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After the SR-71 takes off, it has a rendezvous with a KC-135Q tanker seven minutes later. The SR-71 takes off with a very light fuel load and after this refueling, the plane can fly up to 2,500 miles without refueling. The aircraft then accelerates to speed and altitude which is about Mach 3.2 at 85,000 feet.

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The A-12 is the first of all Blackbird Variants. First flown in 1962, it had a very short career, and was retired in 1968. The A-12s sat in storage for over twenty years in Palmdale before being transported to museums around the country.

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The YF-12A is a prototype for a proposed Mach 3+ interceptor/bomber. Only three were originally built and only one remains today. The YF-12A program was cancelled in the mid-1960s for budgetary reasons. However, the aircraft went on to serve NASA before its eventual retirement in 1979.

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Following the development of the A-12 came the SR-71, an improved platform for reconnaissance. The capabilities of the SR-71 versus the A-12 have been debated many times. Each of these aircraft served different purposes and regardless which is better, the SR-71 is still a magnificent aircraft.

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Although the M-21 looks like an A-12, it was not modified from one. After A-12 #60-6939 was built, two M-21s were built. These aircraft had two cockpits: one for a Pilot and one for a Launch Control Officer. Due to the fatal accident with aircraft #60-6941, the M-21/D-21 program was cancelled.

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In February of 1968, Lockheed was ordered to destroy all tooling used to create the Blackbirds. Also during this year, the first SR-71 arrived at Kadena to replace the A-12s and it also flew its first operational mission on March 21st. May 8th saw the last operational mission of an A-12, which was over North Korea

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Later, in 1989, the Air Force SR-71 program was officially terminated due to budgetary reasons. The argument was that the aircraft could be replaced with today's spy satellites and maintaining the plane was too costly. This early retirement decision was realized to have been a large mistake and in September of 1994, Congress voted to allocate 100 million dollars for the reactivation of three SR-71s

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The SR-71 is a large aircraft that can be compared respectfully to the size of a Boeing 727. The SR-71 is approximately 103.876 feet excluding the nose probe, which is four feet, eleven inches. The wingspan of the airplane is 55.62 feet and the height is 18.5 feet.

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The estimated maximum speed of the aircraft is Mach 3.2 and some sources say that it can accelerate to Mach 3.5. The estimated maximum altitude is 85,000 feet but some sources say that the SR-71 can fly up to 100,000 feet and can probably go even higher.

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Each J58 engine has 32,500 lbs. of thrust, enough to drive the largest ocean liners. They are the largest of their kind and used to be the most powerful in the world. The engine is one part of a propulsion system, which includes an inlet, and an ejector, each producing thrust. In order for the system to work properly over a long period of time, the inlet must capture the onrushing air properly. To do this, a large spike is placed in the inlet and moves forward and back as conditions change. When the air is not captured properly, an event called an unstart occurs. An unstart is best described as a violent yaw where the aircraft pulls to the side where the engine has unstarted. To correct the problem, the pilot must push the spike totally forward and adjust it to capture the air properly, this is called a manual intake. The J58 engines operate as ordinary jets at low speeds, switching to become ramjets at high speeds above 2,000 mph.

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The airframe of the SR-71 is very unique. To withstand the friction-generated heat at Mach 3+, over 90 percent of the airframe is made of titanium composite. Also to withstand heat, the main gear tires have been impregnated with aluminum and are filled with nitrogen.

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In order for the SR-71 to fly the worldwide missions, it has a special fleet of modified KC-135Q tankers for refueling. SR-71s run on JP-7 fuel, that fills the six large tanks in the fuselage. The component parts of the Blackbird fit very loosely together to allow for expansion at high temperatures. At rest on the ground, fuel leaks out constantly, since the tanks in the fuselage and wings only seal at operating temperatures. There is little danger of fire since the JP-7 fuel is very stable with an extremely high flash point.

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