The DC Traveler

Unofficially known as the “Blackbird“, the titanium-skinned Lockheed SR-71 long-range reconnaissance aircraft was in operation by the U.S. from the 1960s until 1990.

The SR-71 was the world’s fastest and highest flying aircraft in history. At altitudes around 80,000 feet, it reached speeds in excess of Mach 3 (2000 mph). In 1976, it set a record of almost 2,200 mph at a record-breaking altitude of just over 85,000 feet (16 miles).

To provide an idea of the incredible speed the Blackbrid was capable of, a trans-Atlantic flight in a typical Boeing 747 took approximately 6 hours and the same trip on the supersonic Concorde took about 3½ hours. The SR 71 Blackbird covered the same distance in only 64 minutes.

The Blackbird is on display along with many other aircraft including the B-29 “Enola Gay” that dropped the first atomic bomb to end World War II, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, a Learjet 23, a P-51 Mustang, Mig 15 and a Concorde.

National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, Virginia 20151

Hours
10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. daily

Admission is free, but parking is $12.00 per car.

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