Homepage The SR-71 Blackbird Astro-Nav System (aka R2-D2) worked by tracking the stars and was so powerful that it could see the stars even in daylight

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird Astro-Nav System (aka R2-D2) worked by tracking the stars and was so powerful that it could see the stars even in daylight

Linda Sheffield Miller

Sep 24 2023

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Cold War Era / Losses and Aviation Safety / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

SR-71 crew chief explains why the Blackbird never stopped to leak fuel and why SR-71s on public display are still weeping JP-7 today

Sep 17 2023

Linda Sheffield Miller

Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

SR-71 pilot recalls that time his Blackbird flew so fast that he and his RSO landed at Kadena AB two hours before they took off from Beale AFB beating the sun

Sep 13 2023

Linda Sheffield Miller

Aviation Humor / Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird / SR-71 Top Speed

Legendary “Sled Driver” Brian Shul tells the story behind his famed SR-71 Blackbird Ground Speed Check

Sep 9 2023

Dario Leone

Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird / SR-71 Top Speed

SR-71 pilot recalls when he accelerated his Blackbird to Mach 3.2 and denied an F-15 pilot an “easy,” simulated kill against its Habu during a training sortie

Sep 3 2023

Dario Leone

Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird Crew Members Survival Kit included a very rare Aluminum Gun (the Gun was made in Aluminum to keep it Lightweight)

Aug 27 2023

Linda Sheffield Miller

Did you know the SR-71 Blackbird had a Smart Valve that allowed to use JP-7 fuel as internal coolant?

Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird had a Smart Valve that allowed to use JP-7 fuel as internal coolant. Here’s how it worked.

Aug 20 2023

Linda Sheffield Miller

Ben Rich recalls when CIA financed the A-12 Oxcart with secret funds and back-door payments to Lockheed with personal checks to Kelly Johnson for more than $1 million

Aviation History / Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

Skunk Works Director Ben Rich recalls when CIA financed the A-12 Oxcart with secret funds and back-door payments to Lockheed with personal checks to Kelly Johnson for more than $1 million

Aug 13 2023

Linda Sheffield Miller

Cold War Era / Losses and Aviation Safety / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

Two Blackbird Mach 3 Spy Planes were Hit by North Vietnamese Air Defenses: one A-12 was hit with shrapnel, another Oxcart was damaged by SAM debris

Aug 12 2023

Dario Leone

Here’s why the SR-71 Blackbird airframe was designed to leak fuel

Cold War Era / Losses and Aviation Safety / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

Blackbird pilot recalls when an SR-71 slid on JP-7 fuel residue while taxing into Kadena Hangar

Aug 5 2023

Linda Sheffield Miller

Aviation History / Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

The story of the SR-71 I, the long-range high-speed interceptor version of the Blackbird fitted with AIM-120 missiles and AN/APG-65 radar aimed to shoot down Soviet AWACS planes and strategic bombers that never was

Aug 2 2023

Dario Leone

The story of the SR-71(Bx), the supercruising strike aircraft version of the Blackbird armed with AGM-69A SRAM missiles into the chines

Jul 29 2023

Dario Leone

SR-71 Blackbird crew members tell the story of the Inlet Unstart that prevented them to go Faster than Mach 3.2 during the Absolute Speed Record run in 1976

Jul 27 2023

Linda Sheffield Miller

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

Civil Aviation / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

[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

Jul 23 2023

Dario Leone

SR-71 pilot tells the story of when a KC-135Q crew flew through a thunderstorm with their tanker’s throttles frozen to refuel its Blackbird

Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

KC-135A Crew Chief recalls when his Stratotanker had to purge its tanks of the JP-4 to load JP-7 to refuel an SR-71 Blackbird (No KC-135Q was available)

Jul 12 2023

Dario Leone

SR-71 Pilot tells the story of when his Blackbird flew So Fast that He and his RSO arrived at Beale AFB almost a Day Before They Left Kadena AB

Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

The story of the SR-71 Double-Engine Flameout over North Vietnam that led to the Blackbird’s nickname the “Lead Sled”

Jul 9 2023

Linda Sheffield Miller

U-2 Vs SR-71: former USAF Avionics Technician explains why the Dragon Lady still flies spy missions while the Blackbird had been retired

Aviation Humor / Cold War Era / Military Aviation / SR-71 Blackbird

SR-71 pilot recalls when he and his RSO stole the jar with testicles of the (passed away) mascot of U-2 pilots and flew it at Mach 3+ (U-2 crews were proud of having flown the mascot’s testicles at 70,000 feet)

Jul 3 2023

Dario Leone

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Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird Astro-Nav System (aka R2-D2) worked by tracking the stars and was so powerful that it could see the stars even in daylight

Thanks to our partners

SR-71 crew chief explains why the Blackbird never stopped to leak fuel and why SR-71s on public display are still weeping JP-7 today

SR-71 pilot recalls that time his Blackbird flew so fast that he and his RSO landed at Kadena AB two hours before they took off from Beale AFB beating the sun

Legendary “Sled Driver” Brian Shul tells the story behind his famed SR-71 Blackbird Ground Speed Check

SR-71 pilot recalls when he accelerated his Blackbird to Mach 3.2 and denied an F-15 pilot an “easy,” simulated kill against its Habu during a training sortie

The SR-71 Blackbird Crew Members Survival Kit included a very rare Aluminum Gun (the Gun was made in Aluminum to keep it Lightweight)

The SR-71 Blackbird had a Smart Valve that allowed to use JP-7 fuel as internal coolant. Here’s how it worked.

Skunk Works Director Ben Rich recalls when CIA financed the A-12 Oxcart with secret funds and back-door payments to Lockheed with personal checks to Kelly Johnson for more than $1 million

Two Blackbird Mach 3 Spy Planes were Hit by North Vietnamese Air Defenses: one A-12 was hit with shrapnel, another Oxcart was damaged by SAM debris

Blackbird pilot recalls when an SR-71 slid on JP-7 fuel residue while taxing into Kadena Hangar

The story of the SR-71 I, the long-range high-speed interceptor version of the Blackbird fitted with AIM-120 missiles and AN/APG-65 radar aimed to shoot down Soviet AWACS planes and strategic bombers that never was

The story of the SR-71(Bx), the supercruising strike aircraft version of the Blackbird armed with AGM-69A SRAM missiles into the chines

SR-71 Blackbird crew members tell the story of the Inlet Unstart that prevented them to go Faster than Mach 3.2 during the Absolute Speed Record run in 1976

[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

KC-135A Crew Chief recalls when his Stratotanker had to purge its tanks of the JP-4 to load JP-7 to refuel an SR-71 Blackbird (No KC-135Q was available)

The story of the SR-71 Double-Engine Flameout over North Vietnam that led to the Blackbird’s nickname the “Lead Sled”

SR-71 pilot recalls when he and his RSO stole the jar with testicles of the (passed away) mascot of U-2 pilots and flew it at Mach 3+ (U-2 crews were proud of having flown the mascot’s testicles at 70,000 feet)

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