The J58 turbine’s blades could withstand temperatures much higher than those of the Soviets, thanks to their technology. Consequently, the SR-71 Blackbird outperformed the MiG-25 Foxbat in terms of speed.…
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…
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…
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…
“The SR-71 Blackbird knew when your eyes started to wander to the spectacle of earth from 85,000 feet; that’s when something would go wrong,” Curt Mason, owner of Project Habu…
The main image in this post, taken at Andrews Air Force Base at an Air Show in May 1984, shows the SR-71 Blackbird #960 right afterburner blowing apart The post’s…
‘The next morning as the family sat around the table having breakfast before school, I thought to myself, no one would believe where I was last night, the North Pole…
These intriguing images, which were captured on Nov. 1, 1981, by US Air Force (USAF) Scene Camera Operator Ken Hackman, show an SR-71 Blackbird flying with just one engine running…
Kelly Johnson named Robert J. “Bob” Gilliland chief test pilot when he began designing the advanced SR-71 Blackbird for the US Air Force Lockheed test pilot Robert J. “Bob” Gilliland…