The SR-71 Blackbird

The fastest manned jet aircraft ever built. Designed by humans. On paper. With slide rules.
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Day or Night

Invisible at Night. Undetectable by Day. Feared around the clock.
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Power Incarnate

Twin JP58 Engines. 11 Shock Rings. 32,500 lbf of force. Each.
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Record Holder

The SR-71 still holds many altitude and speed records for manned aircraft.
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The Blackbird

If you're wondering why it was call 'Blackbird', you're missing the point of this photo.
Dramatic images
Simply Beautiful

With an airframe that wasn't just functional. It was gorgeous.
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The SR-71 Blackbird

SR-71 Blackbird Head-on view cockpit The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a two-seat twin-engine long-range supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft produced by Lockheed Corporation. The SR-71 was capable of flying at speeds over Mach 3.2 and at a height of 85,000 feet (25,900 Meter). The SR-71 was in duty from 1964 until 1989 and during a reactivation from 1993 until 1998. It was designed by the Lockheed Advanced Development Projects Devision aka the Lockheed Skunk Works.

SR-71 Records

The Blackbirds still hold many speed, altitude and distance records for a manned aircraft.

Altitude:

Sustained Horizontal Flight: 85,068.997 ft (25,929.031 meters) SR-71A (Tail #963).

Speed

Absolute Speed Over a Straight Course:

2,070.101 mph
YF-12A #60-6936

Absolute Speed Over a 500km Closed Course:

1,688.889 mph
YF-12A #60-6936

Absolute Speed Over a 1,000km Closed Course:

1,643.041 mph
YF-12A #60-6936

Speed Over a Straight Course (15-25km):

2,193.167 mph
SR-71A(Tail #958).

Speed over a 15/25 Kilometer Straight Course

2,193.167 MPH

Speed Over a Closed Course (1000km):

2,092.294 mph
SR-71A(Tail #958).

Speed over Distance:

West Coast to East Coast of USA

2,404.05 statute miles
Time: 1 hr 07 min 53.69 secs
Average Speed: 2,124.51 mph

Los Angeles To Washington D.C.

2,299.67 statute miles
Time: 1 hr 04 min 19.89 secs
Average Speed: 2,144.83 mph

St Louis To Cincinnati

311.44 statute miles
Time: 8 mins 31.97 secs
Average Speed: 2,189.94 mph

Kansas City To Washington D.C.

942.08 statute miles
Time: 25 mins 58.53 secs
Average Speed: 2176.08 mph

New York to London

3,461.53 statute miles
Time: 1hr 54 min 56.4 secs.
Average Speed 1,806.95 statute mph.

London to Los Angeles

5,446.87 statute miles
Time: 3hrs 47min 39secs.
Average Speed: 1,435.59 mph

Find a Blackbird

Visit our Aircraft Listing page to find out where the surviving Blackbirds are on display. Listed by Tail Number and able to be filtered by the state they are in, you can read about their history and even find the SR-71 or YF-12 nearest you.

Take a Look

On Amazon Prime Video

For the first time in 75 years Lockheed Martin is pulling back the veil on their top secret program, Skunk Works.

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