The chief of the SR-71 crew reveals why the Blackbird never stopped leaking fuel
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 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…
How close did a Blackbird Mach 3 spy plane ever come to being shot down? The famed spy plane SR-71 Blackbird is renowned for holding the official record for the…
“If they hadn’t had the unstart when they were going through the gate, the record speed would’ve been higher. Their goal was to make 2200 mph,” David Peters former SR-71…
Ben Rich of Lockheed Skunk Works presented a paper in 1976 that provided a brief overview of the “Bx,” a straightforward modification of the SR-71 Blackbird into a supercruising strike…
If KC-135Qs were unavailable, ordinary Stratotankers could be used to refuel the SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3+ spy plane. If it weren’t for air refueling, the SR-71’s range would be relatively…
The first aircraft to use its own fuel for hydraulic fluid was the SR-71 Blackbird and it was called the fuel hydraulic system The legendary SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3+ spy…