Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

what is it?

The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft that was developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. Its nicknames include "Blackbird" and "Habu". The SR-71 was developed in the 1960s as a black project by Lockheed's Skunk Works division.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · mid wing · retractable tricycle gear · 16.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 3,537 km/htop speed
• range 5,925 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 2passengers
• size 78 tmax take-off weight
• built 29made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 62 years ago, in 1964.
• 🏎️Top speed is 27.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 2.9 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 16.9 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 13 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 5,925 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
• 🏔️Can fly 2.9× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1964-12-22

introduced

1966

retired

1999

status

retired

number built

29

role

strategic reconnaissance aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Skunk Works

engines

2× Pratt & Whitney J58 (JT11D-20J or JT11D-20K) / Pratt & Whitney J58

crew

2

passengers

2

length

32.7 m

wingspan

16.9 m

height

5.6 m

max take-off weight

78 t

top speed

3,537 km/h

range

5,925 km

ceiling

25,908 m

wings

mid wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.