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The Complete Book Of The SR-71 Blackbird: The Illustrated Profile Of Every Aircraft, Crew, And Breakthrough Of The World's Fastest Stealth Jet

The ultimate SR-71 book which profiles the history, development, manufacture, modification, and active service of all 50 models in the SR-71 program.At the height of the Cold War in 1964, President Johnson announced a new aircraft dedicated to strategic reconnaissance. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane flew more than three-and-a-half times the speed of sound--so fast that no other aircraft could catch it. Above 80,000 feet, its pilots had to wear full-pressure flight suits similar to what was used aboard the space shuttle.Developed by the renowned Lockheed Skunk Works, the SR-71 was an awesome aircraft in every respect. It was withdrawn from use in 1998, when it was superseded by satellite technology. Twelve of the thirty-two aircraft were destroyed in accidents, but none were ever lost to enemy action.Throughout its thirty-four-year career, the SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft. It set world records for altitude and speed: an absolute altitude record of 85,069 feet and an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 miles per hour.The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird covers every aspect of the SR-71's development, manufacture, modification, and active service from the insider's perspective of one of its pilots and is lavishly illustrated with more than 400 photos. Former pilot and author Richard Graham also examines each of the fifty planes that came out the SR-71 program (fifteen A-12s; three YF-12s; and thirty-two SR-71s) and tells each plane's history, its unique specifications, and where each currently resides.

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Zenith Press (October 26, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0760348499

ISBN-13: 978-0760348499

Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 1.2 x 12.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #43,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #18 in Books > History > Military > Weapons & Warfare > Conventional #50 in Books > Science & Math > Astronomy & Space Science > Aeronautics & Astronautics #54 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Aerospace

Graham, former SR-71 pilot, has written the boss book on the mystical and hyper-tech SR-71. Writing on the SR-71 has been a career for Graham and each of his titles bring insight as well as unique information. The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird will become THE reference book on this fantastic aircraft. Included, as well is the history of the A-12, the SR-71’s ancestor which was flown by the CIA. The D-21 drone and its program are contained, as well.Graham answers the questions authoritatively of why the USAF designed the SR-71 to replace the successful A-12 (evolution or turf war?) and how the SR-71’s original designation (RS-71) was altered (not what is popularly written). It is welcome that these curiosities have finally been put to bed.The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird lives up to its name by:•Detailing the design and construction history of the A-12, SR-71 and D-51—highlights and lowlights included•Mission profiles are described comprehensively as are each mission phase including, refueling, maintenance, engine changes, engine startup and much more•Each retired SR-71 and A-12 have a dedicated bio, location and photo•Each SR-71 crew is named and photographed•A wonderful cutaway drawing of an SR-71A by Mike Badrocke•Line drawings of the forward and rear cockpits of each SR-71 modelThe Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird is impressive with its illustrations and imagery beginning with the cover and end pages—it fits into the coffee table size category though it is far from unwieldy. Thankfully, many illustrations are larger than previously published for better understanding (such as how the by-pass air from the enormous engines provided much more thrust than the jet exhaust). Graham’s writing and intimacy with the SR-71 complement the images, many unseen in previous publications (a favorite is small icicles dangling from the chines of a Blackbird), wit h his experience and authorship.The book serves as well as the only book of the Blackbird family (A-12/SR-71/D-21) in a library as well as to significantly complete that section of any library.In keeping with the publishing custom, a copy of The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird was provided by Zenith Press for an objective review.

This is the quintessential book on the SR-71 Blackbird - the most amazing aviation technical achievement of the 20th century.Of course there is a lot of information that an SR aficionado has already read but the photos are quite amazing and some appear newly published. High quality paper and binding - for the money quite the bargain. Highly detailed the book balances the technological with the human aspect of this incredible machine. Recommended for anyone interested in the SR-71.The only problem with the book is that it is very heavy and large but curiously the text font is pretty small.

Beautifully produced document on the A-12/SR-71/YF-12A/M-21/D-21. This book covers development, deployments, history of each individual air-frame, and aircrews. There are several photographs I've not seen (speaking of photographs there are fortunately few guttered photos). All photographs are beautifully reproduced and all text is easy on the eyes. If you are a fan of the SR-71, this volume is a must own.

I just received this book from , and I have to say that I was absolutely overwhelmed. It's a beautiful, glossy, coffee-table book that includes a history of the SR-71 program and all the variants, and a history of every airframe built for the program. All of the many photographs are excellently reproduced. But the book is not just photographs, it contains a large amount of information-filled, well-written text. There are stories from the pilots, descriptions of overseas operations at Mildenhall and Kadena, a description of a typical flight (the author flew the Blackbird), and much more. This book is a terrific value at the price, a wonderful addition to my aerospace collection, and I absolutely recommend it to all fans of the world's fastest jet.

Fantastic, quality is defined here. Rich has out done himself .It is the book to have in anyone's library.Photos are excellent, well written and all the information on all SR-71s is in one format makes this the best ever.Get it now!!! I don't see the 1st edition lasting long. I cannot see anybody doing better than Richard has done with this book.

Outstanding book! There are stories and pictures in there that I had never seen and I consider myself to be somewhat knowledgable on this aircraft. This would be a great gift for that one friend of yours that's into Ferrari's, jets and is somewhat of an Eliteist. All photos are high quality and the book is generally laid out very professionally. Not a cheapo museum flipper but an honest to God documentary in HD you can have in your computer room. Highly Recommended

Very good book, clearly well laid out and wonderful photos I have never seen before. Love that all aspects of the Blackbird's history where covered including what a mission is like from beginning to end.I would have given 5 stars however I found a few typos and the recount of the 1989 flight of the Blackbird to EAA Oshkosh AirVenture was mixed up with the 1997 NASA Blackbird visit to AirVenture.

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