Saturday, July 30, 2016

World's Fastest Jet Crew Are Reunited With The Supersonic SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane

In 1976, reconnaissance officer George Morgan, left, and pilot Eldon 'Al' Joersz set the world aviation speed record in an Air Force SR-71 Blackbird spy jet. Their record -- 2,193 mph -- still stands.

Daily Mail: World's fastest jet crew are reunited with the supersonic SR-71 Blackbird spy plane - which is still the fastest plane ever built, 40 years later

* Pilot Al Joersz and reconnaissance system officer George Morgan reunite with SR-71 spy plane
* On July 28, 1976, Joersz and Morgan flew faster than a speeding bullet
* The Blackbird reached 2,193 miles per hour - one mile every 1.64 seconds
* Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia, is hosting a weekend celebration honoring the crew
* Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was built in the 1960s by engineers in California
* Long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft was made for US Air Force
* Held world record for the fastest manned aircraft since 1976

For 40 years it has been the fastest plane ever built, and now the crew who flew the record-breaking, speed-shattering mission have been reunited with the aircraft they once commanded, and climbed back into the cockpit.

It was 1976 when U.S. Air Force pilot Maj. Gen. Eldon 'Al' Joersz and Lt. Col. George 'GT' Morgan flew a jet faster than a speeding bullet. They flew faster than anyone had done before, or since.

On July 28, 1976, the two men flew a SR-71 Blackbird spy plane for more than a thousand kilometers at 2,193 miles per hour, covering one mile every 1.64 seconds, a record that still stands today.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I suspect that this is  a record that is going to stand for a very long time.

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