In 1984, an SR-71 Blackbird flying at 83,000 feet over the Soviet Kola Peninsula lost both Pratt & Whitney J58 engines simultaneously — and dropped 65,000 feet toward the Barents Sea in less than two ...
The Wild V8 Machines Behind Every SR-71 Launch ...
The J58 required the use of a special AG330 engine starter cart to spool the engines up to the proper rotational speed for starting. Taken at Beale Air Force Base (AFB) in 1986, the impressive video ...
With a top speed of Mach 3.35, or 2,221 mph, the Lockheed A-12 “Archangel” or “Oxcart” is the fastest air-breathing jet ever built—even faster than its larger two-seat cousin, the SR-71 Blackbird. But ...
The SR-71 Blackbird remains an aviation icon, decades after being retired. The aircraft was one of the most visually distinct, and technically distinct, aircraft ever built. The SR-71 looked like ...
INDUCTED: Engine maker Pratt & Whitney has been inducted into the Blackbird Laurels Society to recognize its contributions to the U.S. Air Force's SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. Two P&W J58 ...