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Building an RC Blackbird
Flight Journal
|February 2020
An SR-71 nine years in the making
When it comes to ultra-secret, highaltitude recon and surveillance, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is the very icon of awe and mystery. Few people have ever seen these futuristic-looking aircraft up close that weren’t on active duty. The full-size Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3-plus strategic reconnaissance aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force. Developed as a black project in the 1960s by Lockheed Skunk Works division, it was in service from 1964 to 1998 and was designed to fly at 80,000 feet. A total of 32 aircraft were built.
This story is from the February 2020 edition of Flight Journal.
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