My favorite quote from Brian Shul’s book was “We did Nebraska in 5 minutes. I think that’s the best way to do Nebraska.”

You really didn't think they were really gonna admit to its actual capabilities of a top secret airplane now did you? 😅

One of my grandfathers was a SR-71 crew chief. He told me, back in the 90s when it was being "decommissioned", that the top speed would never be disclosed because the Airforce didn't know for sure what it was and would probably never know. So the following might be the truth or just a cool story. You mentioned the manual saying the speed was more limited by the structural integrity of the airframe and air inlet more than the engines, this is true but an SR-71 that had been flying for awhile was faster than one brand new. He said that each plane had become an unique individual with slight differences in length, width and shape, and that each time they pushed that mach 3.2+ they changed a little more. The skin, frame and air inlets were being slightly alterened, reforged, by air pressure and friction heating making them "organically" reshaped to be just slightly more aerodynamic and more efficient each time, when they didn't break themselves or pieces fuse together that shouldn't. He never said how they measured these differences but that they were small, not noticeable to the eye between individual flights, but made things difficult to repair any worn or damaged surface segments with stock parts. He said that this was first noticed back in the late 60s and Lockheed was very interested in how each plane changed, he believed that the planes retired in the 90s were probably different in shape and significantly faster than when he worked on the same ones in the 60s. I have no way of verifying anything he said he was talking around NDAs and national secrets and would not give specifics for a variety of reasons, so might be true might just be a cool story.

I was 18 stationed at Beale AFB as a Avionics Instrument Tech back in 1982. I fixed all the instruments and did the "spike schedule" on the SR-71. The spikes could move 26 inches and the fwd and aft doors would open and close at different speeds and turns. We checked the system up to 85,000 ft and topped out at 3.2 mach on the spike cart(test equipment). Each SR-71 sortie had a formal debrief with the tech reps and the mechanics. For my shop we were interested in aerodynamic disturbances or engine stalls which usually occurred when the inlet spike and or doors were out of calibration for the speed, altitude, or AOA. We had recorded MRS tapes. This was like a EKG line across a paper. The altitude topped at 85,000 feet and the speed stopped recording at 3.2 mach. I saw many tapes of 3.2 mach. The Lockheed engineers never disclosed what the absolute top speed was they did say it was limited by the spike and the fwd and aft doors. I am 60 now and I am blessed to say I wrenched on the SR-71 for the first years of my AF career. This was a awesome video, thanks for bringing back memories. God Bless 🙏

Best line: '... while outrunning missiles.'

I was a 19 year old Airman, stationed at RAF Mildenhall, 84 - 86. We had SR-71s there. My war time duty was Rapid Runway Repair. So I got to put on my Chem gear, and lay out by the runway, and watch them take off and land. Such a magnificent machine. Great memories.

Many years ago a friend, now deceased, told me of monitoring radio reports of the last flight of the SR-71 that was donated to the Smithsonian. That flight was from LA to Washington D.C. He swore that he wrote down the time it left LA and the time it arrived in DC. He consulted a map and did some calculations. He came away with an average speed significantly higher than they would admit to at the time. And, being an average that included take off and landing, the max speed at altitude would have to higher. Somewhat later, when the Air Force reported on the flight, they gave departure and arrival times that were different than my friend had written in his notebook. He swore that the Air Force was covering up the actual max speed of the aircraft.

For those who are unfamiliar with our military, every plane, tank, gun , and every weapon we have flies faster, shoots farther, or does whatever it is designed to do better than they tell us. That is why we are the best!

I didn't hear about Brian Shul dying. Rest in Peace, Major Shul. Your service and your L.A. speed check story will never be forgotten.

Two stories about the SR-71: 1 - I met a guy that told me he worked on the engines for the SR-71. What he said was that the turbine blades were encased in a ring of graphite. The blades went so fast that they stretched and ate into the graphite to maintain the seal. This whole system had to be replaced after every flight. 2 - I also met a guy that was stationed at the Plattsburgh AFB and told me he saw an SR-71 cross his radar screen once. There were just two blips before it exited his screen.

I worked at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft located in West Palm Beach FL in 1977. The Air Force held a customer appreciation day for the employee working on the engine. In a conference room we met two SR-71 pilots who told about some of their missions and plane details.. They showed us a film taken from the plane of two Sam missiles being launched and chasing after plane. The pilot hit the power and out ran the Sam's. You could see the Sam's falling behind the plane then their proximity fuses blowing the missiles up! I was also totally amazed at the camera systems on the plane that could track a missile from the ground up and chasing the plane. I was also told by the Pilot that the Russians had figured out away on how they could shoot a SR-71 down.

I flew F-16s in the 1980s. Everybody knew the "official" top speed was a myth. The Blackbird could fly as fast as it needed to.

My dad worked on F-111s in the late 1960s somewhere near Fort Worth Texas. One day, while he and many others were working on those planes in the hangar, an SR-71 developed some kind of problem and had to land at that facility. The managers came into the hangar and told everyone to stop what they were doing and to get out of the hanger RIGHT NOW!! This was sometime between 1968 and 1970 when the SR-71 had just started flying and was still super secret. My dad and his fellow co-workers had no idea what was going on, so they went to the break room/lunch room... which had some great big windows gave them a great view of the runways and allowed them to see the SR-71 roll up into the hangar. Can you imagine the thoughts that went through their heads? They knew what jet fighters looked like and they knew what the B-52 looked like. Then, they see this plane that looks like nothing else on the planet!! A plane that looks like something out of a science fiction movie. Anywho... that is my story. I hope you like it.

This is my favourite plane on the planet.

was at Dayton airshow about 15yrs ago and was talking with 2 pilots. they just smiled and said the sr71 could come out of retirement and blow away any speed record.

My neighbor (recently deceased) designed the Pitot tube at the front of the SR-71. He had a great story about discussions during testing and how he determined they were running ridiculous speeds based on thermal induced discoloration of the Pitot tubes metal.

If SR-71 is that fast for a 1960s skunk works design, imagine what new toys _we do not know of_ the US has.

I had a guided tour of the Seattle Museum of Flight. The guide used to be a 71 pilot. Told some amazing stories. When he told us the "official" too speed, my father asked what the unofficial top speed was. He responded with, "Fast is all I can say."

While serving in the USAF from 1976 thru mid-1980, stationed at Ellsworth AFB in SD as a jet engine troop working flightline, I had the opportunity to witness 1 of these planes land as a transit bird at our base. The SP personnel very quickly escorted the taxiing aircraft to the 90 row of docks(last row at north end of the runway)into a waiting dock that already had doors open(they would accommodate a B-52 easily)and shut the doors after the aircraft shut down. (We also had another one set down about a year or so later, same deal). I knew a couple troops in the SP squadron who were working security at night up there, they told me you have 3 minutes to go inside and look at it after scrutinizing my line badge. I did so and was amazed at the size of it, couldn't help but notice all the fuel on the floor because the SR-71 was designed that way to allow for expansion when at speed and would leak like a sieve when cool. We took our look at it and the SP people said, "You didn't see this tonight, right?" "Nope, didn't see anything....." Personnel were brought in from Beale AFB to make necessary repairs and bring start carts for it. It departed 2 days or so later, and the resultant sound/shock wave from the burners lighting off was actually much louder than a KC-135A tanker using water injection! Very cool to see this display of sheer power, that jet was at altitude and leaving a contrail inside of 5 minutes after a steep angle of attack climbout, and could still be heard loud and clear after it disappeared from sight. So cool to see one in person, and to see it fly!

I can confirm this. My grandfather designed the nose and wings of the SR71 while working for Skunkworks. He told us that it went 3.5+

I remember seeing an interview of an SR-71 pilot describing how they outran a surface-to-air missile. He was quoted saying, "We got up to *scary* Mach speeds..." ... Scary... for an SR-71 pilot. I don't think he was talking a measly Mach 3.2 - that wouldn't have been "scary" for an SR-71 pilot.

Back in 1988 I had a girlfriend who was a USAF air traffic controller. She monitored the sea of Japan. She told me that SR-71's often flew across her airspace, but did not show-up on radar. SR-71 pilot's transmitted their position using Morris code. She said it was pretty easy to calculate their speed between position fixes. They crossed her airspace at 3,000 mph. I don't think anyone believes the SR-71 could only fly 500 mph faster then a stripped-down F-15 in full after-burner.

I had the opportunity to talk to the test pilot who set the "speed record" in the blackbird. He told me his orders were to keep it believable. I asked how fast it would go and he replied that first of all that was top secret and second, he was never allowed to open the throttles to find out.

He mentioned the word "habu" in his introduction. That terms is associated in my mind with Okinawa, Japan and its very poisonous indigenous snake, the habu. Around 1984, I was working for The University of Central Florida as the lead designer for the USMC's TACWAR company-level manual wargame. We went on many multi-week trips to all of the Marine Corps' "garden spots" and in 1984 we were in Camp Schwab, but we frequented many of the Air Force bases for "provisions." I was in the parking lot of the PX at Kadena AFB and heard this very loud noise. Looking up, I witnessed an SR-71 taking off like a missile. It was very memorable. A few years later, they were gone. Glad I caught this even at least once in my life.

I'm an Aerospace engineer. When I was in college one of my professors told me that he worked on the A-12/YF-12A/SR-71 programs. He stated that the top speed of the aircraft was limited by the heat generated on the airframe. I asked him for an approximate top Mach number; he said above 3.4.

A guy I know was manning one of the scopes in the CIC aboard a carrier back in the early nineties when he mistakenly triggered an alert for an incoming ballistic missile track. He was pretty new to the fleet and saw something dropping towards the fleet descending rapidly through 100k feet and "Way the hell faster than mach 3". He called for an alarm and it took a minute for the XO to get over there and ID it as a scheduled Blackbird flight

My bro-in-law (since retired) was a USAF Lt Col… Early in his career, when he was in the missile silos, he would listen to Salt Lake control, and he actually heard one of the SR-71’s “descending to FL 800” messages. *I have a picture of him in a spacesuit at an undisclosed altitude in a U2 spy plane. The windows were mostly iced over, but the sky was BLACK, and you can see the curvature of the earth out the window.*

I volunteer at the National Museum of the Air Force where we have an SR-71 and an AF-12. The info in this video will make for some interesting conversations when showing and discussing these aircraft with our visitors! Thanks for sharing your research!

I had the chance to attend a speech made by an SR71 backseater. He said they never reached the aircraft's limits and that every time the aircraft went up, it could break every record it previously set.

A buddy of mine worked on the dew line radar when an SR-71 was coming through. He was not allowed to track it and check the speed. He saw the blips on the radar and with an experienced estimate he knew it was going faster than advertised.

Just got to see the SR71 at McMinnville Evergreen aviation Museum in McMinnville Oregon. You can reach out and touch it. It is awesome to behold. This has been my childhood dream to see it and I got a little wound up because I got to see it and touch it and fulfill a dream. The level of technology involved to get an aircraft to move through the air so fast is testament to the dedicated men who pushed forward to the edge and beyond to make sure this country is the most dominant and most prepared to defend freedom. I am now 56 years old and an Army veteran. I hope we see more of this. I want to make sure my kids can grow up free. This plane sent a notice to those who have desires to have tyranny over the masses that we see you and you better be afraid…

Like my brother's 1974 Monte Carlo, with a 454 big block with a massive quad carb, was able to keep on accelerating, far beyond the car's steering, braking and suspension's ability to handle safely. And for certain the Black bird is capable of surpassing the stated top speed because it is obvious that the US Military always understates their aircraft as well as many other vehicles performance. I wouldn't doubt that the Blackbird would be capable of speeds in excess of MACH 5, but the fact that she would run out of fuel before her top speed could actually be ascertained is the likely case with those birds. Considering that the aircraft leaks fuel like a bloody sieve when taking off until air friction heats up the titanium plates of her hull enough for them to expand and seal the tanks is just a little hint to her capabilities AND, like the predecessor experimental aircraft, the fuel would begin to boil at higher speeds because of the friction from the air heating up the airframe, most pilot would not want to tempt fate by boiling the fuel that his aircraft is relying upon to sustain flight. Also, the Blackbird literally did not carry enough fuel to actually determine her top speed. by the time the speeds of 3.5 or higher were reached, she would have to slow down and look for the nearest flying gas station. So, unless they actually want to give those old birds a massive overhauling and try to determine their top speed, we will never really know the highest speeds they're capable of attaining.

50s tech with records that still hold, as far as we know...unbelievable tech from Kelly Johnson and all the dedicated engineers who produced this masterpiece.

I love the blackbird, to think that this was designed in the 1950s with sliderules, truly shows how amazing those engineers and builders were. I DONT believe when the blackbird was retired in 1990, that it wasn't replaced by something else even faster ( Aurora etc).

*A KC-135 boom operator friend of mine that refueled them and was stationed in Oki in the 70s told me the Habu would routinely do Mach 6 like the X-15 but only in restricted areas where they couldn't be clocked by radar...He also said the 135 would be shaking at max speed while the Blackbird was near stalling during the entire refueling process.*

Hi, I'm a former aircraft mechanic for the former (not this new crap, wheels falling off, engine on fire, off the runway UAL) United Airlines and I worked alongside a former in flight refueler for the SR-71. He told a story of how during a refueling operation where he's in visual contact with the pilot, he asked the pilot how fast the "Blackbird" could actually go. He said the pilot responded over the radio with "I can't tell you it's classified.". Then in a remarkable display of "pulling back the curtain" the pilot held up his hand and showed the refueler all five fingers as if to state an actual speed of mach 5! Now here's something people rarely state when mentioning Mach: Mach at altitude, that is, above 30,000ft is 652 mph and at sea level it's 752 mph. This is because mach is a speed of sound measurement which varies with density. In less dense atmosphere mach is slower which is the case at higher altitude. In outer space Mach is zero. These things need mentioning when throwing around Mach numbers. So, with that in mind, Skunk Works may have been playing a little game by publishing low altitude mach Numbers to throw looky-loos off of their trail! Mach 3.2 at sea level is 2,407 mph approx. At altitude it's only 2,087 mph approx. They know that the Russians would have been thinking 3.2 is an "at altitude" speed. If they really mean that the speed is 2,407 mph and the craft actually flies that speed at altitude then it's relevant Mach number is actually 3.69. Now if the 71 flew at mach 5 at attitude like my coworker stated then it would actually achieve a speed of 3,260mph which is very close to what another commenter said here about the plane regularly flying at 3,000mph. That speed's mach number drops to 4.3 at sea level. Back in the early '90's I spoke with an SR-71 pilot at fleet week in San Francisco and he told me the limiting factor of speed wasn't the engines because they are ramjet engines, but it was the limit of the aircraft material capabilities. He said the leading edges would heat up to 900 deg F. Funny though, he didn't say they couldn't get hotter and maintain their temper! He also didn't say what speed or altitude the craft was flying at when they got that hot. It seems to me that they speak to people stating specs in an ambiguous way knowing that we will assume they mean one thing when they didn't actually state it. When I hear stories like this and I look at all of it from the 30,000 foot view it all comes within the realm of possibility! When all is said and done, I really don't know, they're just stories until I can actually verify it all! Peace out!

I was an engine mechanic on the B-58 Hustler. It was capable of speeds so fast that the friction with the air would burn the decals off of the skin of the aircraft.

In my humble opinion,the SR-71 Blackbird is one of the greatest airframes in aviation history.When you take into consideration the time frame it was designed and constructed in and the manoeuvres the CIA pulled to gather the materials needed for the construction,it truly was a magnificent achievement.

Video from 3:20 to 7:20 is the best 4 minutes I ever listened to regarding the Blackbird. Concise, cogent and the numbers were quoted and displayed. First rate.

They didn't lie, it's called keeping your enemies in the dark. The ceiling and speed were both 'rated' for a certain amount, but I guarantee you that they were Much higher than ever openly stated.

When it comes to military hardware the US tends to understate its capabilities, unlike certain Slavic or East Asian nations.

I always assume that unclassified published speeds on military aircraft are very conservative numbers.

I was visiting my USAF Uncle in '68 and we went to the base at Elgin - an SR71 had come in and we could see the verticals as we passed a hangar. I asked if we could see it, so we drove down the hill to the hangar. A security guy started walking toward us as we approached and I saw him kick off the safety on the M16 - -we stopped, he stopped and stared like a stone. We backed out of there as we had entered. I heard it went out the next night and a little show off ( or maybe not) pilot hit the full burners on TO and it blew out some windows in the officers club which is right at the end of the runway. It is a wall of glass. What a fantastic piece of machinery, I followed it since the early 60's when it first hit Popular Mechanics in a little blurb with a photo. There is a single engine drone on a spike at the Skunk works - it would launch off the back of an SR71. Looks like a science fiction thing. Everyone should read Kelly Johnson's book.

Alex has added a much needed avenue to millitary aviation/aviation in general. Yet to see him do a video I didn't like, didn't learn something from or didn't find interesting. GREAT work!

During the Falkland War in 1982 our was at RAF Lakenheath. The SR-71 stationed there were flying recon for the Brits over the Falklands. I was working the Flight Line and saw a SR-71 takeoff and it literally made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up ! I will never forget the breath taking power, sight and sound of the SR-71 !

I met and talked to the RO on the record speed holder flight, at the Smithsonian back in 2016. I asked him how many times an emergency had to be declared with the Blackbird. He smiled, paused a minute, then proceeded to tell me that, technically about 75% of all Blackbird flights could be considered an aircraft in distress/emergency condition. This was due to the fact that the temperatures associated with going Mach 3, always caused a failure in one system or another, of varying urgency. Due to the nature of the Blackbird’s mission sets, they didn’t actually declare emergencies because it was just overall assumed that the plane was going to have issues of some sort, during and after a mission.

What ppl need to know is the SR-71 was under a blanket of secrecy. So let the beauty of the SR-71 remain true. She preformed, she done well, she will always be loved as she is. ❤❤

I watch this particular episode every few weeks,just because I love the look and the mysterious origins surrounding this wonderful aircraft.

I didn’t know that Brian Shul had passed away. RIP

I worked at NASA at Edwards Airforce Base in the early 90's and NASA took one of the retired SR-71 Blackbirds for high altitude and speed testing for it's research. I worked in RACOM (range communications) and every time the SR-71 took off at Edwards doing it's research flights at 80,000 feet and Mac 2.5+ all of the ground instruments in the control room zero'd out. We all had clearances of at lest secret and still we weren't able to confirm anything above that altitude and speed. Every single flight was the same and very frustrating because I got to see it and touch it up close and it was a gorgeous aircraft. If it was a woman, it would be a 10+ but it did leak like a sieve on the ground because it needed to refuel in the air and then when it was at speed, it would expand and seal up and was good to go after that.

I was stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa in 1981 with a Marine Corps Harrier squadron. We got to see the SR-71 and the F-15 in action quite a bit. Amazing aircraft!

This comment goes out to Alex Hollings, the creator of Sandboxx. You have some really great content. My late father, a retired Naval Aviator, flew the F9F - Panther during the Korean War, and then the F-4 Phantom in The Nam. At first, they used the F-4 Phantom B during the war in Vietnam, later switching over to the F-4 Phantom J, so, I was especially excited about those Vids. So once again, thank you for your great content!

this dosent surprise me at all, While the Russians tend to exaggerate their weapons' capabilities for propaganda, the US has a reputation for downplaying theirs. I wouldn't be taken aback if the SR-71 could actually hit a top speed of Mach 4.5, though I'm uncertain if they had the necessary technology to manage the heat issue.

Alex, I just love how excited you get just doing your job! You’re a lucky man, doing what you love - good for you, brother. And thank you for contributing yet another Blackbird episode to my ‘Blackbird’ playlist collection; there are never too many. And thank you, EVERYONE, who leaves comments about technical details and especially prior experiences with this entire program. There are currently over 1200 comments, and I will go through the entire list. I ESPECIALLY appreciate reading from the people who worked on the design, manufacture, maintenance, and overhaul of the airframe, avionics, fluids, and the J58. It’s great to have watched so many pilot interviews, but there’s just not enough written about and by the folks that made the ‘Bird and kept it flying.

Alex -- Check the data on the SR-71 speed run from New York to London. From a reliable source (a KC135Q pilot), that SR took on fuel near the Azores. Time to refuel at the tanker's top speed, subtract that time and corresponding distance from between the timing gates, and recompute the Mach based on remaining distance divided by the remaining elapsed arrival time at the London gate -- not the landing time. It's stunning. . . and may be why NO AIRBREATHING JET has ever attempted to eclipse that record. To quote Kelky Johnson in a public interview I attended in person, ". . . we wish the (then) Soviets would match or break it (the record), because there's still a little left under the hood." Ultimately, when asked about the top speed, he replied, "No one knows except the pilots who've had her there." Things that make you go, "Hmm. . . "

I’ve been in aviation maintenance for nearly 40 years. Aircorp Aviation is probably the best out there. Great product, great people.

I was an Airman at Beale AFB. They marked the 20th anniversary of SR-71 service with a mach 1 plus flyby and boom. Scheduled for 1300 hrs We assembled outside, patiently looking skyward waiting , watching for something. Then at about 1302, boom, which cracked out surprisingly sharply, very similar to dynamite in a quarry blast. I quickly scanned the sky again and noticed a faint contrail that stretched from horizon to horizon! Was this contrail from the Blackbird? Not sure but this made me wonder if it does fly faster than stated?! Brian Shul was a very interesting man and quite an inspiration. Super positive attitude! I got to be around him a couple of times.

I met Brian Shul in Wichita KS at a conference and I had the privilege of being the first in line to buy his book. I asked him if they'd ever declassified the top speed to which he replied: "Oh, it was never classified, we just don't really know the top speed; it just kept getting hotter so we'd have to back off."

The Blackbird was flying as a prototype 50 years after the first EVER flight, which was less distance than the wingspan of a 747!!! It was designed without real computing power, and to me, remains an incredible and under estimated achievement. It is also my second favourite aircraft behind the Spitfire.

I'm reminded of a comment by Maj. Brian Shul in his well-watched speech at the Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Laboratory: "I can tell you that the plane goes faster than what the book (pilot's manual) says it will go." Another time: "we were going over 2000 miles per hour and I still had 6 inches of travel on the throttle." Also, in the "LA Speed Check Story" The L.A. Tower gave him 1992 knots over the ground." A knot, is 7, but MPH is 8. So there's a 1.14 conversion factor. 1992 knots = 2270 mph. And that's what Brian and his back seat man Walter were doing on a routine training mission.

The government won't devulge the performance of a lot of their stuff. My dad worked for the Navy in a high level position developing and advancing sonar. He had a top secret clearance so was privy to a lot of top level info. He came home from work one day and had something he just had to share. Under a major threat to not devulge the information to anyone he told me what the top speed submerged nuclear attack submarine was. Holy Moly. Far above what was thought. This was back in the 60's. To this day I have not shared that info with anyone.

40+ years ago i was stationed in okinawa, at the px i was wearing a t-shirt with the blackbird on it stating mach3+, while there a major in a flight suit (not uncommen on an airbase) when he mention my shirt telling me to add a couple of plusses, it was then i saw his patch that said Habu Driver, habu is what the locals called it

What fun! Thanks for sharing!

I know an engineer that worked on this. He is my dad’s friend. Amazing dude and still machining late into his 70’s.

When I was in high school. I remember getting up to get ready for school, and hearing on the news that an SR-71 had just taken off from the west coast headed for the east coast. One hour and six minutes later it landed in Washington DC. California to DC in an hour and six minutes. That is absolutely haulin balls.

What a glorious plane. And created during the days of performing calculations with slide rules.

Almost as amazing as the plane are these personal stories. Thanks to all for sharing.

Solid video! I like you contextual comments and practical representation.

I was washing my clothes in a hotel laundromat in a hotel in Singapore with a very elderly American gentleman last year. We chatted and realised we are both former aeronautical engineers and aircrew. We chatted in the small laundry for an hour until our clothes were done. Turns out he was one of the designers of the SR-71. He confided in me but wouldn’t elaborate that the Blackbird was faster than on paper and also that the U.S has aircraft we don’t know about . Funnily enough, and we laughed about it, he was born and raised in Roswell New Mexico. I never exchanged contact details. Wish I had, though this gentleman was very elderly and I reckon on one last vacation 😢.

Very interesting video - thank you. You may want to look at the max. altitude: Most reports state ~80K feet. But I have heard that there are recently declassified reports of altitude in excess of 120K feet. I heard a joke about the SR-71 - at the time the plane had just been 'declassified' (?) and the USAF admitted publicly that it 'existed'. Joke goes: SR-71 is flying over Dallas, Texas, designation 'Aspen-XXX'(I don't recall the actual numbers). For fun, the pilot calls up Dallas commercial ATC = "Dallas ATC, this is AspenXXX, requesting permission to 'go to 90 thousand feet'> Hysterical laughter can be heard through the radio as Dallas ATC staff are laughing their butts off. Finally, one ATC controller gets back to ASPEN-XXX - is a VERY sarcastic tone he says ".... yeah, sure - you go right ahead there, Aspen-XXX, and good luck!". Without a moments hesitation, Aspen replies "Roger Dallas, this a Aspen-XXX DESCENDING to 90 thousand feet". Total silence from Dallas ATC !!

My father worked space track at Cheyenne Mountain in 1968 during the Vietnam War. After the blackbird was decommissioned he told me a few stories that indicated that the blackbird was both faster than it's official top speed and could fly higher than it's official altitude ceiling. I am certain the pilots were trained fully in the capabilities of the aircraft and never reveal it's true capabilities. You have to remember that the aircraft was designed in the late 1950's and built in the early 1960's with many upgrades to it's equipment over the course of it's close to 30 year operational life. Among the upgrades I am certain they included avionics, engines, flight controls, computers, optics, and frame modifications and coatings. This combined with public statements that the frame was stronger after 30 years of service than the day it came off of the factory floor to me infer it's capabilities far exceeded the original 1950's designed performance capabilities.

What a great video. Thanks. I did a TDY where the F-4s and SR-71s played some games and also worked in a squadron with F-15s, 16's, 3's, and A10s in an operational test and evaluation squadron from 1980-Dec 82. What a great group that was and I miss my old AF days every minute of the day. The smell of JP4 was great.

I like how the continued secrecy around the Blackbird means Kelly Johnson's legend continues.

I think the issue was not thermal issues, rather that if you go too fast the inlet shockwave would occur too close to the compressor which can cause a flame out. I believe this has happened in the field to both engines at the same time. The relight was quite scary according to the report I saw.

I worked the bar at a hotel in Riverside CA in 1989, outside March AFB where SR71s were based. Pilots would stay there, and get loose at the bar. I asked one "So the SR does what, Mach 3?" And he said "Oh, it goes WAY faster than that!"

There is an SR-71 Blackbird on display at the air museum in Portage, Michigan. I used to go there just to see the SR-71. It was a century ahead of it's time and arguably the most beautiful jet ever built !

Man I'd worked with in the 80's came out of the Navy. Told me a story, he was on a ship off the coast of Okinawa Japan and was on radar. Saw a signal coming in and addressed his Colonel. He was ordered to erase the signal and forget what he saw. He told me it was SR-71, refused to tell me the speed. Then he claims he was in a bar with a bunch of his Navy friends and he saw some pilots sitting by themselves. He went over and said hi, introduced himself and asked if he could join them. David, was a complete geek and very approachable guy. They started talking about what they did for work and the pilot talked about flying the BlackBird and the other guy said he was on instruments. David told them he saw them on radar and they told him he didn't. David asked about the plane and they said they put their food on the glass to heat it up before they ate. The plane has a problem at speed with the engines lurching yawing the plane suddenly. "Feels like a train wreck. Slams you against one side of the cabin or other." David asked how fast it was. They wouldn't discuss this but did claim, they've never pushed the plane beyond 40%.

Thanks! This is my all time favorite aircraft.

If you’ve never seen that beast operate live, you can’t appreciate what a wonderful machine it was. Got to see it at RAF Mildenhall during an air show in 1987.

A friend who worked at Edwards AFB (as a senior FTE) told a story of the last official flight (the LA-NY record flight), where the plane was unable to take on a full fuel load so was unable to fly as fast as they planned. Since the plane was going to wind up in a museum after it landed, they weren’t worried about overheating the aircraft, so they were going to “show off.” The original flight plan was under an hour from LA-NY, but without a full fuel load, they had to throttle back. Even so, the plane came close to Mach 3.4 (2242mph) at one point in the trip.

Glad that I was able to see a live SR-71 at an air show in Missouri in the 90’s. It’s a fantastic aircraft. The concentric rings of fire in the exhaust when the afterburners are on is exhilarating.

At Wright Patterson airforce base they had a plain that looked like a SR71 but it had 4 engines and a small oblong window with a thick metal plate on a lever to completely cover the window. It was then flown on instruments. I don't remember its prefix. The last time I was there it was not in the main building anymore. 4 engines that looked just like the ones on the SR71 that was setting next to it.

I met an uncle of a friend who was a USAF inertial navigation technician on the SR71. He was still held to TS requirements even being out of USAF for 15 years. He said their top speed was above Mach 4.5. He would only confirm it was faster. He saw the exact speed when processing post flight navigation system.

When I worked as an air traffic controller we had one call us from above controlled airspace over Pensacola Florida declaring an emergency. He wanted us to be aware that he may need a lower altitude since he had an engine out. When asked where he wanted to land, he said he was going back to his base in California.

Greetings: Good show mate. Thx 4 the share.

This isn't about the SR-71 but about how the USAF downplays the listed top speed of their aircraft. My father worked on the B-58 Hustlers before the SR-71's entered service. From Lubbock, TX, with a reconnaissance pod, a B-58 flew to Alaska, during that earthquake in 1964 and to DC, and had developed films in 6 hours. That was an average cruising speed of Mach 4, per my calculations. He refused to tell me the top speed as it was still classified.

If you have the original VHS version of Great Planes for the SR-71 which I do. There is a snippet of radio traffic between a tanker crew and a SR-71 pilot in the program. In all the up to date versions the pilot says "proceeding to mach 3" which matches closed captioning. If you have the original VHS he clearly says "proceeding to mach 5." They did a very good job of altering all the modern copies, but played side by side you can tell the difference and the original is quite clearly not mach 3.

As a Coastie I was fortunate enough to go to C-1 school in 2008-9. We learned about the F-18s system performed. But even still, I’ve been a fan of the 14’s

I know of an incident when a RAAF F111 reached Mack 3.5. The pilot was about to retire and the wanted someone to test a new paint. He took it to maximum altitude and put into a dive. When they got back on the ground the copilot was yelling not stop abuse at the pilot. Apparently he thougt his arms were going to break trying to pull it up as the ocean got closer and closer. Seriously thought he was going to die. They had to replace every rivet as all the panels were peeling off.

I was stationed in Okinawa when the Habu's were retired and flown back to Beale. I was called to a loud noise complaint at the Officer's BOQ. Upon arrival, a bunch of the SR-71 pilots were having a party before leaving. It was no big deal, and they weren't "trashed", they didn't realize things had gotten a little too loud. All were cool about it. After I explained what I was there for to the ranking pilot, we just started BS'ing a little, and I happened to ask, just how fast "really" was the Habu. He told me he didn't really know. Anytime "the enemy" sent a SAM, if it looked like it was going to get close, they just increased the throttle a little bit until the SAM ran out of gas, then backed the throttle down. We both laughed, I handed his ID back to him and told him to have a good night. I did notice that our Shift Commander's wife was in the room partying with the pilots (and she was trying very hard not to be seen) ... but that wasn't my business.

1970 Viet Nam, I use to track these on missions over N Viet Nam, and they were WICKED fast! ! ! NVA didn't have much time to shoot at them. Kadena AB, Okinawa, swoop in over N Nam and back home again...no time for an inflight movie.

I was a sensor operator on a p-3c Orion and while deployed to Kadena we did a mission and tracked one coming down the bering sea over the Kamchatka peninsula at 2466.93 knots that is Mach 3.7 back in 1991. During our debrief we heard that one pilot on his way to retirement pushed her to Mach 3.9 trying to hit Mach 4.

I stood next to a SR 71 Blackbird, Infact the immediate threat of violence from the Mrs was the only thing that made me move on .At Duxford England. Its a Fantastic Aeroplane, The Closest I'll ever get to a Space Craft .The Engineering is just Fantastic.

I was stationed at Hickam AFB '77-'81, returning from a JC-130 training flight taxied past a Blackbird on the tarmac. The heat shimmering effect was amazing...

I one knew a guy who said he worked on radar systems during the initial testing of what he believes was the Blackbird SR71. The rate at which he said it entered and exited his airspace had him thinking his equipment had malfunctioned. He never disclosed how fast it was going, but when I said “Mach 6?” He was like, “No, we’re talking much FASTER than that…” The stuff they share with us is light years behind what’s actually in use, quietly protecting us every day. ⬛️🇺🇸⬛️

Great video I like your story telling style.

Always a great video and info 🇺🇸👍

toI was a KC-135Q Tanker Task Force Navigator in Kadena AB during the mid 1980s and personally clocked the Sr-71 at above 3.5 Mach! We were airborne skirting the Russian border to air refuel the HABU on a post strike A/R and our jet was at FL330 and we saw a contrail above us, so I turned on my ranging equipment

I had a friend that was a Lockheed SR71 test pilot. He told me the limiting speed factor was the windshield temp limit. Which he usually saw at around Mach 3.3. But he noted that at that windshield temp limit, he was only at about 1/2 power lever travel.

Some pilots have came forward with mission stories. One was flying over NoKo and fired on by missile defenses and he said once it lit him up and fired he just opened it up full afterburners and out ran the missile.