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Re:Discovery's Teardrop by aerocapture on Monday May 26, 2014 @08:57AM (#7799552)
Actually, portions of the SR-71 skin were corrugated, much like the older (and much slower) Ford Tri-Motor, because the high temperatures of Mach 3+ flight caused the skin to expand and contract dramatically throughout the flight profile. This corrugation was actually against the wishes of the aerodynamicists, who would have preferred a smooth surface.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird

Re:Discovery's Teardrop by serf on Monday May 26, 2014 @05:21PM (#7801678)
Yep, and those planes leaked fuel like a sieve until the skin contracted and smoothed into the proper shape mid-flight.