Key Points and Summary - The SR-71 Blackbird delivered unmatched Mach-3 recon, but its costs proved fatal. -Each flight hour ran $200,000–$300,000, driven by extreme maintenance, heat-damaged coatings ...

Key Points and Summary - The SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, held its speed record not because of its airframe's limits, but due to a crucial safety restriction on ...

Sleek, black and evil in appearance, the SR-71 Blackbird was THE masterpiece of Cold War engineering. Flying faster and higher than any fighter, this stealthy reconnaissance aircraft could snoop where ...

Titanium is fantastically expensive, and difficult to fabricate, relative to other materials—meaning it was only ever practical to use on the world’s fastest plane.