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…
The F-4 Phantom II variant had to be designated the F-110 Spectre
The USAF F-4 Phantom II version was authorized to be designated the F-110 Spectre in 1962 McDonnell Aircraft Company delivered the F4H (later dubbed F-4) Phantom II in answer to…
[Updated] ATC controller recalls when he asked for vertical separation to an SR-71 Blackbird crew in conflicting route with an Air France Concorde Supersonic Airliner
‘I was controlling a westbound Concorde just entering my airspace when I received details of an SR-71 coming eastbound on a route that would conflict with Concorde,’ Pete Clarke, former…
How Apollo astronauts dumped on their way to the Moon and how they tried to stay clean without shower
The Apollo astronauts had to change many of their daily routines, including what they ate, drank, dressed, and even how they used the restroom On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11…
A few people nicknamed the SR-71 the “Lead Sled” after pilot Jerry O’Malley and RSO Ed Payne, on their second Blackbird combat sortie over Vietnam in 1968, dropped 60,000 feet…
The Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets that collided at RAF Fairford 30 years ago during IAT ‘93
Incredibly, both pilots escaped without a scratch, even though one of them had to eject from an inverted position; a BBC announcer said that the pilots had ‘jumped out from…
During Operation Desert Storm the F-14s RHAW gear went crazy because of the EA-6B ALQ-99 jamming pods emissions
An investigation revealed that EA-6B jamming pods emissions were one of the principal reasons for communication problems experienced by multiple Navy formations underway over Iraq on the first day of…
KC-135A Crew Chief had to purge the tanks to load JP-7 for SR-71 Blackbird refueling
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…
United Airlines Boeing 757 Pilot Recalls Challenging Landing Test for New Pilot
‘This would be only the fellow’s third actual landing in an airliner. He’d had one good one and one not so good. This was going to be a demanding test…
An RAF Phantom Pilot remembers shadowing two Soviet Bears over France with his navigator and wingman when French fighters were grounded for Bastille Day celebrations
‘The VC10 captain announced that as it was Bastille Day he had been told that we would have to look after the ‘trade’ alone and that, consequently, we could not…