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The term legendary, cannot be applied to many types of aircraft, but it is appropriate in the case of the Lockheed 'Blackbird' family of aircraft, arguably the most famous in the world. Though only fifty of these remarkable high-speed, high-altitude aeroplanes were ever built, everything about them was unique, awe-inspiring and enigmatic. Today, some forty years after the first of the line, the A-12, took off for the first time, details of the 'Blackbird' story are still emerging and there is a seemingly endless demand from the public for new material on the subject of these aircraft. The authors have teamed up to create what amounts to the most detailed history of these incredible aircraft ever published. For the first time, the stories of the development program, the General Dynamics 'Kingfish' competition, the M-21 and D-21 effort, the F-12 saga, and the operational history of the A-12 and SR-71 under the auspices of the CIA and the Air Force are covered in detail. The detailed and comprehensive narrative is combined with that characteristic which has made the Aerofax imprint so well respected among those interested in aviation, the many detailed photographs and drawings which are found throughout the pages of the book.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
More accurately entitled "Lockheed's Mach 3 aircraft" as the SR is but one chapter, this is an odd book that falls somewhere between a project history and a technical reference.
I have the impression that it was written freelance and then packaged into an Aerofax format.
It *is* easy to read and brings-together the information relating to the projects, but never really pushes into the technical arena beyond the minimum required to explain development problems. For example, we are never actually told how an SR-71's structure was modified to handle almost 50% greater MTOW than the A-12. The one exception is the chapter on the J58, which is excellent.
The chapters on each project instead concentrate more on general chronological progress, and although there are individual airframe histories at the back I was still surprised to finish the book without really encountering the technical info expected from an Aerofax.
The photos are also an odd mix of the esoteric and the overly-familiar.
I have the impression that it was written freelance and then packaged into an Aerofax format.
It *is* easy to read and brings-together the information relating to the projects, but never really pushes into the technical arena beyond the minimum required to explain development problems. For example, we are never actually told how an SR-71's structure was modified to handle almost 50% greater MTOW than the A-12. The one exception is the chapter on the J58, which is excellent.
The chapters on each project instead concentrate more on general chronological progress, and although there are individual airframe histories at the back I was still surprised to finish the book without really encountering the technical info expected from an Aerofax.
The photos are also an odd mix of the esoteric and the overly-familiar.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Blackbird Summary
22 Mar 2003
Format:Paperback
This is the latest book on Lockheed's Blackbird family of "Titanium Wonderbirds" from the mind of aeronautical genius Kelly Johnson. The text is very complete with many details on development, various "firsts", record flights, summaries of individual airframes and operational statistics. There are many very good black and white photos and a color section at the end of the book. The color section has several never before published pictures, but the quality of most of them is definately not up to Mr Goodalls' normal standards. There are a couple of caption errors such as the one on top of page 126 that says it is of 2 reactivated SR-71s at Palmdale. It is actually of two SR-71s at the time of their 1990 retirement and it was taken on the south run up pad at Beale AFB, CA. The control tower and individual SR shelters are barely visible on the horizon between the two aircraft.
The book has very good coverage of the Tagboard/Senior Bowl program with the D-21 on the M-21 and B-52H. This program was also covered in Mr Goodall's previous book on the Blackbirds with some different pictures.
If you are interested in just one book that covers the entire Blackbird history from initial development to final retirement, this is the book to get.
The book has very good coverage of the Tagboard/Senior Bowl program with the D-21 on the M-21 and B-52H. This program was also covered in Mr Goodall's previous book on the Blackbirds with some different pictures.
If you are interested in just one book that covers the entire Blackbird history from initial development to final retirement, this is the book to get.
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