The SR-71 Blackbird

Blackbird Aircraft Stories

Here are the famous stories about the SR-71. Yes, the fastest speed over the West Coast is here. But you might find that the 'Slowest Flyby' is as thrilling. You decide how much is fact and how much is just a great story!

Lieutenant Colonel Ben Bowles saves SR-71 Blackbird #960

Lieutenant Colonel Ben Bowles saves SR-71 Blackbird #960

“On the morning of 29 July, 1968, my navigator, Jimmy Fagg, was not feeling well when we were having our preflight steak and eggs breakfast at the Personal Support Detachment. Butch Sheffield, returning from leave, walked in and mentioned he needed flight time and he would gladly substitute for Jimmy. “The flight was going well. We had just finished refueling and were accelerating thru approx 2.6 Mach and 65,000′, leaving Louisiana heading West. (ed.: usually a 40 minute flight to Sacramento) First indication of a problem was when the right engine “unstarted”. However, this was more serious than a routine inlet unstart.

 

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