Forget influencers kids. These are the real heroes you need to emulate right here

What a beautiful interview.

A man like this is a national treasure. His knowledge and experience is priceless.

In my opinion, the SR-71 is the finest work of engineering blended with art ever created. This story is 100% amazing.

The way he explains everything, with so much love for it, it makes me smile, and it's so much more entertaining, you can see how much he loves talking about it, amazing!

This guy is great. His passion is contagious. What an engine. What a plane. What a time.

Around 2/3 of engineering students will either drop out or change majors. Engineering is hard, but damn is it amazing. This guy is absolutely awesome.

As a gear head, it warms my heart to know that some old school drag racers working at Pratt & Whitney had to brainstorm how to jump-start this monster.

I could listen to him talk about this engine all day! Pitched at a perfect technical level. This guy knows exactly what he's talking about. This engine represents an enormous technical leap.

This guy is a national treasure. Unbelievable how passionate he is about this project.

I'm a mechanical engineer in the nuclear industry and the way you describe this with the passion you do reminds me why I became an engineer.

We need to hear more Arnie please. I was hooked to every word. More Arnie, more Arnie ❤

I worked with Arnie in his years after the J58. We worked together on the 220E program among others. A truly great guy to work with, he even helped me get promoted to take his former position in Business Development. Hope you see this Arnie because I was so happy to see you out there spreading your knowledge and enthusiasm! Take care my friend!

This engineer does just a superb job of explaining the complexity of the J58 engine in layman's terms. You can tell he enjoyed his profession. Well done sir!

My brain cannot wrap my head around the skill and knowledge of these engineers and their ability to create something like this. Absolutely insane

Those people who designed that were absolutely brilliant. Such a bright spot in our history.

I have heard alot of stories from pilots but never from the engineers. This was really awsome. These guys were as big of a hero as any of the pilots.

The engineering behind this entire plane is incredible, considering just about everything was calculated by hand. This man in a gem. Great story teller.

As far as I'm concerned, every engineer who contributed to the Blackbird is an absolute genius. It was absurdly far ahead of its time.

Being a pilot all my life, I’ve come to realise the real experts are the ones that can explain the most complex scenarios or technicalities in the simplest of ways. And here is one of those rare gems. On a separate note, these guys developed the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs back when colour TV was barely available. Look just how good American ambition, industry and science was back then. Be proud of that heritage. It’s pretty astonishing.

My father worked as a process engineer at Bendix Corporation in South Bend, IN. They helped develop the hydraulic fuel controls for this engine. He was very proud of the contributions he and his coworkers made to this project.

This is an excellent presentation, very informative, given by Arnie Gunderson, the world’s most knowledgable expert on the J-58, the engines which powered the SR-71. I flew the SR-71 for over 10 years and never had an engine discrepancy; I attribute that good fortune directly to Arnie!

My grandfather used to run a machine at Pratt and Whitney!!! I miss him dearly. He passed many years ago! I'm not a cnc machinist!

I flew P-3s in the Navy. I'll never forget taking off behind a SR-71 on Okinawa in '89 or so.... When it went to full blowers, the flames out the back were at least 15-20'. When it rotated, the flames ricocheted off the tarmac. What power!

This engine, with everything that happened around it, is part of this gentleman's life. You can see it in his eyes and see it in him, it's love. I really liked the "they paid me to work on this !!!" He is part of history himself.

I appreciate the fact that this man volunteers his time to talk about and educate people on this marvel of engineering. It also speaks volumes about how much he enjoyed his work!

Not enough of these geniuses get to explain their super human experiences. It was so entertaining to listen to his story.

Man I could listen to this guys stories for hours. He was extremely lucky to work on one of the coolest aircraft ever made

I could listen to this man for hours on end. He's passion and knowledge for and about the plain is just astounding

I worked at Excello in Orlando, Florida from 1983-1986. In 1985 one of the plants up north went on strike and all the production equipment was moved to Orlando and set up to make the stage 1 and stage 2 compressor blades for this engine. I was the one chosen to do the set up and production of these blades. The forgings were made from titanium. Every time I go into an air museum and see the engine on the cart, there's a good chance I made some of the blades in this engine.

Air zoo is one of the best museums I have been to

That man makes me proud to be American. A true engineer …. After an illustrious career, he is still excited and enthusiastic about this amazing technology.

He is one of the lucky ones. You can see the excitement in his eyes that he loved what he was doing. People often forget the most important thing in life when choosing a career path, doing something you love, and finding someone to pay you for it. Incredible story.

Strongly suspect you're hearing a truly excellent engineer when they utter the phrase "I got to ." They are saying they are grateful to have played a part in creating and perfecting a thing that benefited us all. They are saying they were a member of a team. If they were leading it - as here - it will be mentioned in passing, again as a gift. Nearly every time - as in this case - they'll go on to humbly explain the amazing thing with immense expertise and eloquence. Thank God for truly competent people and their selfless service to mankind.

What an absolute master art piece of engineering. The SR-71 is my favorite plane of all time, since I can remember.

Having an SR71 in my local evergreen aviation and space museum makes being the biggest fan of these so easy! Those glorious bypass tubes made all the difference!

Still my favorite airplane of all time. This man is a National Treasure with the information he has and the service he brought to the country. Thank you sir!

I've worked with Arnie. He was always very passionate about his time at P&W and this program. Nice to see he has found a place to share his stories with everyone.

I really enjoyed listening to this respectable engineer 👍👏👏

Amazing. This is the true power of UKposts. The ability to hear incredible stories and tutorials like this.

People like this gentleman should been seen as celebrity not the guff we have around now. If it was down to me, I'd make sure social media was full of videos like this showing off the best in science, engineering, invention so you could inspire future generations. Thank you for a fantastic presentation.

That engine and the whole A12/SR71 programs are the 8th wonder of the world.

One of the best engines, we never were supposed to know about. My fav plane.

Can't believe, with all the "content" there is on UKposts/social media; I just sat here and listened to a man speak for 25 mins. What a great guy.

I worked as an SR-71 jet engine mechanic from 87 till its retirement and have never seen anyone explain everything so clearly in such a short manner. Would have loved to have met him and learned from him while I was working on the J58. One thing I would tend to disagree with is that he states that working with the lines was easy. Not so much. Everything on that engine is built very durably and wants to fight you, especially when ops wants the plane back in a hurry and everything you touch is hot as hell. Let’s just say a mechanic’s world and an engineer’s world are two very different places. Great experience listening to him! I learned a lot.

Just when I thought the SR71 couldn’t get any cooler…learning that it used 2 V8 engines as starters 🤯…Arnie sir you are a national treasure.

I just can't imagine how amazing the engineering behind this, with the engine expansion for 6" length, 2.5" diameter, it still can running well

BEST video about SR 71 and J58 that I have ever seen. This man clearly knows the exact details, rings so true! Thank you to this man and all involved with this project, for such wonderful work for the USA. 🏁🇺🇸🇺🇸🏁

When I got hired at Pratt, there’s a sign hanging in the hallway of the engineering building that reads something like “through these halls walked some of the world’s best propulsion systems engineers”. I am paraphrasing, can’t recall the exact words, but It was such an emotional motivational sign to walk pass everyday going to my desk. I had mentors like this gentleman throughout my Pratt career and it made things a lot more exciting, just the love for the product

This video is a treasure. I have read the book on the Skunkworks, and this perspective from the engine manufacturer’s engineer helps round out more of the story surrounding that program. I never thought about the challenges they had to overcome such as the extreme (cooling!) heat surrounding the engine, controls pre-dating computers, inventing alloys that I’ve just heard for the first time here, and 6” of longitudinal thermal expansion! We joke about “unobtainium” a lot, but this is what lots of government money and high priority can achieve. What an engineering accomplishment!

As a retired USAF jet mech, this video warms my heart. 🥰 Jet Noise = The Sound of Freedom

Gotta love it when people are passionate about their job and know their stuff. Fascinating. The world needs more men like that guy.

Old guys like this are so cool! It makes me sad that when his generation is gone, we will lose a LOT of really interesting stories.

This is the best talk I have ever heard from anyone on sr71 systems. I never got to meet him. A true HERO here in our view. This man and people in his company are ones who deserve medals. My hat is off to you sir.

This man is so smart it hurts my brain. I’m so grateful we have people with such pure love and enthusiasm for what they do. I hope there is something coming along behind him to take his place and continue his journey.

Love to sit and pick his brain for awhile. What a great feeling it must be to be part of the SR71 history. You can tell he's proud of it.

You can tell that he's really proud of the work he did on this engine. I am absolutely blown away by the engineering of this engine.

This man gives an absolute masterclass in how to explain complicated engineering concepts in the most simplest way - and he does it with a smile. My 8 year old boy and girl is going to hear this guy when I play it for them and they're going to take their first step into the mechanical world!

My uncle Ed was a engineer at Pratt Whitney in WPB Fla in 70s n 80s Edgar Robertson was his name he was a HUGE guy super tall too RIP😢he was a gentle giant

Its great to hear the kids on the background so excited by this place😊

It’s a gift to explain complex engineering in terms that everyone can understand. Incredible.

What’s sad is that there is so much institutional knowledge that will be lost when these guys are gone; so much respect for the engineers. We tend to focus on the drivers and forget the many, many others that built it and made it work

The expansion factor was so great, fuel would leak all through the frame from the fuel cell at high speed. The J58 is by far the best engineering success design for super sonic travel. Amazing commentary.

I love the Blackbird. I remember seeing it at Norton AFB at an airshow for the 1st time. It was amazing. San Bernardino to Canada in 20 minutes. There's nothing that can touch it.

What a fantastic career this guy has had. I hope he can inspire his grandkids and the next generation

The SR71 is an engineering marvel, and is one of the most awesome aeroplanes ever built.

What a top man. Knows his stuff and communicates it well.

I work in the trades and I've always been baffled by how engineers account for thermal expansion in designs so accurately. I love learning new things. Thanks for the video!

So funny that he asked if there were any questions, and as an afterthought, told the most amazing stories ever. I could listen to this guys stories by the hour.

Please do more long form videos like this, these expert explanations are so interesting!!

I just had the privilege of seeing the Blackbird in person recently, it's an absolute beast!😍😍😍

Fascinating. I love that UKposts allows us to hear these personal stories.

This man obviously loves talking about this engine and he makes it easy for a layperson to understand. I'm also struck by how much that engine looks like an H.R. Giger sculpture. What a wonderful video.

I could listen to this guy forever

I could be hours and hours in front of this legend, hearing all the stories and data about the SR-71. Amazing video.

Great documentary ! Geniuses are not just born today, we forget too quickly about those who were born before us. Progress is like a continuous fluid that comes out in small steps from the human mind, excellence is always needed who, with their intuition are able to compose the work.

SR 71 is arguably the coolest piece of military technology and it doesn't even engage in direct fighting. Incredibly impressive aircraft

The level of tech that went into this thing is insane. Really makes you think about what we’re developing now more than 50 years later.

This MAN is a legend !!

As an inspector for P&WA for 35+ years that's retiring soon. This is truly the most bad ass engine they ever made. Proud to have seen the best years of their work. They couldn't make it nowadays.

Wow. How cool is it to have an enthusiastic and passionate person describing such an iconic engine, but they were also an engineer on the team that built it? This looks like the textbook example of doing what you love for a living. This did not feel like a 24 min video! Keep bringing content like this!

Give this guy 2 hours. What a great explanation of things. Thank you

As an engineer I bow down to you Sir and your colleagues. This is an engineering masterpiece. The kind of innovation described here is what we the younger generation of engineers pray to have every waking moment of the day. Respect 🙏.

Every time I watch a video about the SR-71 I’m always blown away that this was designed and built during the 1960’s. Even to this day, it still looks like a newly designed aircraft.

I could listen to his stories all day. So much passion and enthusiasm. And amazing storytelling. And this is only a single aspect of the program. Just wow.

11:22 you were right the first time :P it's 600. Man, this turbojet engine is such an amazing piece of machinery/engineering. It brings me back to the MRO days of repairing, maintaining and modifying all structural/airframe/fuselage related things. I remember the A320's had these metal channels by the pre-coolers that'd always crack and they were a pain in the ass to remove, transfer the holes on the new part and reinstall because of how dang HARD the material was (it chewed through cobalt drill bits like nothing). Removal was a mega pain because there were all these fuel lines in the way and the engines guys never removed them to give us access for the job unless they had to remove them for some workcard they had. One time a Bulgarian friend gifted me a carbide drill bit he had and my jaw dropped when I saw how easily I was able to drill out those rivets and transfer the holes on to the new part.

Very nice to hear all these stories. My Father (an ME) worked on the design of this engine (as many did) in the mid to late 50's. He also mentioned all of the secrecy surrounding the project. He once told me that he was brought into a room to look at a design on the drafting board. He said that the entire board was covered, except for a hole that was cut over the area of interest :) Thanks for posting this video!

I know his coworker that he mentions. “Larry”. Very cool guy. He’s a machinist by heart, but I’ve been showing him some 3d print stuff. Loves it! I always wondered if these guys were around during this era. Amazing people !

Video records like this are historical treasures that will be preserved forever for all subsequent generations to glean a bit of what it was like in earlier times. Thanks to all who take the the time to preserve this piece of history.

If anyone wonders why engineers do what we do, this video lets you know. It's why we never grow up, we just get older and never stop getting excited about the technology. The J-58 is a legend but it only got to be like that because of people like this who believed it was possible to do it.

This was definitely quite awesome as is the comment section. It's like suddenly being among the mature and appreciative. And what a lucky man! His statement of not believing "he was getting paid to do this" shows he really enjoyed his job; making it entertainment. Very cool stuff, an example of what I hoped the internet would evolve into.

The feeling he describes at the very end...WOW...that must have been so increadible! goosebumps all over the body

I was the last Tech. Lead on the fuel control systems on this engine. It was the highlight of my career more than 30 years ago. The people at P&W were the absolute best people I've ever worked with. Stan Dees was the head of the program in those days.

I expected a unilateral phase detractor retro encabulator video but this guy was legit. Mad respect

The knowledge this man has and spent his lifetime learning- thanks for posting

I wish I was 1/10 as passionate about my work. What an awesome guy.

I don't know how this ended up in my feed, but I really enjoyed this man's passion about the project. His explanations were fantastic - engineering, but without being overwhelming. Great video.

Thanks to whoever made this possible. This is solid gold.

Wow, another Arnie Gunderson! Both of them smart. One does fairewinds, this guy does this stuff, very impressive.

An engineer tied to the program, who also speaks fluent mouthbreather. Priceless. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🤟🏽🐻