Beginning in the 1980s, four manufacturers offered models of the F-19 Stealth Fighter: Revell, Monogram, Italeri, and Testors The first operational aircraft in the world built to take advantage of…
Test Pilot Norvin C. “Bud” Evans, in 1956, examined the effect of atmospheric nuclear testing on the most durable aircraft in the USAF inventory by piloting his specially modified F-84…
The USAF’s 8th Air Force Commander and former SR-71 Blackbird pilot, Lt.-Gen. Thomas J. Keck, became the first NATO serviceman to fly a Russian Tu-22M3 Backfire long-range bomber on August…
One of the most unique air-to-air kills in aviation history is ascribed to “Chiefs” from 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS, now known as 335th Fighter Squadron, FS) during Operation Desert…
The backseater later indicated a slow speed of 155 knots; the pilot saw 152 knots or 175 mph. The SR-71 at that point was gently floating down; control certainly would…
‘At some point in the evening, the F-111 guys began to press me, in a good-natured way, for classified information about the SR-71. Probably the most frequently asked Blackbird question…
Before Saigon fell, on April 29, 1975, C-130A Hercules with tail number 56-0518 completed the final mission out of Vietnam C-130A Hercules, tail number 56-0518, completed the final mission out…
‘This one pilot had made the Yuma run in a TA-4J on Friday and was returning to Jacksonville on Sunday. Due to the time zone shift it’s likely that he…
Code-named “Nice Girl,” the recon fly-off between the A-12 and the SR-71 took place between October 20 and November 3, 1967 Unofficially referred to as the “Blackbird,” the SR-71 is…
Their placement was for the sophisticated ECM systems the SR-71 Blackbird got in the 1970s and 1980s but they are not dents The SR-71 Blackbird collected intelligence in some of…