Speed, distilled
I was piloting the SR-71 spy plane, the world’s fastest jet, accompanied by Maj Walter Watson, the aircraft’s reconnaissance systems officer (RSO). We had crossed into Libya and were approaching our final turn over the bleak desert landscape when Walter informed me that he was receiving missile launch signals. I quickly increased our speed, calculating the time it would take for the weapons-most likely SA-2 and SA-4 surface-to-air missiles capable of Mach 5 – to reach our altitude. I estimated that we could beat the rocket-powered missiles to the turn and stayed our course, betting our lives on the plane’s performance.
Flying the Blackbird at Mach 3.5. Breathtaking.
As I may have said I did/do my share of reading about planes and had heard about SR-71s doing this kind of thing. Great article.
The guy wrote a book called “sled driver” And I’ve found it at the library.