BLACKBIRD PAGE
The fastest and highest flying air
breathing jets ever built were the
Lockheed Blackbirds, these being the
A-12,YF-12A and SR-71. With two
Pratt & Whitney J-58 Turbojets
providing power this family of jets could
reach speeds of Mach 3+ and fly
above 80,000 ft. My Dad was an
egress technician with the 9th FMS @
Beale AFB, Calif (1971-1975). He
worked on Lockheed ejection seats for
the SR-71. That is why this amazing
airplane is so close to my heart.
The A-12 was the 1st
in the Blackbird Family. Operated by
the C.I.A. to overfly Russia and China
the A-12 was the fastest and highest
flying of the Blackbirds. The YF-12A
was the proposed Interceptor of the
Blackbird Family. It was cancelled due
to the long preparation time to launch
a Blackbird. Other considerations also
factored into the cancellation as well.
The SR-71 was the definitive version
of the Blackbird. Flown by Strategic Air
Command (USAF) from 1966 to 1990.
With its advanced reconnaissance
systems it could survey 100,000
square miles of the earth's surface in
one hour. This page is dedicated to
these amazing aircraft. Long live the
Habu.... Copyright 2009
breathing jets ever built were the
Lockheed Blackbirds, these being the
A-12,YF-12A and SR-71. With two
Pratt & Whitney J-58 Turbojets
providing power this family of jets could
reach speeds of Mach 3+ and fly
above 80,000 ft. My Dad was an
egress technician with the 9th FMS @
Beale AFB, Calif (1971-1975). He
worked on Lockheed ejection seats for
the SR-71. That is why this amazing
airplane is so close to my heart.
The A-12 was the 1st
in the Blackbird Family. Operated by
the C.I.A. to overfly Russia and China
the A-12 was the fastest and highest
flying of the Blackbirds. The YF-12A
was the proposed Interceptor of the
Blackbird Family. It was cancelled due
to the long preparation time to launch
a Blackbird. Other considerations also
factored into the cancellation as well.
The SR-71 was the definitive version
of the Blackbird. Flown by Strategic Air
Command (USAF) from 1966 to 1990.
With its advanced reconnaissance
systems it could survey 100,000
square miles of the earth's surface in
one hour. This page is dedicated to
these amazing aircraft. Long live the
Habu.... Copyright 2009
