I still can't believe what has happened to the pitot from this aircraft. From what I understand, #122 was missing her pitot when she showed up at the Intrepid. A suiable SR-71 pitot was located and obtained through proper channels and the aircraft once again looked the way she should. Unfortunately, the general public was allowed too much access to #122 and the pitot was damaged. Appearantly, one of the ways it was damaged was by someone doing "chinups" on it! The Intrepid has used a couple of prosthetic pitots for #122 over the years, but the current substitute is, in my opinion, an outrageous monstrosity and an insult to the aircraft.
Here's a picture of the Intrepid's current substitute for a pitot...
...and this is what they have used in the past.
This is an example of what happens to the composites when they're exposed to the elements. This section of the aircraft is literally crumbling away. Oh, by the way, there's asbestos in that stuff!
What happens when an "aircraft mechanic" is hired to work on a jet he knows nothing about? This is a good example. That vertical stabilizer is made out of composites containing asbestos. TD poses a good question when he asks how many museum volunteers have been exposed to asbestos because they were sanding on composites without the knowledge of the potential hazards?
Here you can see just how high the main gear are jacked up. The bottom of the gear door should be just about even with the wheel hub.
This picture is from NASA. The aircraft you see here is an SR-71, a later design with two seats instead of one. Overall, it's very difficult to tell the difference between an SR-71 and an A-12 aside from the SR-71's rear cockpit. If you look closely, you can see the proper position of the gear doors in relation to the wheel hubs on the main gear. Now look at the previous picture for a comparison. For a larger version of this picture and other SR-71 pictures in NASA's Dryden image collection, click on the links below:
Contact sheet #1 Contact sheet #2 Ultraviolet Experiment
This jet most likely had to fly through Surface to Air Missile (SAM) fragments in the course of its duty with the CIA. It never suffered damage like this back then. This is what happens when you try to keep an aircraft on a carrier deck that was never meant to be there. I have it on good authority that this happened while the museum's deck crew was moving the jet and not looking where they were going. I'm just glad it hasn't gone over the side of the boat!
Here's a picture of what happens when an A-12 cockpit isn't properly sealed and the aircraft is left right on the ocean. The crazing on the inside of the windshield is caused by moisture getting into the cockpit.
While some parts of this jet are composite, most of the aircraft is titanium. OK, quick quiz here. Who here would use latex house paint on their car? OK, how about on a titanium aircraft? The Intrepid did and it shows in this picture!
I could go on and on posting pictures, but TD has already done a wonderful job of that! I think you can see the damage and neglect in these pictures. For larger versions of the pictures from TD's website, please visit Area51specialprojects.com's page about A-12 #122
Stay tuned because we'll be posting the proper addresses to send your correspondence regarding this aircraft soon! Until then, please feel free to sign the guestbook, email us at savearchangel122@gmail.com, or leave a comment with a post.
As always, thanks for taking the time to visit this site!
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