Pratt & Whitney J58 (JT11D-20)

[TJDougherty01]

From Lockheed & Pratt-Whitney:

The J58 is a single-spool, axial-flow engine which uses a 9-stage compressor section and 2-stage turbine. The J58 is 17 feet, 10 inches (7.436 meters) long and 4 feet, 9 inches (1.448 meters) in diameter. It weighs approximately 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms). The A-12 employed a Pratt & Whitney JT11D-20 (J58-P-4) turbo-ramjet engines, rated at 25,000 pounds of thrust (111.21 kilonewtons) and 34,000 pounds of thrust (151.24 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The exhaust gas temperature is approximately 3,400 °F. The engine had a unique compressor bleed bypass at high Mach number. When opened, bypass valves bled air from the fourth stage, and six external ducts (pipes) routed it around the compressor rear stages, combustor, and turbine and to the afterburner that gave increased thrust and cooling at high speeds. Due to the wide range of speed of the aircraft, the engine needed two modes of operation to take it from stationary on the ground to 2,000 mph (3,200 km/h) at altitude. It was a conventional afterburning turbojet for take-off and acceleration to Mach 2 and then used permanent compressor bleed to the afterburner above Mach 2. The way the engine worked at cruise led it to be described as "acting like a turboramjet".

 

[publiusr]

Now suppose there was a very general Buran type shuttle-2, with two of these atop the wing roots...what would that entail?

Allow self ferry?

 

[Byeman]

Now suppose there was a very general Buran type shuttle-2, with two of these atop the wing roots...what would that entail?

Allow self ferry?

no. These were made for constant afterburner and Mach 2-3.
Also, why always "Buran"? Soft spot for commie hardware? Buran was not "better" than the US shuttle. Buran was not plug and play.

 

[CaseyKnight]

From Lockheed & Pratt-Whitney:

The J58 is a single-spool, axial-flow engine which uses a 9-stage compressor section and 2-stage turbine. The J58 is 17 feet, 10 inches (7.436 meters) long and 4 feet, 9 inches (1.448 meters) in diameter. It weighs approximately 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms). The A-12 employed a Pratt & Whitney JT11D-20 (J58-P-4) turbo-ramjet engines, rated at 25,000 pounds of thrust (111.21 kilonewtons) and 34,000 pounds of thrust (151.24 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The exhaust gas temperature is approximately 3,400 °F. The engine had a unique compressor bleed bypass at high Mach number. When opened, bypass valves bled air from the fourth stage, and six external ducts (pipes) routed it around the compressor rear stages, combustor, and turbine and to the afterburner that gave increased thrust and cooling at high speeds. Due to the wide range of speed of the aircraft, the engine needed two modes of operation to take it from stationary on the ground to 2,000 mph (3,200 km/h) at altitude. It was a conventional afterburning turbojet for take-off and acceleration to Mach 2 and then used permanent compressor bleed to the afterburner above Mach 2. The way the engine worked at cruise led it to be described as "acting like a turboramjet".

Thank you, I really appreciate these figures.

 

[SpaceMonk]

I own the SR-71A-1 Flight Manual that was published. I bought it at the LA Air & Space Museum where the Endeavor is kept (you know the thing Dr. Czysz said looked like an abortion learning to fly). I had the Blackbird Association guys all sign the inside cover page, along with some of the old timers I worked with at Edwards AFB who worked on the thing. It has theory of operation for every system. It was declassified and printed in China before being published and released in 2016. You can find it here:

https://www.amazon.com/SR-71-Flight-Manual-Declassified-Commentary/dp/0760351740

I also own the SR-71 Handbook by Leroy Dufresne, the maintainer instructor who published training materials for the Air Force guys who weren't allowed to take the Technical Orders home. In it is listed many TOs that are probably somewhere. Being a former Air Force maintainer myself I know the codeage for the TOs. Like for example, SR-71A-2-32JG is the Job Guide for the wheel and tire. The numbers preceding the publication type typically follow the FAA system ATA codes. The maintainer study book can be found here:

Amazon.com

In any event, I'm pretty sure there is some stuff in both books specific to the engines. I also have access to an uninstalled engine locally here at March Air Museum sitting next to the Blackbird.

NASA had Pratt & Whitney do a mod to their research aircraft engines for a couple of projects. The mod involved a 10% thrust increase using compressor rotor speed and turbine exhaust temperature increases along with N2O augmentor injection. This was so that NASA could launch a hypersonic test aircraft from the back of the vehicle during the Generic Hypersonic Research Vehicle (GHRV) program https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19970019923/downloads/19970019923.pdf as well as flight test a miniature version of the XRS-2200 Aerospike Engine (that I am pictured in front of at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center) for the X-33 VentureStar during the LASRE Experiment. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19980210501/downloads/19980210501.pdf

 

[TJDougherty01]

I own the SR-71A-1 Flight Manual that was published. I bought it at the LA Air & Space Museum where the Endeavor is kept (you know the thing Dr. Czysz said looked like an abortion learning to fly). I had the Blackbird Association guys all sign the inside cover page, along with some of the old timers I worked with at Edwards AFB who worked on the thing. It has theory of operation for every system. It was declassified and printed in China before being published and released in 2016. You can find it here:

https://www.amazon.com/SR-71-Flight-Manual-Declassified-Commentary/dp/0760351740

I also own the SR-71 Handbook by Leroy Dufresne, the maintainer instructor who published training materials for the Air Force guys who weren't allowed to take the Technical Orders home. In it is listed many TOs that are probably somewhere. Being a former Air Force maintainer myself I know the codeage for the TOs. Like for example, SR-71A-2-32JG is the Job Guide for the wheel and tire. The numbers preceding the publication type typically follow the FAA system ATA codes. The maintainer study book can be found here:

Amazon.com

In any event, I'm pretty sure there is some stuff in both books specific to the engines. I also have access to an uninstalled engine locally here at March Air Museum sitting next to the Blackbird.

NASA had Pratt & Whitney do a mod to their research aircraft engines for a couple of projects. The mod involved a 10% thrust increase using compressor rotor speed and turbine exhaust temperature increases along with N2O augmentor injection. This was so that NASA could launch a hypersonic test aircraft from the back of the vehicle during the Generic Hypersonic Research Vehicle (GHRV) program https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19970019923/downloads/19970019923.pdf as well as flight test a miniature version of the XRS-2200 Aerospike Engine (that I am pictured in front of at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center) for the X-33 VentureStar during the LASRE Experiment. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19980210501/downloads/19980210501.pdf

Hs to be some interesting tech information in that manual for someone with your background. I was somewhat shocked at the price of it, though. I would imagine that someone with your technical background would appreciate the level of detail. In my case, I have Peter Merlin's books "Design and Development of the Blackbird', his recent "Dreamland", Robarge's "Archangel:CIA's Supersonic A-12 Reconnaissance Aircraft", "Blackbird Rising" by Byrnes and Hurley, Crickmore's "Lockheed SR-71", and Graham's SR-71. I also spoke to the late David Sharp, Ph.D., who was originally working at the Watertown Strip (AKA Groom Lake) on the early A-12. His area was analyzing the A-12 radar signature and the problem with the radar return from the exhaust plume of the J58's. Addition of cesium to the fuel mitigated the exhaust plume ionization. The A-12 was not fully "stealth" (a slippery designation at best) but had a a low radar return signature for an aircraft of that size. Dave went on to being engineer on the Glomar Explorer project to recover the K-129. Lots of interesting stories there as well.

Just an added general word: for those who aren't familiar with March Air Museum mentioned, it is well worth a visit!! My son and I stopped on our way back from San Diego where he spent the summer at Naval Information Warfare, Pacific up to his second year of his master's at Naval Postgraduate School. We were quite surprised at the breadth of the collection there. The museum is in Riverside, Ca. and if you are anywhere in the LA area for business or pleasure, you owe it to yourself to visit the March Museum. A huge outside display of aircraft, including many USAF early jets, as well as "MiG row" and the Century series fighters. Inside they have a lot of material, including not an SR-71 and the aforementioned J-58. I have posted quite a few photos on this site and several are from March Air Museum. A real hidden gem of a museum!

 

[Dew]

NASA had Pratt & Whitney do a mod to their research aircraft engines for a couple of projects. The mod involved a 10% thrust increase using compressor rotor speed and turbine exhaust temperature increases along with N2O augmentor injection. This was so that NASA could launch a hypersonic test aircraft from the back of the vehicle during the Generic Hypersonic Research Vehicle (GHRV) program https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19970019923/downloads/19970019923.pdf

If I may, there is a higher quality version of the PDF attached (the pictures are discernible)