One of the most unusual and impressive achievements in aeronautic design was the SR-71 Blackbird spyplane, developed and built at Lockheed's famed Skunkworks where our local Target/Best Buy/Lowes complex now stands. The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum annex at Dulles Airport (an underrated showcase) has one for public viewing. An ultra-high performance aircraft, the SR-71 holds the airspeed record for jet-powered aircraft of 2193 mph (about 10 football fields every second). The SR-71 required usual care and feeding, such as refueling immediately after takeoff because it would lose so much fuel through body panels that would not form a seal unless the airplane was flying far beyond the speed of sound (thus heating and stretching the body to fill the gaps).
Although a challenging aircraft to fly, their pilots loved them. Here are a couple of their stories, one frightening, the other amusing. (I don't know if that second story is true, but I'd like to believe that it is.)
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