In this article:
The Blackbird
What aviation geek doesn’t love speed, new technologies, advanced manufacturing methods, and the mysteries of a secret government program? Many aircraft embody these features, but none come close to the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.
It could fly over Vietnam in eight minutes, its electronic counter measures were so advanced that they are still in use today on other airplanes and remain top-secret, had tires filled with nitrogen, and was made from one of the most expensive metals on earth. And, it’s still the world’s fastest plane.
The Blackbird was designed to cruise at “Mach 3+,” just over three times the speed of sound or more than 2,200 miles per hour and at altitudes up to 85,000 feet.
The SR-71 Pilot who Buzzed the Tower of Sacramento Airport
Recorded at Western Museum of Flight in 2018, the video of the tape in this post features SR-71 Pilot Maury Rosenberg talking about the one time he decided to request a “fly-by” over the Sacramento airport on his way returning to Beale Air Force Base (AFB) – where he was going to land…