Designed by the Special Projects team in Lockheed's "Skunk Works", the secret group at Burbank under vice-president 'Kelly' Johnson, the "Blackbird" was the world's first aircraft whose primary structure was entirely titanium -- to meet the heat-resistance requirements of sustained cruising at over Mach 3. Completely new flight systems, equipment, and fuel had to be designed for the aircraft. The powerful Pratt & Whitney J58-1 continuous-bleed turbojets run with the entire variable afterburner nozzle glowing bright red as the aircraft scorches through the upper atomosphere. Used for covert strategic reconnaissance, the Blackbird can conduct multi-sensor surveillance at the rate of 80,000 square miles per hour. The two-man crew is required to wear astronaut-style flight suits due to the extremely high altitudes (and low atmospheric pressures) at which the aircraft operates. The SR-71 has never been involved in air combat, but is included by the author for the sake of his brother who thinks that the Blackbird is way cool.
