On Saturday July 27th, we went into Palmdale to the Blackbird Airpark. The is the world's only display of a SR-71 Blackbird, an A-12 which is the Blackbird predecessor and really the Blackbird's test project, the U-2 spy plane which is what Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Russia in, and the D-21 reconnaissance drone.
The plane in the front is the A-12. It is a single pilot spy plane, while the SR-71 has room for two. You can see the small window behind the cockpit for second person.
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| SR-71 and A-12 Blackbird Spy planes |
These blackbirds set altitude and cruising speed records by being able to fly at over 2,200 MPH (Mach 3.5) and at over 80,000 feet in elevation.
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| Left: SR-71 Right: A-12 |
The D-21 was a reconnaissance drone and an offshoot from the Blackbird family. It would be launched from a vehicle in international airspace, fly a pre-programmed course, fly back into international airspace and eject the camera and film. It would then self destruct.
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| D-21 Drone |
The U-2 was developed in the 1950's. Although it had a low top speed of 500 mph it was able to fly at 70,000 feet. We thought that would not allow the Russian radar to detect it. Unfortunately they could detect it and shot it down with Powers flying it.
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| U-2 Spy plane |
The shooting down of the U-2 caused us to find another way to fly over Russia. That is what caused the development of the A-12 and SR-71. With it's high tech titanium metals, higher speeds, and higher altitudes we never lost one on a mission. We did loose twelve of them during training missions however. The Blackbird was in service for 20 years but was pulled in 1980 due to budget issues.
Right next to the Blackbird Airpark is the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark. The amazing thing is that both of these Airparks are absolutely FREE to visit! They are truly remarkable and are worth the visit! You can walk on a dirt path between both parks.
Here is a map of the planes at the Airpark.
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| Joe Davies Airpark |
I'm just going to show some pictures of some of the planes. Some of what we thought were the cooler ones. You will just have to come visit if you want to see them all! :)
Here is the C-46 Commando
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| C-46 Commando |
View of the park!
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| More Jets |
Reading about the F4 Phantom II.
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| F4 Phantom II |
And of course here is the F5 Freedom Fighter!
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| F5 Freedom Fighter |
Another view of the park!
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| Lot's of planes! |
Here is the F86 Sabre.
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| F86 Sabre |
The T33 Shooting Star looks like something from an old cheesy 50's space alien movie! :)
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| T33 Shooting Star |
And of course we can't forget the B52! It is a very large plane!
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| B-52 with AGM-28 Houndog |
Underneath the B-52 you can see an AGM-28 Houndog. This is a "Cruise Missile" that is launched from the B-52 that can carry a thermonuclear warhead. It got it's name Houndog from the Elvis Presley song,
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| AGM-28 Houndog |
Well that's it for today!
God bless you all!
Love you,
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