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Anonymous ID: 93c704 May 24, 2024, 10:35 p.m. No.20911950   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1986

>>20911925

 

SR-71 BLACKBIRD FOUNDATION

 

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Foundation Background & Mission

In the fall of 1957, the CIA initiated a program, code-named "Archangel", as a follow-on to the venerable U-2 spy plane, which was rapidly becoming obsolete as Soviet radar and missile systems improved. Project Archangel was initiated to develop a spy plane that could not be shot down. Run by Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson, the premier aircraft designer of his day, the eventual result of this program was the SR-71, developed by Lockheed's famous Skunkworks. The aircraft was built using never before tried technologies, materials and techniques. Built in a very short time, and with a limited budget, the Skunkworks team exceeded all expectations. The SR-71 (nicknamed the Blackbird because of its flat black radar absorbing coating) flew higher, faster and stealthier than any other aircraft ever built. It captured speed and altitude records that still stand decades later.

 

 

The SR-71 first flew in December 1964, and operated worldwide for the Air Force through 1989, when its mission was discontinued. In March of 1990, the last Air Force SR-71 flight to the Smithsonian shattered four world speed records, which still stand. The SR-71 program was reactivated in conjunction with NASA for a brief period, but was finally shut down in 1999. All the remaining Blackbirds were delivered to museums, where they remain to this day, including the Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum.

 

 

During its reign, the SR-71 Blackbird was the world's dominant aerial surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft yet was shrouded in secrecy. Due to its rapid ascent to a high cruising altitude at the edge of space, few people ever saw it fly. It had a mystique in that people knew it existed but few had actually witnessed it in flight.

 

 

It has now been almost two decades since the last Blackbird flight. Dennis Tito, the organizer of the SR-71 Blackbird Foundation, seeks to reignite interest in the aircraft and educate people about its historical significance. Mr. Tito has engaged a small elite team of aviation designers to reproduce the SR-71 Blackbird using modern design techniques, modern materials and modern jet engines. Unlike the original SR-71, the new aircraft will not fly invisibly at Mach 3 at the edge of space. However, it will be economical to operate at conventional speeds and altitudes, and thus will be accessible, both visually and physically, to the public for examination, educations, discussion, and exploration.

 

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https://www.sr-71foundation.org/mission