No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity thant the SR-71, the world’s fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Balckbird’s performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.

When the SR-71 was retired in 1990, one Blackbird was flown from its birthplace at United States Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, to go on exhibit at what is now the Smithsonian Institution’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia (this 3D). On 6 March 1990, Lt. Col. Raymond E. Yeilding and Lt. Col. Joseph T. Vida piloted SR-71 S/N 61-7972 on its final Senior Crown flight and set four new speed records in the process.