‘It was thought if the Chance Vought XF8U-3 Super Crusader where to have gone into production it would have been powered by a J58,’ Jim Goodall, former Master Sergeant at…
“In military power, we would start to fall off the boom. The solution was to light one afterburner with careful finesse,’ Brian Shul, former SR-71 Blackbird pilot The Lockheed A-12…
A-12 pilot Jim Eastham dropped the nose down a bit to see if he could at least reach Mach 3.0. Out of nowhere, Jim hit good air and in the…
Congresswoman Beverly Byron was the only female woman to have flown on the legendary SR-71 Blackbird; she did it as a VIP guest in 1985 The photos in this post…
The SR-71 Blackbird’s tires could withstand about 15 full-stop landings, but after ten takeoffs, they were replaced The SR-71 Blackbird collected intelligence in some of the world’s most dangerous settings…
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…