SR-71 Fun Facts

Length: 107 ft., 5 in.

Height: 18’ 6”

Wing Span: 55 ft., 7 in.

Weight, empty: 60,000 lbs.

Weight, maximum take-off: 145,000 lbs.

Maximum speed: Top speed mach 3.3; 2,200 mph; 36 miles/min; or 3200 feet/sec. Faster than a standard 30.06 hunting rifle bullet when fired.

Maximum altitude: In excess of 85,000 ft. or 16.09 miles.

Fuel consumed: 8,000 gallons per hour at maximum speed.

Range without in-flight refueling: 3,200 miles

Flying time: At top speed, the SR-71 Blackbird could fly across the state of Kansas (east to west) in about 10 minutes.

Lindbergh Comparison: In 1927, Charles Lindbergh’s record-setting transatlantic flight from New York to Paris was flown in 33 hours and 29 minutes. In 1974, the SR-71 Blackbird flew from New York to London, relatively the same distance, in 1 hour, 54 minutes and 56 seconds.

SR-71A: 29 built, 11 lost. The SR-71A first flew December 22, 1964. The U.S. Air Force Blackbird flew first combat flight March 1968. The SR-71s were decommissioned by the Air Force in 1990.

SR-71B (trainer): 2 built, 1 lost

SR-71C: 1 built

Historical: 54,000 flying hours; 17,000 sorties; 3500 ops missions; 11,000 ops hours; 26,000 refuelings

Structure: 93% titanium – America’s first stealthy aircraft and last designed with slide rule.

Why black?  (1) Protect mostly titanium surfaces, (2) Best heat radiating color to help remove heat from the aircraft during flight.

Average temp: At cruise, skin temperatures were about 600°F, which caused the aircraft to grow 3–4 inches in length & 1–2 inches in width. The exterior of the pilot windows could reach 620°F.

Engine Chemical Ignition System TEB (triethylborane), a pyrophoric (burns on contact with air) with burn temp up to 3000°F.

Fuel: JP-7 kerosene base with additives; tanks inserted with nitrogen to prevent auto detonation; Engine oil:  70–550°F normal temp range; consistency at 60°F honey, 40°F Jell-O, 32°F solid.  Preheat engine to 70°F before start.

Tires:  BF Goodrich, aluminum powder impregnated to reject airframe heat; 425 psi filled with nitrogen; 22–ply rating; 3-ply tread.

Glass: Laminated quartz glass, about 2 inches thick.

Flight duration: Most training and ops flights 2.5–4.5 hours (required one or two in-flight refuelings).

Aerial refueling: Aircraft carries up to 80,000 lbs of fuel (12,000+ gallons). Refueling normally lasted about 12–15 minutes with 70,000–80,000 lbs of fuel transferred from a KC-135Q tanker.

Pressure suits: Derived from Gemini design used through mid 70s.  Late 70s replacement 1030 pressure suits would later serve as the initial Space Shuttle suits for Shuttle test flights.

View at Altitude: At 80,000 ft one can see the curvature of the Earth about 360 miles in all directions. The sky is a deep blue-black because most of the atmosphere, which gives the sky its blue color, is below.

Performance points: Most takeoffs at 40,000 lb fuel load.

  • Liftoff at 210 knots (about 240 mph)

  • Rapid climb passed through 20,000 ft in about 2 minutes

  • Landing approach speed was 175 knots plus (200 mph) with landing at 150–155 knots (170 mph). With the large orange drag chute, the aircraft would stop in about 5000 ft. If the drag chute did not work, it was a 10,000 ft landing rollout to slow and stop the aircraft.

Fun facts provided by Buz Carpenter, Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum’s Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center Docent and former SR-71 Instructor Pilot.