8 ms·
The SR-71 won't be anywhere near the first tanker when it needs fuel again. The fuel itself isn't common to most aircraft, which means the tanker has to carry f
by qbrass 3y ago
The SR-71 won't be anywhere near the first tanker when it needs fuel again. The fuel itself isn't common to most aircraft, which means the tanker has to carry fuel specifically for it so it.
- bradknowles 3y agoCorrect. The SR-71 uses JP-7 fuel, and is the only aircraft in the fleet known to do so. So, the USAF has to have custom KC-135Q tankers just for SR-71s. They can't be used for any other fuel. The thing that made it obvious to me that there was a replacement for the SR-71 was that when they retired the aircraft, they didn't retire any of the tankers. That meant there was now some other unknown aircraft flying that also used JP-7, and it must therefore be the replacement for the SR-71. Note that JP-7 is so hard to light on fire that if you throw a match into a bucket filled with JP-7, the match will get snuffed out. You've got to be a lot hotter than a match to light that stuff.
- satiric 3y agoYour anecdote about JP7 being hard to light in fire is also true for pump gas. The liquid gas is not flammable, only the aerosolized gas is.
- bradknowles 3y agoBut if you did the same experiment with 87-93 octane gasoline, you would set the fumes on fire as the match went into the bucket. And those fumes would continue to burn. The same is not true of JP-7.