I think was the highest I've ever seen. Average is around the $1000 usually. I think it depends on whether it is first edition or not, or signed by Brian at an airshow etc. Hang on to your two - could be a better retirement plan than crypto currency! :D EDIT: Here is one current listing ~USD$640 - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sled-Driver-Flying-the-Worlds-Fastest-Jet-SR-71-Blackbird-Test-Pilot-Mili/382282890133?epid=1093875&hash=item5901d5fb95:g:f4cAAOSwcQlZqYvY https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sled-Driver-Flying-the-Worlds-Fa...
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  Would you be willing to lend one out to be scanned for the Internet Archive? I have no relation other than finding books to be digitized and paying for/coordinating the scanning. I’m willing to provide insurance and proof of my identity to ensure your property is respected.
  - rory096 9y ago
    I have a scan. Email is rory at (either) domain in profile. It only came out in 1991 though — does Internet Archive host books that aren't public domain?
    - toomuchtodo 9y ago
      I will be in touch. > It only came out in 1991 though — does Internet Archive host books that aren't public domain? Yes. https://openlibrary.org/ https://openlibrary.org/
  - msds 9y ago
    How does one go about doing this? I have access to some obscure technical books that really should be scanned and archived, but don't know anything about the field...
botskonet 9y ago
I have it on my Amazon wishlist. It's going for close to $500 right now.
godelmachine 9y ago
Please suggest some more books on SR 71 BlackBird & SkunkWorks

gbrown_ 9y ago

> Its out of print now, and I've seen copies on eBay for > $1000. For the rest of us there's this great talk from Brain Schul which covers this story and a few others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wigZsFypdyI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wigZsFypdyI

Cyph0n 9y ago
That was amazing. Thanks for linking it!

da02 9y ago

What happened to the girl? Did you marry her? That was a good, thoughtful gift.

cyberferret 9y ago
It's one of those "it's complicated" things. She had a boyfriend at the time etc., then she moved cities and we lost touch. Shame - she was a really good friend too, and we used to talk about planes and Formula 1 racing for hours.
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  You should try to get back in touch. Good friends are hard to find; hold on to them tightly.

dboreham 9y ago

Wow. $1000!! I own two copies because I thought I had lost mine and so bought a second for $10 or so. Then I found the first one.

cyberferret 9y ago
For fun I check eBay every year or so. I've seen them on there anything from $50 sometimes, right up to $3600 I think was the highest I've ever seen. Average is around the $1000 usually. I think it depends on whether it is first edition or not, or signed by Brian at an airshow etc. Hang on to your two - could be a better retirement plan than crypto currency! :D EDIT: Here is one current listing ~USD$640 - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sled-Driver-Flying-the-Worlds-Fastest-Jet-SR-71-Blackbird-Test-Pilot-Mili/382282890133?epid=1093875&hash=item5901d5fb95:g:f4cAAOSwcQlZqYvY https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sled-Driver-Flying-the-Worlds-Fa...
toomuchtodo 9y ago
Would you be willing to lend one out to be scanned for the Internet Archive? I have no relation other than finding books to be digitized and paying for/coordinating the scanning. I’m willing to provide insurance and proof of my identity to ensure your property is respected.
- rory096 9y ago
  I have a scan. Email is rory at (either) domain in profile. It only came out in 1991 though — does Internet Archive host books that aren't public domain?
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    I will be in touch. > It only came out in 1991 though — does Internet Archive host books that aren't public domain? Yes. https://openlibrary.org/ https://openlibrary.org/
- msds 9y ago
  How does one go about doing this? I have access to some obscure technical books that really should be scanned and archived, but don't know anything about the field...

botskonet 9y ago

I have it on my Amazon wishlist. It's going for close to $500 right now.

godelmachine 9y ago

Please suggest some more books on SR 71 BlackBird & SkunkWorks