The Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird, USAF serial number 61-7972, set four National Aeronautic Association and three Fédération Aéronautique Internationale speed records on its final flight on March 6, 1990
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft maintained its position as the world’s fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft for approximately 24 years. It could survey 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface per hour from an altitude of 80,000 feet.
It is therefore not surprising that the aircraft has consistently broken records for both speed and altitude due to its astounding flight qualities.
The Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird, USAF serial number 61-7972, flew from Air Force Plant 42 (PMD) in Palmdale, California to Washington Dulles International Airport where it was handed over to the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum on March 6, 1990, setting four National Aeronautic Association and three Fédération Aéronautique Internationale speed records, according to This Day in Aviation.
The missions began with the SR-71 being launched from Air Force Plant 42 (PMD) in Palmdale by Lieutenant Colonels Raymond E. (“Ed”) Yeilding and Joseph T. (“J.T.”) Vida. Before starting their speed run, the Blackbird refueled from a Boeing KC-135Q Stratotanker so that its fuel tanks would be full.
The plane flew past Oxnard on the southern California coast as it approached the so-called “west gate,” a radar reference point, and then turned east to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Washington, D.C.
The transcontinental flight took 1 hour, 7 minutes, 53.69 seconds, or an average speed of 2,124.51 miles per hour, to cover the distance of 2,404.05 statute miles (3,868.94 kilometers) (3,419.07 kilometers per hour).
The following intermediate closed-course records were also set: Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., 2,299.67 miles (3,700.96 kilometers), 1:04:19.89, averaging 2,144.83 m.p.h (3,451.77 km/h); Kansas City to Washington, D.C., 942.08 miles (1,516.13 kilometers), 25:58.53, 2,176.08 m.p.h (3,502.06 km/h); and St. Louis to Cincinnati, 311.44 miles (501.21 km), 8:31.97, 2,189.94 m.p.h. (3,524.37 km/h).
The SR-71 61-7972 did not only set these records, though. According to This Day In Aviation, this Blackbird had already set a record for the fastest time between New York and London (1:54:56.4), averaging 1,806.957 m.p.h. (2,908.015 km/h). But it had to slow down to refuel in flight. The airplane then broke a record by traveling 5,446.87 miles (8765.89 kilometers) from London to Los Angeles in 3 hours, 47 minutes, and 39 seconds, while averaging 1,435.49 m.p.h. (2,310.19 km/h). It also set an 85,069-foot altitude record (25,929 meters).
This was 61-7972’s last flight. 2,801.1 hours were spent on its airframe in total. The Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum’s Steven V. Udvar-Hazy Center currently has this Blackbird on exhibit.
As we’ve already mentioned, the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft served as the basis for the long-range, sophisticated, strategic reconnaissance aircraft known as the SR-71 Blackbird. The first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base (AFB), California, in January 1966. The SR-71’s first flight took place on December 22, 1964. On January 26, 1990, the U.S. Air Force deactivated its fleet of SR-71 aircraft due to a shrinking defense budget and high operating expenses.
Photo by Edwards History Office file photo and U.S. Air Force
Additional source: U.S. Air Force