Note: All Prints are Signed by the artist but do not have the text graphics that are shown on the sample images.
The
Blackbird was the ultimate product of the brilliant mind of
aeronautical engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson and his "Skunk
Works" - the super-secret cadre of innovators at Lockheed. First flown
in 1964 and operationally retired in 1998, the Blackbird is still
recognized as the fastest and highest flying operational aircraft to
ever have flown. Easily surpassing Mach 3 (though the real top
speed is still classified), an SR-71 flew from New York to London
in 1 hour and 54 minutes in 1974. It was known to leak fuel at
prodigious rates on the grount as its skin was designed to have gaps,
but the expansion of the metal at speed (and thus high heat) sealed the
plane up tight. Skin temperatures are thought to have reached red hot
temperatures at certain points at high speed.
The
innovations within the Blackbird design were legion, including the
first effective stealth techonology. on top of its extreme speed and
endurance. The SR-71 was designed for one role - photo reconsassance. At
80,0000 feet the cameras in the plane could photograph a license plate
and cover over 100,000 square miles of the Earth's surface in an
hour. It may be generations before we are allowed the information
that will quanitify how truly effective this machine was in that role.
The ultimate Cold War platform, the Blackbird's legacy lies in the fact
that the war never became hot.
