Tech History Made on December 22, 1964

Yesterday we posted on the maiden flight of the F-14 Tomcat. Well, today in 1964 the SR-71 Blackbird took its maiden flight. The Blackbird, was the first aircraft shaped to reduce its radar cross section. However, unlike the "stealth" planes that would follow it, the Blackbird can be tracked by radar. The aircraft remained the fasted, highest flying manned aircraft for its entire career. It broke the absolute speed record, 2, 193.1669 mph, and absolute altitude record, 85,068.997 feet in 1976. Other aircraft have flown higher than this but not in sustained flight. This we know from declassified information, but we will not know the true extent of this aircraft's abilities until all records are made public. The Blackbird's crews referred to it as Habu which is a venomous snake found in Japan. As for us here at Grinn.net, we like the plane because its shape reminds us of Cobra Commander. GOOOO JOE!