The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation.
It was operated by both the United States Air Force (USAF) and NASA.
Variants
SR-71A was the main production variant.
SR-71B was a trainer variant.
SR-71C was a hybrid trainer aircraft composed of the rear fuselage of the first YF-12A and the forward fuselage from an SR-71 static test unit.
The YF-12 had been wrecked in a 1966 landing accident.
This Blackbird was seemingly not quite straight and had a yaw at supersonic speeds.
Specifications
Crew
2
Length
107 ft 5 in (32.74 m)
Wingspan
55 ft 7 in (16.94 m)
Height
18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Wheel track
16 ft 8 in (5 m)
Wheelbase
37 ft 10 in (12 m)
Wing area
1,800 sq ft (170 m2)
Aspect ratio
1.7
Empty weight
67,500 lb (30,617 kg)
Gross weight
152,000 lb (68,946 kg)
Max take-off weight
172,000 lb (78,018 kg)
Fuel capacity
12,219.2 US gal (10,174.6 imp gal; 46,255 l) in 6 tank groups (9 tanks)
Powerplant
2 × Pratt & Whitney J58 (JT11D-20J or JT11D-20K) afterburning turbojets, 25,000 lbf (110 kN) thrust each
