SR-71

Here’s why SR-71 Blackbird spy planes could go faster than Mach 3.4 During BDA flights of Libya in support of Operation El Dorado Canyon

Here’s why SR-71 Blackbird spy planes could go faster than Mach 3.4 During BDA flights of Libya in support of Operation El Dorado Canyon

SR-71 Blackbird flying faster than Mach 3.4 The SR-71, unofficially known as the "Blackbird," is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance… Read More

1 day ago

SR-71 pilot recalls when a KC-135Q crew flew through a thunderstorm with their tanker’s throttles frozen to refuel his Blackbird

The KC-135Q It’s impossible to overemphasise the essential role played by the KC-135Q tanker crews, without whom successful prosecution of… Read More

1 week ago

Blackbird pilot recalls when his SR-71 Flew so Fast that he and his RSO Landed at Beale AFB almost a Day Before They Took Off from Kadena AB

The SR-71 Blackbird The SR-71, the most advanced member of the Blackbird family that included the A-12 and YF-12, was… Read More

2 weeks ago

SR-71 pilot recalls when he and his RSO did a Blackbird super low pass at a speed of 152 knots

The SR-71 Blackbird The SR-71, the most advanced member of the Blackbird family that included the A-12 and YF-12, was… Read More

4 weeks ago

SR-71 Mechanic explains how you could light the Blackbird’s afterburners if TEB (Triethylborane) wasn’t available

The SR-71 Blackbird In the 1960’s, the US Air Force (USAF) developed the SR-71 Blackbird, a plane that could travel… Read More

1 month ago

Only one SR-71C was built and it was nicknamed “The Bastard.” Here’s why.

SR-71C The Bastard The interesting video in this post was filmed at Hill Air Force Base (AFB) in June 2016… Read More

1 month ago

SR-71 RSO recalls when his Blackbird Photographed all of the SA-2 SAM Sites in North Korea in One Mission before doing an Emergency Landing in South Korea

The SR-71 Blackbird CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with… Read More

2 months ago

‘When the Valkyrie flies at Mach 3 it loses pieces that are bigger than the Blackbird, but the XB-70 flies less Mach 3 time than the YF-12.’ The Mach 3 rivalry between the YF-12 and XB-70.

XB-70 Valkyrie Mach 3 bomber The Mach 3 rivalry between the YF-12 and the XB-70. The futuristic XB-70A was originally… Read More

2 months ago

SR-71 RSO explains why the Last Blackbird to Crash was Buried at Sea

The SR-71 Blackbird The SR-71, unofficially known as the "Blackbird," is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the… Read More

2 months ago

The story of the Catholic priest who got an SR-71 VIP ride and flew at Mach 3.52 breaking the Blackbird Speed Record

The actual unofficial top speed of the SR-71 Blackbird is Mach 3.52. This happened because of the urgings of a… Read More

2 months ago

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

Mounted behind the SR-71 Blackbird RSO’s cockpit, this unit, (that was affectionately dubbed “R2-D2” after the Star Wars movie came… Read More

3 months ago

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

A problem of flying at Mach 3+ was that at the time when the SR-71 was devised no sealant would… Read More

3 months ago

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

‘We took off from Beale at 11:00 AM and arrived at Kadena at 9:00AM, two hours before we took off from Beale,… Read More

3 months ago

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

“‘Center, Aspen 20, you got a ground speed readout for us?’ There was a longer than normal pause … ‘Aspen,… Read More

3 months ago

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 next pass was different. I said to Jim that our F-15 jockeys are the best in the world, let’s… Read More

3 months ago

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

Although no SR-71 was ever shot down, Blackbird’s pilots and RSOs had a survival kit fitted with several non-traditional items.… Read More

4 months ago

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

The SR-71 Blackbird smart valve supplied only the hottest fuel to the engines and sent cooler fuel to retracted landing… Read More

4 months ago
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