Welcome to the online gallery of
Bo Rattenborg.

I am an architect and a self-taught painter. Initially, I focused on portraits, but I have since shifted my attention to a more abstract kind of portrait – the pilots of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane.

The SR-71 pilots were the successors to the pilots of the U-2 spy planes, and their job was to collect intelligence while flying at the edge of the atmosphere, around 85,000 feet (26,000 meters), at speeds of up to Mach 3.2 (approximately 3,920 km/h).

The extreme altitudes required the use of pressure suits, as a sudden loss of cabin pressure could cause the blood to boil instantly.

On the ground, before boarding the aircraft, the pilots would carry a small portable air conditioner that used liquid oxygen. As it turned into gas, it cooled the crew member and provided breathable oxygen. Once inside the pressure suit, they breathed 100% oxygen — this was the only way to supply them with oxygen during the transition from the suit-up facility until they were connected to the aircraft’s oxygen and air conditioning systems.

BO RATTENBORG
Odense, Denmark

EMAIL
bo.rattenborg@hotmail.com

INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/rattenborg

GALLERY
Artlightcph
Bagerstræde 3 st. th.
1617 copenhagen
https://www.instagram.com/artlightcph/