Aviation Note: For those who don't know, "The Sled" is the SR-71
Blackbird spy plane from the 1960'* and still the world'* fastest airplane.

In his book, "Sled Driver", SR-71 Blackbird pilot Brian Shul writes: "I'll
always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one day as Walt
(my back-seater) and I were screaming across Southern California 13 miles
high.
We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we
entered Los Angeles airspace. Though they didn't really control us, they
did monitor our movement across their scope.

I heard a Cessna ask for a readout of its ground speed."90 knots" Center
replied. Moments later, a Twin Beech required the same. "120 knots,"

Center answered. We weren't the only ones proud of our ground speed that
day as almost instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, "Ah, Center, Dusty 52
requests ground speed readout." There was a slight pause, then the response,
"525 knots on the ground, Dusty." Another silent pause.

As I was thinking to myself how ripe a situation this was, I heard a
familiar click of a radio transmission coming from my back-seater. It was
at that precise moment I realized Walt and I had become a real crew, for we
were both thinking in unison. "Center, Aspen 20, you got a ground speed
readout for us?" There was a longer than normal pause.... "Aspen, I show
1,742 knots" (That'* about 2004.658 mph for those who don't know)

No further inquiries were heard on that frequency.
--------------------------------------------------
In another famous SR-71 story, Los Angeles Center reported receiving a
request for clearance to FL 600 (60,000ft). The incredulous controller,
with some disdain in his voice, asked, "How do you plan to get up to 60,000
feet?

The pilot (obviously a sled driver), responded, "We don't plan to go up
to it; we plan to go down to it." He was cleared.
-------------------------------------
The pilot was sitting in his seat and pulled out a .38 revolver. He
placed it on top of the instrument panel, and then asked the navigator,

"Do you know what I use this for?"

The navigator replied timidly, "No, what'* it for?" The pilot
responded, "I use this on navigators who get me lost!"

The navigator proceeded to pull out a .45 and place it on his chart
table.

The pilot asked, "What'* that for?"

"To be honest sir," the navigator replied, "I'll know we're lost before you will."
--------------------------------------------
When Hillary Clinton visited Iraq last month the Army Blackhawk
helicopter used to transport the Senator was given the call sign "broomstick one".

And they say the Army has no sense of humor!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!" Delta
351:"Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"
---------------------------------------------------------------
One day the pilot of a Cherokee 180 was told by the tower to hold short
of the runway while a MD80 landed. The MD80 landed, rolled out, turned
around, and taxied back past the Cherokee. Some quick-witted comedian in the MD80
crew got on the radio and said, "What a cute little plane.

Did you make it all by yourself?"

Our hero the Cherokee pilot, not about to let the insult go by, came back
with: "I made it out of MD80 parts. Another landing like that and I'll have
enough parts for another one."
-------------------------------------------------
There'* a story about the military pilot calling for a priority landing
because his single-engine jet fighter was running "a bit peaked." Air
Traffic Control told the fighter jock that he was number two behind a
B-52 that had one engine shut down.

"Ah," the pilot remarked, "the dreaded seven-engine approach."
----------------------------------------------
A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight. While attempting
to locate the aircraft on radar, ATC asked, "What was your last known
position?"

Student: "When I was number one for takeoff."
--------------------------------------------------
Taxiing down the tarmac, the 757 abruptly stopped, turned around and
returned to the gate. After an hour-long wait, it finally took off.

A concerned passenger asked the flight attendant, "What was the
problem?"

"The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine," explained
the flight attendant," and it took us a while to find a new pilot."
--------------------------------------------------
"Flight 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 degrees."

"But Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up
here?"

"Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?

Those were good ones

All were good but the first one seems a bit far fetched... at 2000 mph he'd be out of LAX airspace in minutes...clear across the country in 60.

I like the pilot & navigator getting lost one the best.

Maybe if they were only at 20000 feet, they were up 13 MILES or almost 70000 feet.

Perhaps you misssed that the 2000mph was GROUND SPEED ?

It says he was talking to Los Angeles Center, not LAX air traffic control. He would have been in the LA Center territory for a while before switching to a different Center.

Still don't know if some of those are true or not.

Nevermind the truth or false stuff. Pay attention to the jokes!

those were great! i laughed out loud on a few of them!

so thats where my old favorite band sr-71 came from