That Time An SR-71 Made An Emergency Landing In Norway After Spying On The Soviets
On August 13, 1981, Jay Reid and I made the first SR-71 landing in Continental Europe. It was virtually unannounced—and not particularly welcomed.
Blair Bunting Captures The Essence Of The SR-71 Blackbird In These Dramatic Photos
Our friend and renowned advertising photographer Blair Bunting has fallen in love with shooting military aviation subjects in his signature style. Recently he shot the F-22 and the F-16 with dramatic results. Now he has added the iconic and sinister looking SR-71 Blackbird to his portfolio, and here are the incredible…
Celebrate The 51st Anniversary Of The SR-71 Blackbird's First Flight With These Crazy Stats
On December 22nd, 1964, the SR-71 Blackbird took to the air for the very first time, rising above Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale with F-104 chase planes in pursuit. The occasion would mark the birth of one of the most amazing and renowned aircraft of all time.
The SR-71 Blackbird's Most Spectacular Flyover Was Also Its Slowest
One of the most legendary stories related to the SR-71 Blackbird has nothing to do with how fast or how high it could fly. Quite the opposite really, it has to do with how slow and low it flew, somewhat accidentally, the results of which was probably one of the most spectacular visual and audible moments in aviation…
Legendary Skunk Works Founder Kelly Johnson's Rules Of Management
Clarence “Kelly” Johnson is the Babe Ruth of aerospace design. Aircraft programs under Johnson were so cutting edge and historically influential, and his cult of personality and management strategy so effective, that he and Lockheed’s Skunk Works (which he also founded) are forever enshrined in mankind’s technological…
You'll Swear The Ground Shook After Watching This Heavy SR-71 Departure
Take an SR-71 Blackbird, load it to the brim with fuel and sensors and hand it to the most experienced Blackbird pilot of all time, BC Thomas, with over 1200 hours in the jet, and this is what you get. According to BC’s notes, the Blackbird was traveling at over 400 kts (about 460 mph) by the time he pitched the nose…
This SR-71, F-14, F-4 Formation Shot Is An Air Combat Dream Come True
This has to be one of the coolest and the LOUDEST military aviation photos in history. No less than three Tomcats and three Phantoms are headed by an SR-71 Blackbird as they pour on the coals during a high-speed, low-level flyby over NAWS China Lake. The circumstances of how this shot came to be remain a mystery, but…
The SR-71 Blackbird's Air Show Demo Was Both Sinister And Awkward
The SR-71, an aircraft that first flew some 50 years ago next Monday, still holds the public's imagination like no other flying machine. It could lob a couple of guys, some cameras, radars and jammers through the air at Mach 3.2. Yet seeing it perform down-low at an air show was something akin to watching Darth Vader…
