From Archangel to Senior Crown

The Lockheed Blackbirds hold a unique place in the development of aeronautics. In their day, the A-12, YF-12, M-21, D-21, and SR-71 variants outperformed all other jet airplanes in terms of altitude and speed. Now retired, they remain the only production aircraft capable of sustained Mach 3 cruise and operational altitudes above 80,000 feet.

This is the first book to address the technical aspects of these incredible aircraft. A NASA historian, the author describes the design evolution of the Blackbird, from the Archangel to the Senior Crown (the Air Force's SR-71). He describes in detail the construction and materials challenges faced by Lockheed, as well as the Blackbird's performance characteristics and capabilities.

He further describes NASA's role in using the aircraft as a flying laboratory to collect data on materials, structures, loads, heating, aerodynamics, and performance for high-speed aircraft. The reader will benefit from the technical and programmatic lessons learned.

This volume was produced in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.