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Originally Posted by footfootfoot
One of my friends' dad was a spook and went on a ride in one of those.
I also read somewhere that the fuel tanks leak like sieves when they are on the ground because when they are at altitude they contract with the cold and tighten up. If they were tight on the ground they tear apart when they were at altitude.
There's probably a clearer way of explaining that.
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First off, that's racist!
I think they leak like sieves,
and then at speed, everything heats up and expands, sealing the 'leaks'. That's why it was made from titanium alloy, to withstand the extreme temps created by atmospheric friction.
Wiki
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The heat would have caused a smooth skin to split or curl, whereas the corrugated skin could expand vertically and horizontally and increased longitudinal strength. Fuselage panels were manufactured to only loosely fit on the ground. Proper alignment was achieved as the airframe heated up and expanded several inches. Because of this, and the lack of a fuel sealing system that could handle the airframe's expansion at extreme temperatures, the aircraft leaked JP-7 fuel on the ground. After takeoff, the aircraft would perform a short sprint to warm up the airframe, then refuel before heading to its destination.
The outer windscreen of the cockpit was made of quartz and was fused ultrasonically to the titanium frame. The temperature of the exterior of the windscreen reached 600 degrees during a mission.
Cooling was carried out by cycling fuel behind the titanium surfaces in the chines. On landing, the canopy temperature was over 300 °C (572 °F).
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If it's leaking due to not being sealed,
and it contracts, wouldn't it then leak even worse?