SR-71 Blackbird

 

Timeline

• December 6th 1962: Kelly Johnson begins work on his R-12 “Universal” aircraft. It was this design that was later designated SR-71.
• 25th July 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson makes a second announcement confirming the existence of the SR-71 program
• 22nd December 1964: First flight of SR-71 prototype from Palmdale by Bob Gilliland.
• 1st June 1965: SR-71/YF-12 Test Force formed at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB).
• 25th January 1966: First SR-71 is lost during Lockheed test sortie; pilot Bill Weaver survives, but flight test engineer Jim Zwayer is killed
• 8th March 1968: First of three SR-71As deployed on detachment to Kadena AB, Okinawa, ready for their first operational missions.
• 21st March 1968: Majors Jerry O’Malley and his Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO) Ed Payne successfully complete the first ever SR-71 operational mission in aircraft 61-7976
• 27th/28th July 1976: SR-71A serial 61-7958 establishes a series of world speed and altitude records.
• 26th January 1990: SR-71 decommissioned in ceremony at Beale AFB
• 10th October 1997: Final USAF SR-71 flight flown in 61-7967.

 

Technical Specifications

 

A-12

SR-71A

Crew

One

 Two

Powerplant

Two Pratt & Whitney J58 “JJ”

Two Pratt & Whitney J58 “JY”

Max uninstalled thrust

32,500lb each

34,000lb each
Dimensions  

 
Span 55ft 6in 55ft 6in
Length 101ft 7in 107ft 4in
Height 18ft 5in 18ft 5in
Wing area 1,605 sq ft 1,605 sq ft
Weights    
Empty 54,600–56,300lb 56,500–60,000lb
Loaded gross 122,900–124,000lb 135,000–140,000lb
Performance    
Max speed* Mach 3.2 Mach 3.2
Ceiling 88,500 85,500
Reconnaissance equipment    
Cameras Perkin-Elmer Type 1 Hycon HR-308, Itek Panoramic
Elint System 6 Ampex AR-1700
Radar None Loral ASARS I

* Both the A-12 and SR-71 were designed to cruise at a sustained speed of Mach 3.2. One of the critical factors affecting maximum speed was a compressor inlet temperature (CIT) limit of 427 degrees Celsius. Increasing the temperature much above this caused damage to the engine. Therefore, the colder the outside air temperature, the faster the aircraft could fly before reaching 427 degrees, and as a result several “Blackbirds” have reached Mach 3.3.

 

Bob Archer was on-hand to photograph ‘964 when Majors Mac McKendree and his RSO Randy Shelhorse departed Det 4 on route GR-104B, during which they completed three loops around the Barents Sea on 5 July 1987. (Bob Archer)

Bob Archer was on-hand to photograph ‘964 when Majors Mac McKendree and his RSO Randy Shelhorse departed Det 4 on route GR-104B, during which they completed three loops around the Barents Sea on 5 July 1987. (Bob Archer)

All buttoned down, 61-7964 prepares to leave the Det 4 barn on a Barents/Baltic Seas mission on 17 December 1987. Ground technicians would have begun their activities 4½ hours earlier. Their first task was to warm the tar-like engine oil prior to start up, which in UK winter temperatures cooled to a solid mass. (Paul Crickmore)

All buttoned down, 61-7964 prepares to leave the Det 4 barn on a Barents/Baltic Seas mission on 17 December 1987. Ground technicians would have begun their activities 4½ hours earlier. Their first task was to warm the tar-like engine oil prior to start up, which in UK winter temperatures cooled to a solid mass. (Paul Crickmore)

Free US delivery on orders $35 or over