Tag: SR-71
This was the only time that Santa Claus marshalled in an SR-71 Taken by former SR-71 Crew Chief Tsgt. David Burns, the odd photos in this post show Santa Claus marshalling in an SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3 spy plane. Burns was a Blackbird Crew Chief at Beale Air Force Base (AFB),...
"I assumed the Soviet MiG-31 fighter pilot would like nothing better than an opportunity to fire his missiles at an SR-71 Blackbird. Certainly, the SR-71 Blackbird would be a prized target," Ed Yeilding, former SR-71 pilot As we have explained in a previous article, retired Soviet MiG-31 pilot Major Mikhail Myagkiy took part in several intercept attempts on SR-71 Blackbirds...
On Jun. 29, 1987, during a “Baltic Express” reconnaissance mission, an SR-71 piloted by retired Lt. Cols. Duane Noll and Tom Veltri, experienced an engine failure. They were intercepted by two different pairs of Swedish air force Viggens... Four Swedish air force pilots received U.S. Air Medals during a ceremony held in Stockholm, Sweden, on Nov. 28, 2018, recognizing their...
"If the SR-71 had violated Soviet airspace, a live missile launch would have been carried out. There was practically no chance that the aircraft could avoid an R-33," Major Mikhail Myagkiy, retired Soviet MiG-31 pilot In this article, a retired Soviet MiG-31 pilot, Major Mikhail Myagkiy, recalls techniques used during practice intercept attempts on SR-71 Blackbirds participating in Peacetime Aerial Reconnaissance...
"Suddenly the wife began sliding her wedding ring off and handed it to me. She said, 'I would love to have my ring flown at Mach 3,'" Richard H. Graham, SR-71 pilot The following story appears in Col. Richard H. Graham’s book Flying the SR-71 Blackbird. At a Wife's Insistence Sometimes visitors would ask if we would take a personal trinket of theirs...
The tale said that President Johnson was supposed to name the Blackbird the "RS-71" and that he confused the letters, reversed them, and said "SR-71" The following story appears in Col. Richard H. Graham's book Flying the SR-71 Blackbird. On 24 July, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson gave a news conference at the State Department auditorium with 315 people in attendance. For...
"How about solid waste? We just had to control any urges. There was occasional incidents; no names mentioned here!" Richard H. Graham, SR-71 pilot In the following story, which appears in Col. Richard H. Graham’s book Flying the SR-71 Blackbird, Graham himself explains how you could have a bathroom break while flying the legendary Habu. Bathroom Breaks The most frequently asked question about the pressure...
"The SR-71 pilot circled around behind the crowd and came in behind the hangers so as not to be seen or heard and just as he cleared the hangers he threw it into full afterburner. The sound was like an explosion and everyone jumped. It was awesome." Taken at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) the impressive video in this post...
While the SR-71 was operational, several pilots flew the Blackbird faster than the official record but not during sanctioned record attempts Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3-strategic reconnaissance aircraft remained the world’s fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft. From 80,000 feet, it could survey 100,000 square miles of Earth’s surface per hour. So it comes as no surprise if,...
"With no drag chute doors, the drag chute had departed the aircraft and was lost at sea. We were grateful to the Lockheed engineers for designing the drag chute to lock to the aircraft only when the drag chute handle was pulled. One can only imagine the effect of the chute deploying in-flight at Mach 1.5!" Former SR-71 RSO...
