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The fastest, highest flying, piloted, air-breathing aircraft ever known!
You hardly get a chance to see it coming before it's gone! It moves through the air faster than a 30.06 bullet, "actually
about one and a half times as faster than a 30.06 bullet"...What is it? It's the stealth aircraft codenamed: SR-71 BLACKBIRD,
and it's the fastest, highest flying, piloted, air-breating aircraft that the United States has ever designed and built. You
might be surprised to learn that the SR-71 has been kept such a secret that most people have still not heard of this marvelous
aircraft even though it's first flight took place on April 26, 1962. The entire line of A-12 and SR-71 aircraft was built
between 1959 and 1965, although modifications to basic airframes were completed later. Without a doubt, the SR-71A is one
of the greatest military aircraft ever built and remains an unsurpassed strategic reconnaissance asset.
After the April 26, 1962 flight of the A-12, eighteen A-12's were then ordered and built for the CIA serial (#06924 to
#06933) and serial (#06938 to #06941). Numbers (#06934 to 37) were developed into USAF YF-12s and SR-71s. More surprisingly
still, the SR-71 Blackbird's #976 last flight took place on March 27, 1990 and SR-71 Blackbird's #958 last flight took place
on February 23, 1990 ending more than 25 years of clandestine service.
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| SKUNK WORKS LOGO |
To say that the Blackbird is the product of design genius is an understatement...and not quite accurate. The Blackbird is
the product of the collective design genius of Lockheed's famous "Skunk Works", the Advanced Development Projects
Group, which gave birth to the U-2, and F-104, among other notable designs. Though the Skunk Works has enjoyed a reputation
for innovation and accomplishment, they have not received half the credit due them for their work on the Blackbird. That has
been due to the secrecy surrounding it's development and operational use. The Blackbird was designed to operate outside of
the limits and boundaries of all other aircraft. So EVERYTHING on the SR-71 had to be special made. Ninety-three percent of
the airframe was made from titanium composite so that it could expand during flight. The former Soviet Union had the largest
sources of titanium, so the CIA set up companies all over the world to buy the titanium that they needed from them. The component
parts of the Blackbird fit very loosely together to allow for expansion at high temperatures. At rest on the ground, fuel
leaks out constantly, since the tanks in the fuselage and wings only seal at operating temperatures. There is little danger
of fire since the JP-7 fuel is very stable with an extremely high flash point. Lockheed's "Skunk Works" has given
us still another leathal stealth aircraft, which has already proven itself quite effective, the F-117 Stealth fighter.
I saw my first SR-71A BLACKBIRD #959 at the Armament Museum while visiting the Elgin Air Force Base in Florida, 1981. My second
SR-71B BLACKIRD #956 was viewed at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, 2005. "If any of you are planning a trip to the Kalamazoo Air
Zoo, you will be very disappointed with the lighting inside the museum, especially where the Blackbird is located. It was
like being inside a cave and taking pictures! I shot a whole roll of film on the SR-71B, and only 5 pictures came out - and
that's only because I ran them through my photo program. I was very disappointed after paying a $20.00 admission price. One
of the worst air museums I have ever been too."
| PILOT & SRO COCKPITS |
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| SR-71B # 956 |
| PILOT & SRO COCKPITS |
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| SR-71B #956 |
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| SR-71B TAIL #956 |
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| FRONT LANDING GEAR - SR-71B #956 |
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| FRONT LANDING GEAR - SR-71B #956 |
| ALMOST AIRBORNE |
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This is a photograph of M-21 (#941), with D-21 (#504) attached, the aircraft that was lost on 30 July 1966. The only Mothership-21
(#940), and Drone-21 (#502) combination to survive the Tagboard program in existence, and can be seen at the Museum of Flight,
in Seattle,WA.
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| SR-71 COCKPIT |
Museum Of Flight
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle, Washington 98108
Phone (206) 764-5700
Cockpits - Pilot an SR-71 Blackbird
The Cockpits exhibit in the Museum's Great Gallery invites visitors to climb into the cockpit of a real SR-71A Blackbird
reconnaissance plane or a full-scale mock-up of an F/A-18L Hornet fighter. To the best of our knowledge, the Museum of Flight
is the only place where the public can manipulate the controls of a Blackbird, the fastest, highest-flying jet ever built.
The Cockpits exhibit provides a two-minute overview of the instrument panels, distinctive engine sounds, and a photo opportunity
for anyone who has ever dreamed of piloting these historic aircraft.
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's SR-71A Blackbird was designed as a Mach 3 successor to the U-2 spy plane and used by the
U.S. Air Force and NASA. The Blackbird holds the speed record for a jet airplane at more than 2,100 mph. It also has the record
for level flight at the highest altitude, more than 85,000 feet, or 16 miles above Earth. The Museum's Blackbird cockpit,
from aircraft serial number 64-17977, was built in 1964.
The Boeing Company F/A-18 Hornet is a frontline fighter and attack-bomber currently in use by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps,
and many foreign nations. The exhibit's cockpit is a mock-up made by Northrop Corporation to demonstrate a proposed version
of the Hornet to its customers in 1979.
The Blackbird is powered by two J58 Pratt & Whitney engines - These engines were specially designed and built just
for the SR-71, and are the biggest most powerful aircraft engines in the world. Powerful enough to run 45 locomotives, or
the world's largest ocean liners. These engines are so powerful that no other aircraft today are capable of using them, so
they sit in warehouses on some military base. The special oil used in the J58 Pratt & Whitney engines is solid at room
temperature. The special fuel that was used to fly the SR-71 was once placed in a bucket and a match thrown in, the fuel put
out the match because it had such an extremely high flash point.
The SR-71 Blackbird is the fastest aircraft in the world to take off under its own power. The Blackbird family of aircraft
can cruise at speeds of more than Mach 3 and fly over 85,000 feet (25,500 m) in altitude. Conceived over 40 years ago, Blackbirds
remain the fastest and highest flying air-breathing production aircraft ever built. The SR-71 holds all of the official land,
airspeed and altitude records worldwide. The SR-71 has been officially out of service since 1999 and still the Blackbird's
official airspeed and altitude remain classified to this day! The SR-71s speed is listed as up to mach 3.5 (2,200 mph) and
altitudes of over 85,000 feet. You can be sure of one thing, there will never be another BLACKBIRD or any other aircraft capable
of achiving what the SR-71 "could or can do"!
These are SR-71 and Skunkwork patches that I have found on the internet.
| MY PERSONAL COLLECTION OF BOOKS AND VIDEOS |
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| LOCKHEED BLACKBIRD BEYOND THE SECRET MISSIONS |
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| COMBAT LEGEND SR-71 BLACKBIRD |
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| SR-71 BLACKBIRD IN ACTION |
| Airpower Magazine - SEPTEMBER 1993 VOL 23 NO. 5 |
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| SPECIAL COLLECTORS EDITION - A-12, YF-12, SR-71 BLACKBIRDS |
| Airpower Magazine - JULY 1997 VOL 27 N0. 4 |
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| IT'S BACK! THE RETURN OF THE SR-71 BLACKBIRD |
| Popular Mechanics - JUNE 1991 (Copy of Article) |
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| THE BLACKBIRD IS BACK - by Terry Pappas |
If you would like to purchase a copy of the Popular Mechanics June 1991 article: Click Here
| VHS MOVIE - 40 MINUTES |
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| AMERICA'S SPYPLANE CODE NAME: BLACK MAGIC |
| VHS MOVIE - 60 MINUTES |
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| SR-71 BLACKBIRD THE SECRET VIGIL |
Information provided by:
(Video)
SR-71 BLACKBIRD, THE SECRET VIGIL
(Video)
America's Spyplane - Code Name: BLACK MAGIC
(Airlife Publishing)
COMBAT LEGEND SR-71 BLACKBIRD, by Paul F. Crickmore
(Airpower Magazine - July, 1997 Vol 27 No. 4)
It's Back! The Return Of The SR-71 BLACKBIRD
(Airpower Magazine - Sept, 1993 Vol 23 No. 5)
Special Collector's Edition. A-12, YF-12, SR-7 BLACKBIRDS. The Complete Story In One Issue.
(Squadron / Signal Publications 1982)
SR-71 BLACKBIRD In Action
(Popular Mechanics - June 1991, Article)
THE BLACKBIRD IS BACK, by Terry Pappas
LOCKHEED BLACKBIRD BEYOND THE SECRET MISSIONS - by Paul F. Crickmore, Osprey Publishing Company
SR-71 AIRCRAFT MUSEUM
LINKS:
SR-71 BLACKBIRD DESCRIPTION:
SR-71 BLACKBIRDS
BLACKBIRD SURVIVORS - Where Are They Now?
BLACKBIRD LOSSES
The OXCART Story - UNCLASSIFIED
DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER - Past Projects - SR-71
BLACKBIRD - Information and Specifications
SR-71 BLACKBIRD BOOKS & MAGAZINES FOR SALE
SR-71 PICTURES
WWW.HABU.ORG
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