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Flying the SR-71 Blackbird

In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission

Flying the SR-71 Blackbird
Pin It Print
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Item: 144576
ISBN: 9780760332399
Publisher: Zenith Press
Specs
Illustrations: 31 color & 15 b/w photos, 233 diagrams
Size: 6 x 9
Weight: 1.375 lb.
Edition: First
Published: July 15th 2008
DC: AP
List Price: $28.00 $21.00
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For anyone who has ever wondered what its like to fly the SR-71 on a secret Mach 3 reconnaissance mission, this book has the answer. Flying the SR-71 Blackbird takes readers along on an operational mission that only a few Air Force pilots have ever experienced.

The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird, was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed Skunk Works. The aircraft flew so fast and high that not one was ever shot down, even by a missile. SR-71 pilot and instructor Colonel Richard Graham offers a rare cockpit perspective on how regular Air Force pilots and navigators transformed themselves into SR-71 Blackbird crews, turning their unique aviation talents to account in an unprecedented way.

Arguably the worlds foremost expert on piloting the Blackbird, Graham details, as no one else could, what an SR-71 mission entails, from donning a pressure suit to returning to base.

A veteran of fifteen years of assignments within the SR-71 community, Colonel Richard H. Graham is uniquely qualified to tell the Blackbird’s story. Crew member, instructor pilot, chief of the standardization/evaluation division, Colonel Graham was named SR-71 Squadron Commander, 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, in January 1981. A command pilot with more than 4,600 military flying hours, he has earned military decorations and awards including the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with eighteen oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device and one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, Combat Readiness Medal with one oak leaf cluster, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with four service stars, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. Colonel Graham’s other books on the SR-71 include SR-71 Revealed: The Inside Story and SR-71 Blackbird: Stories, Tales and Legends. He lives in Plano, Texas.

Pacific Flyer, August 2008
"For anyone who has ever wondered what it's like to fly the SR-71 on a secret Mach 3 reconnaissance mission, Flying the SR-71 Blackbird has the answer. Retired SR-71 pilot and squadron leader Graham takes readers along on an operational mission that only a few Air Force pilots have ever experienced...Graham offers a rare cockpit perspective on how regular Air Force pilots and navigators transformed themselves into SR-71 Blackbird cres, turning their unique avation talents to account in an unprecedented way. Arguably the world's foremost expert on piloting the Blackbird, Graham details, as no one else could, what an SR-71 mission entails, from donning a pressure suit to returning to base...Flying the SR-71 Blackbird is the ultimate play-by-play journey into what is involved in an operational mission of one of aviation history's most prized, and top secret, aircraft."
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Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1               The Making of a Habu

Chapter 2               Mission Planning

Chapter 3               Preflight Activities

Chapter 4               Aircraft Preflight

Chapter 5               Cockpit Left Console Preflight

Chapter 6               Instrument Panel Preflight

Chapter 7               Cockpit Right Console Preflight

Chapter 8               Starting Engines

Chapter 9               Before Taxiing

Chapter 10             Taxiing and Before Takeoff

Chapter 11             Takeoff and Climb

Chapter 12             KC-135Q and “Cold” Tanker Air Rendezvous

Chapter 13             Acceleration to Mach 3+

Chapter 14             Cruising at Mach 3+: The “Hot” Leg

Chapter 15             Decel and “Hot” Tanker Air Rendezvous

Chapter 16             Recovery

Chapter 17             Debriefings

Chapter 18             The Blackbird’s Retirement

Epilogue

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