Stormy Boudreaux (Maj. USAF Ret.) earned his wings in 1969 and went on to garner 6,500 military and 1,500 civilian hours of flying time as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross and 19 Air Medals. He arrived at Beale AFB in 1979 flying the U-2C and U-2R before flying the SR-71, which he piloted from 1982-1986.

David A. Burns (MSgt. USAF Ret.) entered the USAF in 1970 and, following Jet Aircraft Maintenance Specialist (Jet 1 & 2) training, worked on aircraft including the SR-71A and B models. While with the SR-71 program, Burns served as the Crew Chief of #956, an SR71B trainer, at Beale AFB and was awarded SAC Master Crew Chief.

Robby Butterfield (MSgt.USAF Ret.) joined the USAF in 1973. He served in the Blackbird program from 1982-1984 as crew chief and 1984-1989 as superintendent of maintenance at Mildenhall RAFB, England. He retired honorably after 20 years of service. Shortly after his retirement, an illness acquired from his participation in the Gulf War paralyzed Butterfield from the neck down. He pushed through to walk again, and his resolve carries him still.

Buz Carpenter (Col USAF Ret) completed pilot training in 1968 then flew worldwide in C-141 transports. Went to Vietnam flying RF-4cs and then became an SR-71 pilot, later Instructor pilot, who flew over 65 operational missions worldwide and accrued 777 flight hours His flying included the F-4s, T-38s, and the U-2s. He shares his stories at events & in videos as a Docent at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum – Udvar Hazy Center and in 2017 he was inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame.

Jerry Glasser (Lt. Col. USAF Ret.) has over 900 hours in the Blackbird (1980-1986). An SR-71 instructor pilot and director of simulator and aircraft systems training, Glasser flew 110 worldwide operational missions. In 1986, he flew the first Libyan SR-71 post-strike mission. He flew integrated SR-71/Space Shuttle evaluations and sorties as well as the 1000th flight of the Air Zoo’s SR-71B.

Col. Richard H. Graham has written five books on the SR-71 Blackbird. He entered the SR-71 strategic reconnaissance program in 1974. His roles included crew member, SR-71 instructor pilot, Chief of the Standardization/Evaluation Division, and SR-71 Squadron Commander (1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron). Following four years in the Pentagon, Col. Graham was selected as 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing Commander at Beale AFB in 1987. Prior to entering the SR-71 program, he flew 210 Vietnam combat missions in the F-4C/D Phantom as well as the Wild Weasel mission. Col. Graham was a command pilot with more than 4,600 military flying hours. His military accolades from 25 years in the Air Force include three Legion of Merit awards, four Distinguished Flying Cross medals, and 19 Air Medals.

Colonel Stan Gudmundson, USAF (Ret), a Minnesota native and current resident, served 30 years in the military, two years in a Navy RA-5C Vigilante squadron and twenty-eight in the USAF. Trained as a navigator he accumulated almost 3,000 hours flying B-52 D, F, and G-model aircraft, FB-111As, and SR-71s. He flew on the last operational SR-71 sortie and was the last commander of an active SR-71 flying unit. He retired in 2000.

Floyd Jones (MSgt. USAF Ret.) entered the USAF in 1966. Assigned to Beale AFB in 1967, Jones became an SR-71 Crew Chief/Phase Inspector. After international assignments, he returned to Beale in 1980 where he became an SR-71 Inspection Dock Chief. Later, Jones work with SR-71 flight testing and scheduled an SR-71 aircraft wash at Beale.

Having had an interest in flying machines since a young age, Steve transitioned that interest to an incredible career. After four decades of design challenges, he retired from his dream employer, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, in 2017. As part of the highly innovative teams that developed the F-117A, YF-22A, JASSM, and a myriad of other programs he can’t discuss, his experience bridges from operations analysis-based requirements derivation and configuration design through system flight test. This engineering breadth is complimented by leadership roles as configuration lead, chief engineer, program manager, proposal capture team lead, advanced design group manager, campaign director, and advanced programs portfolio director. Steve served as the Skunk Works’ historian and gave presentations on the unique organization as well as the development of its revolutionary aircraft. Now at Virgin Galactic, he is Senior Vice President for the Future Fleet of spaceflight systems – production versions of the current Eve mothership and Unity spaceship that pioneered space tourism.

Col. Manzi’s Air Force career, begun in 1978, included assignments to the F-111 at RAF Upper Heyford, UK, where he accumulated 540 hours flying throughout the European Theater and the RF-4C Phantom II at Bergstrom AFB, TX. He accumulated 875 hours as a “Tac Recce” WSO, Instructor WSO, and Wing Tactics Officer. In 1985, Manzi joined the SR-71 Blackbird program in the 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale AFB, CA. He flew as a Blackbird Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO), Instructor RSO, and Standardization Board RSO until the Air Force retired the aircraft in 1990. Manzi accumulated 466 hours in the SR-71, flew more than 100 hours in the T-38 companion trainer, and completed 49 Blackbird operational missions flying in support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peacetime Aerial Reconnaissance Program. He subsequently held command and staff posts at US Central Command MacDill AFB, FL, 9th Operations Support Squadron, Beale AFB, CA, NORAD, Cheyenne Mountain AFS, CO, and US Space Command, Peterson AFB, CO.

John Murphy (Col. USAF Ret.) entered USAF active duty in 1972 and, after serving assignments including B-52 navigator and bombardier and flying combat missions, he entered SR-71 RSO training at Beale AFB. He was teamed up with Buz Carpenter and years later, they remain brothers and best friends.

Jack Schaab arrived at Beal AFB in 1975. He spent two years on the Flightline doing BPOs, preflights, launches, recoveries, lubes, was qualified on all checklists, refuels, defuels, Yo-Yos, and did two refuels off the tanker on road trips. Jack was an assistant crew chief on #958 on swing shift and was part of the crew that participated in the 1976 speed and altitude record setting.

Frank W. Stampf (Col. USAF Ret.) entered the USAF in 1970. His first operational assignment was as a Weapons Systems Officer in the RF-4C, the recon version of the F-4 Phantom II fighter aircraft. In 1979, after logging seven years and 1600 hours in the RF-4C, Frank became the youngest Reconnaissance Systems Officer selected to date for the SR-71 program. Frank and his pilot, Gil Bertelson, were named “15th Air Force Outstanding Reconnaissance Crew” for 1982.

BC Thomas (LTCol.USAFRet) is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School, afterward served 11 years as an operational reconnaissance pilot, instructor pilot, evaluator, and test pilot in the SR-71 Blackbird. He is the high-time SR-71 pilot (1217.3 hours), and is the only person to have flown all three U.S. Air Force high-altitude (above 60,000 feet) reconnaissance aircraft: the RB-57F, U-2 and SR-71. Following his retirement from the Air Force, he was a flight test engineer for the Northrop B-2 Stealth Bomber. He later was a Flight Test Captain for United Airlines, flying the Boeing 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, Douglas DC-8 and DC-10.

Ed Yeilding (Lt. Col. USAF Ret.) received his pilot training in 1973. In 1983, he was selected for the SR-71 at Beale, flew 93 SR-71 overseas reconnaissance missions, and became a Blackbird instructor, evaluator, and test pilot. In 1990, when the SR-71 was retired, Yeilding and his RSO, JT Vida, set a coast-to-coast speed record upon delivering a Blackbird to the Smithsonian.