The KC-135Q It’s impossible to overemphasize the essential role played by the KC-135Q tanker crews, without whom successful prosecution of the SR-71 Blackbird mission would have been impossible. As told…
The SR-71 Blackbird One of the most sophisticated Blackbirds, the SR-71 (along with the A-12 and YF-12) was created by a group of Lockheed personnel under the direction of Clarence…
The SR-71 Blackbird The US Air Force (USAF) created the SR-71 Blackbird in the 1960s; it was a plane that could move at a speed that was more than three…
SR-71C The Bastard The amazing video included in this post was recorded in June 2016 at Hill Air Force Base (AFB) and shows “The Bastard,” SR-71C S/N 61-7981, the last…
A U-2 pilot tells a scary story that took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis August 1955 saw the first flight of the original U-2A, which was built by Kelly…
The SR-71 Blackbird The US Air Force (USAF) created the SR-71 Blackbird in the 1960s; it was a plane that could move at a speed that exceeded three times the…
‘The next pass was different. I said to Jim that our F-15 jockeys are the best in the world, let’s give them a challenge,’ Former SR-71 Blackbird pilot, Capt. Steve…
The survival kit carried by Blackbird’s pilots and RSOs included a few unconventional items, even though no SR-71 was ever shot down The Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft were the…
‘Everything about the A-12 Oxcart program was dark alley, cloak, and dagger. Even the way they financed the operation was highly unconventional,’ Ben Rich, second Director of Lockheed’s Skunk Works…
Only the hottest fuel was transferred to the engines by the SR-71 Blackbird smart valve, while cooler fuel was sent to the avionics and to retract landing gear The Lockheed…