The real top speed a Lockheed Blackbird has ever achieved
“During early flight testing at Area 51 with the A-12s, Jim Eastham told me that A-12 #128 flew as fast as any A-12 during testing. On the particular day that…
“During early flight testing at Area 51 with the A-12s, Jim Eastham told me that A-12 #128 flew as fast as any A-12 during testing. On the particular day that…
The crews of the SR-71 Blackbird remember the KC-135Q Stratotanker crew with gratitude for their attention to their safety The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird requires JP-7 fuel, which the KC-135Q variant…
The Blackbird’s cockpit needed to be rearranged prior to the aircraft’s first flight, but the cost was high and it wasn’t functional. The SR-71 Blackbird collected intelligence during its service…
At the Edwards AFB Open House Airshow on October 9, 1999, an SR-71 Blackbird made its final flight The brief video in this post, which was recorded on Saturday, October…
The A-12 was an early attempt by Lockheed to create a spy plane that could avoid enemy detection and anti-aircraft fire. It was the first “attempt” at a stealth aircraft…
During the harshest period of the Cold War, the SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3 + spy plane crew used some unusual equipment while flying through Soviet-controlled airspace The SR-71 Blackbird collected…
The USAF ordered 93 F-12B Blackbird Mach 3+ Interceptors, each of which was equipped with three Hughes AIM-47A Falcon air-to-air missiles in secure compartments at the fuselage’s bottom On February…
‘I am really tired of hearing the “LA speed story” so I thought I would relay a mission that gives real perspective to the speed of the Blackbird,’ David Peters,…
According to the story, President Johnson intended to call the Blackbird the “RS-71,” but he misread the letters, and said “SR-71.” The following story appears in Col. Richard H. Graham’s book…
“How about solid waste? We just had to control any urges. There was occasional incidents; no names mentioned here!” Richard H. Graham, SR-71 pilot In the following story, which appears in Col.…