Question About SR-71 Pilot Suits

[Mr.Max]

One of my many projects is the 1/72 R-M SR-71 Blackbird, the instructions state that the pressure suits the pilots wore should be painted orange and I've seen photos confirming that. I've also seen their pressure suits a silvery color, which is correct? Were both silver and orange suits used or did certain pressure suits get worn at certain times during the operational life of the Blackbird?
I've painted my Blackbird pilot figures as if they are wearing the silvery pressure suits, not sure if this is 100% for the aircrew of "Rapid Rabbit".

 

[THE NEW ONE]

hey great question, from the pictures that I have seen, the silver suits, were used with the YF-12, a single seater, the SR-71 is a two seat aircraft, and those pilots wore orange "pumpkin suits". to answer your other question about the suit, the silver suits were a very basic suit, it held a internal pressure to keep the pilot alive at high altitudes, which meant low pressure. The only problem with this suit, is when you moved your arm the rest of the suit would fill up with the arm from the arm, like if you squeezed one side of a balloon, the other side would expand. The pilots complained about this problem, so the air force got better suits. That had air pockets that would provide pressure as well as comfort, this suit was later improved for the space shuttle use, also known as the "pumpkin suit". So I hoped that helped.

 

[Mr.Max]

Yes, it did. Thank you! So the "pumpkin suits" were improvements over the the silvery "space man" suits, now I know and knowing is half the battle!

So, I guess I have some re-painting to do now.