SR 71A March 1990 

It was an honor and a privilege to be part of the SR-71 process from 1970 to 1977.

As an Air Force pilot, I was number one for take off at a California Air Base, when I was informed by tower, that I was cleared for immediate takeoff, or hold short for landing SR-71. I chose to hold short,and the big black bird landed right before me.

I was fortunate to be assigned to the 9th SRW, 9th Organizational Maintenance Squadron during my time in the Air Force. Being a part of every day operations as a Crew Chief with this incredible machine was priceless. I miss it to this day. 30 years later

Once in a blue moon everything just seems to come together perfectly. That's exactly what happened with the creation of this aircraft. Beautiful.

Went to an air show at March Field in Riverside in the late 80’s, unaware that an SR-71 was not only going to do a couple fly by’s, but land and go on static display, dripping fuel as they do. I feel so fortunate to have happened to go that day or I would go to my grave not having witnessed the greatest piece of aviation technology ever created fly. But even today, having visited the museum at March solely to see their Blackbird on display, the thing gives me chills just standing there staring at it. It’s truly a legendary piece of aviation history. Sad that it is now only a museum piece, and will never have the wind under its wings again. Long live the King of Speed.

When I think of 30 years ago, I’m not thinking “1990” :(

Just consider for a minute that this work of aeronautical perfection was designed using slide rules, not CAD. Simply amazing that its first flight was April 20, 1962, and to this date, no other plane has matched its performance.

I was in the Air Force and working at the Air Force Institute of Technology. We went to the roof of the building with General Boyd to watch the plane land that day. I saw it at a different angle and it was amazing to watch it fly into the museum. That is a very short runway and the engineers had to calculate the headwind in order for it to land safely at the museum.

Still to this day the most beautiful aircraft ever made!

I still get goose bumps when ever I see that wonderful plane. An engineering marvel.

I grew up 5 miles from RAF Mildenhall, we could hear them take off in the morning. Will never forget seeing one punch a hole through a cloud on climb out.

It was such an emotional moment. The pilot simply didn't want to land. He knew it will be the last flight for this beautiful and magnificent airplane. What a brilliantly designed and built airplane. I wish I was there. I wish I had long lens and DSLR with me in 1990.

Between October '74 and April '76 I was stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Kadena is a huge installation where all branches of the military conduct flight operations. The roar of aircraft landing and taking off 24/7 was just part of the background soundtrack of living on a busy air base. However, there was no mistaking whenever a Blackbird was taking off: it shook the earth like rolling thunder. If you were outside, the intense low-frequency rumbling literally vibrated your body. Then, when the aircraft cleared the runway, the pilot stood it on its tail and, spewing plumes of fire and black smoke, it shot straight up like a rocket, like a bat out of hell. In less than a minute, it vanished in the hazy sky and all was quiet. Still gives me shivers just recalling it. Just before I rotated stateside, the Air Base hosted an air show with flight demonstrations and static displays including the SR-71. The general public was allowed to get up-close-and-personal with this amazing flying machine. Pity it's no longer in service. On Okinawa, the Blackbirds acquired a nickname: Habu, venomous snakes found on this subtropical island. When SR-71s were first flown to their new remote base at Kadena, the local population thought this strange and wicked-looking plane was shaped like the habu snake. They started calling it the habu airplane, and later, just habu. Crews who flew the airplane were also called Habu, and the name came to be associated with the blackbird program and was even incorporated into the insignia worn by crews on their uniforms. Over time, Habu has come to be associated with all Blackbird pilots and crews, but in the truest sense of the word, it represents only those who flew operational sorties. Only those crews were awarded the Habu patch.

Nearly 30 years ago. Technology has soared and society has tanked

I saw it take off and land many times in the 90's at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California. Never got old, extremely loud, flames shooting out of the engines 40 feet or more.

I lived on Beale for five years and had the pleasure of watching it fly many times. Beautiful aircraft.

There's an SR-71A in our AirZoo museum a mile from me. No matter how many times I look at that absolute marvel of technology I still get chills up and down my spine, and I thank God that Kelly Johnson worked for our side. Hard to comprehend that plane was capable of going over 1 mile in just 2 seconds.

Last plane designed by a slide rule and no computer. Still today in 2019 it's the fastest plane that we know of.

Watched the “Habu” take of and land at Okinawa in the 80s, the sheer power of the engines was amazing. Never tired of watching the plane!!!

I had the good fortune to go to the Edwards Air Force base air show to celebrate Yeagar's 40th anniversary breaking the sound barrier. In one hanger they had a U2 next to the SR 71 next to an x29. They took the SR71 up and it was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. As incredible as it looked on the ground it was just awe inspiring in flight. That was a GOOD day!

Look at those huge engines, attached to the fuselage by the thin, titanium, Delta wing! The head-on view is such an awesome view of this aircraft!

I used to work next to the “Habu” hangar on Kadena AB Okinawa Japan. They named the SR71 after the local snake, the Habu. We watched them fly everyday. It was one of the greatest displays of engineering when you see them preflight and the aircraft leaked fuel into large pans spread on the hanger floor. The pilot and Nav wore space suits since it flew on the edge of space. Awesome seeing this video bringing back all those great memories.

Great how the pilot looked like he was landing, then did those unexpected flypasts, respect is due. 👍

I was with the 9th Avionics Maintenance Squadron at Beale AFB in 1990. Worked around these every day. It was a sad day when we sent them to Palmdale and museums for retirement.

This happened in 1990 and only now RU-vid notifies me ! 😑

My Father was on the team that designed that bird. They worked on the A-12. Such an amazing machine.

That Air Force museum is absolutely amazing and it is free.

The SR 71 is the coolest airplane I’ve ever seen. Clarence Kelly Johnson .... a genius!

I remember watching a movie called D.A.R.Y.L when I was younger, and the young Android/human boy stole this plane at the end of the movie to escape and get back to his adopted family. Ever since I watched that movie, I became obsessed with this plane 😎👍

How Awesome is That?! I love to see the crowds and hear the huge enthusiasm of the kids. Very Cool!!

The Engineering behind this plane is incalculable!!!

This truly is my favorite aircraft everything from the unique design to the record setting speed. Thank you Kelly Johnson for a true marvel way ahead of its time.

Today's jets may be cool...but they'll never be SR-71 cool!

Awesome. Even those gobby little kids screaming all the way through couldn’t ruin it. Great video. Thank you.

I was there, that day. I was fortunate to be stationed at Wright-Patterson, have a couple birds that I used to maintain in the museum. USAF Museum blows the Smithsonian away.

I grew up in a small village on the Muskingum River in SE Ohio which happened to be under a flight path from the west coast to Washington DC, so it was normal to see planes flying East or West with their blinking lights at night. One clear night I was walking near the river bridge when I noticed a pair of bright blue unblinking lights silently but swiftly moving across the starry night sky from West to East. For years, I believed that I must have seen a UFO. Many years later, I learned about the SR-71 and it's speed run across the US and finally realized that it was the twin afterburner exhausts of an SR-71 that I had actually seen that night. That was the only time I ever really saw one in supersonic flight. Unforgettable!

Still the most amazing and beautiful plane ever created..

The most impressive thing that I've seen lift off from the face of the Earth was a military rocket launched from Cape Canaveral just before sunrise. The second the most impressive thing was watching an SR-71 takeoff just before sunset.

When I was 5 I thought that was the coolest looking plane ever... in nearly 50, and I still think its one of the coolest looking planes ever. Yep, its cool.

This is my spirit aircraft \ Not only was I born at BEAL Air Force Base but I also attended this show as a young adult This air plane was amazing for its time and beyond!

I cross trained and left Beale and the 9th OMS in 82. Sure miss my time on HABU in the docks...the U2 and TR-1 also.

I was too young to ever see one of these beauties fly, but it was this year 30 years ago, so I'm glad that people had cameras to document these masterpieces

Mostly designed in the 1950s. Still the craziest thing ever to fly.

Was based at Nellis air base in Las Vegas late 60s early 70s one had emergency landing. MPs surrounded it walked it up to our hanger, kicked us out, flew in repair crew. Surrounded it, walked it back to runway and it was gone. We were a f111 group and I thought it was hot but sr71 right there with it. We all like to think we had the best

About the same time and same year I witnessed another SR71 flying a low overpass on the Kelly AFB runway in San Antonio, Texas for its retirement to the Lackland AFB outdoor aircraft museum. The weather that day was horrible for its memorable end, but it was spectacular nevertheless. Its shell remains still reside on the Lackland airbase parade grounds.

I heard the sonic boom when this flight went supersonic over the Los Angeles basin. As I remember it, this flight left from Edwards Air Force Base, looped over the pacific, said goodbye to the west coast with a stunning boom over the LA basin, and then tried to get to the Atlantic in under and hour, and I think that it missed by just a couple of minutes.

Wow! Those low passes are awesome, thanks for sharing.

Had 2 of them stationed with us at Kadena AB and would always see them it was awesome. The night launches were the best.

I was there! I saw it land as a kid in Dayton Ohio. What a great time. So glad I was able to see this video again. Many thanks.

Those flybys were an incredible gesture of the pilot.

Thanks for the video. Magnificent aircraft, magnificent technological achievement at the time (and still going), amazing visionaries Kelly Johnson and Ben Rich, honorable Americans who built, maintained, and flew.

Mr Johnson's genius will be sadly missed. Brilliant man who's guidance produced so many fine specimens like this work of art.

Ahhh, the good ol days when we had air shows.

Another technical marvel from the past. This will always be my favorite plane! This summer I got to see the Union Pacific Big Boy Locomotive in action, so hopefully I will be able to realize another dream of mine which is seeing this plane fly!

I saw an SR-71 up close on Armed Forces Day at Offutt AFB in Omaha NE. It was in a hanger but we could walk right up to it and take pictures from a few feet away. This was in 1970 or 1971. I was 11 or 12 years old. I still have some of the photos.

She is hands down drop-dead gorgeous. The plane actually leaks on the tarmac. As she flies she expands up to 6 inches because of the speed. She is refueled in flight before she has to go supersonic. What a plane!

I saw two SR-71 flying many years ago they were so high I could barely even see the contrail and they covered the sky in Montana from Horizon to Horizon in under a minute they were moving

In 1970 I escorted a computer to Okinawa from Korea to install, maybe a 2 day job but I had chose not to fly home for Xmas so my Commanding officer gave me a week or so R&R. I was on the flight line during the unload and an MP tapped me on the shoulder and said "Come with me!" I always carried my camera, he told me to hand him my camera, wrapped it in a black cloth. I'm like WTF! He pointed to the extended runway they had built for B52s. They were towing an SR-71 out to the end, turned it around , in a few minutes it fired up, begun to move and it seemed almost instantly raised the nose and disappeared. As an old Warbird buff one the most impressive and excited things I have ever seen. Thank you Major White, Commanding Officer, U S Army Field Team, Korea!

I got chills when I realized that first pass was a fly by. I even pumped my fist in the air as if I was watching it in real time. I almost saluted. Thanks for the post.

I was an SR-71 pilot for two years before I had to retire. I ejected over classified airspace and spent 47 days behind enemy lines. The rescue operation for me involved over 100 soldiers from 3 different military branches. When I finally made it back to the United States I was quarantined for over a year being debriefed on the incident. I sure miss those days and it was a privilege to fly the Blackbird. But those days are gone now, I mostly consult the Air Force for classified missions and train new pilots for other secret aircraft in development, but I can't really talk much about that here. I've got lots of stories and memories from this plane, sure was a blast.

I watched in San Antonio when one came in to retire. Was there with dad and sis. We grew up with them in kadena. Watching it retire sucked.

The look and sound of freedom. Now, nearly 32 years later since she flew to her final nest , nothing compares.

I was there, up on the embankment about 30 feet to the right of the videographer.

My father and I were at the museum that day. We had jumpseated (FDX) in to Dayton that morning. We had no idea the SR-71 was coming that day. What a stroke of luck for us. It was a great father/son day trip that I think of often since my dad’s passing 5 years ago. What treat for me to come across this video tonight!

This footage is pure gold!

I worked at the Udvar Hazy center Air and Space at Dulles Airport. The SR71 is a lot bigger when your standing next to it. It was the best job. I loved it!😄😍😍😍

During the Lebanon crisis in the early 80's I was in a navy recon squadron flying F-14's off the USS Independence. There were a few times we had to task Blackbirds to do "other" types of recon in the area. They began their turn over the target in Egypt and completed the turn over Cyprus....everything about this plane was monumental...so much so that it is still one of the best planes ever made and was designed in the 1950's....

After an airshow near Vancouver, it flew just above the tree line over Central park near my house, went down to English Bay, did a wide 180 then climbed up over Grouse Mountain and up into the clouds you could still hear those engines thunder fade away for a few minutes later as it headed back to the States.

Nothing like landing at 180 knots on a closed runway.

My brother-in-law was stationed on Okinawa with SeaBee battalion back in the mid 80s He said he was kicking back on the beach right at sunset, when an SR71 flew low over head, then hit the afterburners and disappeared.

David: Thank you for posting this! I saw one at Abbotsford, BC, Canada and it truly was impressive! It was also when a US F-4 and Su pilot gave each other a ride and let them fly each others' planes. Sure different thinking now. Have a great 2019

The more you study how this aircraft works the more amazing it is. Those engines are increadable.

So sad for those pilots knowing their SR71 was never to fly again.

Can't tell you how much I appreciate this. I actually cried when I heard they retired the Blackbird. I've never seen one fly in real life

sensacional avião...mesmo após várias décadas de sua construção e operação é realmente um avião fora do comum

That plane is some serious piece of engineering that was designed by a special team of people.

Kelly Johnson’s Skunkworks finest!!! A total badass.

Always cool. I was the Section Chief of Metals Technology for the SR-71 Blackbirds with the 9th SRW at Beale AFB. Now I make rings from mission flown titanium parts of the SR-71's.

A lot of jerks making rude comments about the children's sounds in the background. I hope you realize some of those same children may now be serving this nation because of what they saw on that day.

January, 1969, I was TDY at Fallon NAAS doing gunnery - bombing training with my squadron when we were all ordered to clear the flightline and report to the hangar. No reason given. Later I went out for a smoke and saw a familiar black shape parked way off in the distance on another part of the base. The airplane's shape was familiar only because I had seen it as box art on a Revell plastic model airplane kit for sale in my local drug store before I had even joined the Navy 3 years before! The kit said the bird was called the YF-12A, but I found out that day this was the SR-71. What a thrill. We later took a bus out to the area where the Blackbird was parked and found it had been hangared under heavy armed guard. They let us in 2 or 3 at a time to peer thru an interior door at the mysterious aircraft dripping fuel all over the floor. I learned the airplane had a mechanical problem shortly after TO from a base in southern Cal and within a few minutes were almost overhead Fallon in northern Nevada, so the crew decided to put it down there. So that was 52 years ago and I think still a good story of a big event in my life.

Those wonderful "kids" are sorting out their own "kids" now! I hope their kids have something to be so enthusiastic about now. Signed: NMUSAF docent.

So glad I was able to see Blackbird flying at Mildenhall in its day. Pure magic.

Design on SR-71 Family began in early 60's The Prototype SR71A first flight 12/22/64. SR-71 Squadron was operational at Beale AFB in 6/22/66. SR71 speed 2500+ MPH...Just 22 years earlier, the USAAF & US Navy still had Biplanes. Three years after the 1st SR squadron became operational, X15 Test Pilot Neil Armstrong stepped on the surface of the Moon.

When I was stationed in Okinawa, we would drive down to kadena Air Force base, and watch the black birds (habu) launch and recover throughout the day. They would fly these huge missions requiring air refueling at least 2-3 times! The images were amazing, they were stereo, where you would be able to measure the height of objects with clarity! Most of the imagery I was able to view was involving being able to identify particular aircraft that was parked on runways, that was in combat quick turn ready status!

I was on the roof of the museum hangar watching it.

March 6, 1990. This beauty broke the sound barrier over Santa Barbara on it's way to the Aerospace Museum. It rattled our windows. So cool.

The most amazing aerospace result of the slide-rule era.

Thanks for posting this. I had a base pass my work with TASC back then, and we were down there on the base side of the flight line for the landing as well. So great that the pilot wowed the crowd with two passes before landing. The coolest looking plane the US ever built.

THE MOST BADASSIEST plane EVER. And it never fired a bullet or missile or dropped a bomb.

I was there that day. I will NEVER forget it.

Look at the engines on the runway, oh there's a plane connected to them.

I was stationed at N.O.T.S. China Lake and saw this thing fly over in about 1964-65. It was pretty low and slow so I think it was heading down to Edwards. What a thrill!

Awesome! But at the same time, sad. As the still very capable Blackbird taxis into retirement. I've seen her a couple of times at The National Museum of the Air Force @ Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton. I've spent whole days their on a couple of occasions. It does not get old.

Saw quite a few launches in 83 at Beale, with afterburners, it still makes my armhears stand up.

close call with birds at 2:43, they pass from right to left. Glad this baby didn't end it's career that way.

The pilot didn't want to make that final landing of such a beautiful plane. Showing off a little for the crowds, wish I could have been there.

Funny how originally it was called the RS-71...but a simple typo error and it became SR-71. True story folks. Look it up Beautiful aircraft

I was stationed at Raf mildenhall from 89 to 92 we had two of these two flew out of their awesome aircraft

Make America great again please America never stopped being great truly awesome🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Was traveling from Da Nang to Saigon in ‘70 and one of these was there. Plane was guarded but you could get close...what a beast...