Building a HIGH SPEED Rocket Plane

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Published 2024-04-26
I've been upgrading this RC SR-71 Blackbird to fly as fast as possible. Check out PCBWay at pcbway.com/g/9cfi7a for our one-stop solution for PCB prototype services and more.

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👉🏼 More info about projects projectair.co.uk/
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Thanks to E-Flite for sending me this plane www.horizonhobby.com/product/sr-71-blackbird-twin-…

Thank you also to TSP for providing the rocket motors www.facebook.com/PiotrTenderaRocketMotors

Thanks to these artists for providing some of the music in the video:
Andrew Applepie for the music used in this video - soundcloud.com/andrewapplepie

DISCLAIMER: This video is purely for entertainment value. Personal use of video content is at your own risk. Recreations of experiments, activities and projects are the sole legal responsibility of the person(s) involved in replicating them. I can not be liable for any information or misinformation, wrongful use, damage to personal property, death or any circumstances that result from replication of any projects seen. Be

All Comments (21)
  • @martin2250
    5:24 small correction: you need 8 times the power for twice the speed. Force increases with speed², but power is force × speed
  • @ryguy81538
    Someone may have already commented on this and it might be obvious to you, but a big reason the plane is so unstable during the motor burn is it's not pushing through the center-of-mass. It's strapped haphazardly to the top of the craft causing it to nose dive down as soon as it's ignited. Placing it centrally in the back or adding another motor underneath is a possible way to correct this. Always love your uploads though. Keep up the good work.
  • @Ingo3112
    you need to stop mounting the rocket engines to the top of the plane . they need to put in the back like the fans but in the middle . desing the same plane model but with the option to put in the rocket engines in the back like a fighter jet . and put 2 rocket engines in the back not one .
  • @mike1261
    Back in 1980, in a time before computer aided design, I build a SR-71 Estes-type rocket from scratch. I referenced photos from a magazine and used balsa wood & paper tubes for most of the materials. It was about the size of yours. Being a fairly heavy rocket, it had two D-size solid propellant motors, one in each engine. I was quite fascinated by the Blackbird at the time, but extremely inexperienced at building rockets. Needless to say, it flew, but not very straight!
  • @kenselleck2414
    You succeeded in making the SR71 exceed mach 3.2 in scale. I call that a win! Mach 3.2 is 2400 ish mph and your plane did 2800 scale mph. Bravo!!
  • It's not a project air build without rocket motors. Brilliant!!!
  • @TomleyRC
    The Insta360 rear facing shots are beautiful! Such a versatile camera. I'm just replacing my original one after a good few years of hard use! Oh..and rocket projects are always a good watch 🤘
  • @pioneerAv
    James Bond: The Man with the Golden Plane
  • Ah James, this is your best one yet, brought a tear to my eye! Brilliant idea brilliantly executed! Just a few minor thoughts: Agree with everyone else who's suggesting a bungee-launch. FYI these incredibly low Aspect ratio deltas are a bitch in roll, because the stubby wings provide damn-all roll damping. And at higher angle of attack, the vortices spiralling off the leading edges tend to bang into each other over the aircraft centreline, causing a roll oscillation. So if you can shoe-horn a rate gyro into the roll channel it'll make life so much easier. I so just love this video!
  • @gafrers
    You can never go wrong with an SR-71 Love these flight videos a lot more than the boat ones
  • @garrittpwl
    Your video quality is taking massive leaps forward. This video was that of nearly an educational video on a mainstream media station. Keep it up!
  • @craighyattusa
    That video was the most (vicarious) fun I’ve had in a long time. Some excellent research and engineering skills on display. Look forward to the next project.
  • @fustigate314159
    Props to the original manufacturer for making the landing gear accurate!
  • @robertstark3326
    Great project. That was a spectacular flight. The way you led up to the rocket engine flight was just so impressive and all the work you did to pull it off. You had a well-deserved success. Keep up the great work.
  • Thank you for another great video. I got a tip for line of sight flying, paint the plane with different colors over and under. Makes it easier to see which side of the plane is facing you.
  • @vne5195
    A standard planform airplane designed for subsonic flight would be more easily controlled, easier to see the orientation and easier to launch. Perhaps you could try a small diameter folding prop with a motor brake to stop rotation of the prop when the rocket is ignited. Having the rocket pointing out of the tail cone should make it easier to keep the center of thrust aligned with the center of drag.
  • @nauhaan1604
    I love your videos! I am a Maldivian drone pilot and my drone pro E88 crashed recently. I really love RC vehicles
  • @nigelhutt9921
    I know nothing about RC planes but found this a thoroughly compelling snd informative video.