Posts tagged ‘blackbird’
The SR-71 Blackbird is Actually Dark Blue
By Chad Upton | Editor
I saw the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird at an air-show on the west coast in 1986. When the announcer introduced the jet, he indicated the plane had left New York about an hour earlier. A similar flight would take more than 5 hours on a commercial jet, but the SR-71 Blackbird is capable of traveling at over 2,200 mph (3530 km/h). As a kid and now as an adult, this blows my mind.
Although it was retired in 1998, it still holds the record for fastest jet powered aircraft, which it achieved in 1976. It was so fast that the standard procedure for missile defense was to simply accelerate and outrun the missile. (more…)
Broken Secrets 