SR-71A BLACKBIRD TURNS 40

Flight Journal, Feb 2005 by Pace, Steve

ON DECEMBER 22,1964, THE FIRST Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird was successfully flight-tested at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 (AFP 42) in Palmdale, California, with Lockheed Skunk Works test pilot Robert J. Gilliland at the controls. In a little more than an hour, SR-71 chief test pilot Gilliland flew the prototype to a top speed of more than 1,000mph (approximately Mach 1.35-most likely a speed record for a first flight).

Lockheed produced another 28 SR-71As, two SR71Bs (pilot training and transition) and a single SR-71C pilot trainer and transaction plane.

The Blackbird remains the fastest and highest-flying turbojet-powered airplane ever flown in day-to-day operations. Its maximum speed was about Mach 3.35 (2,485mph), and it flew at altitudes that approached 100,000 feet (30,480 meters or 18,9 miles). To attain its spectacular performance, the Blackbird was powered by two 34,500-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney J58 bleed-bypass turbojet engines.

On October 9, 1999, NASA's SR-71A made the last Blackbird flight; the last USAF flight was on October 10, 1997. All surviving SR-71s and its predecessors (A-12, YF-12 and M-21) are now on display in the U.S. and the UK.

-Steve Pace