The moment the Blackbird reconnaissance pilot dashed like a bullet

The pilot of the fastest Cold War reconnaissance plane, the SR-71 Blackbird, recounts the moment he set the speed record.

Eldon Joersz (dark shirt) and George Morgan revisit the record-breaking aircraft. Photo: USAF.

Last weekend, for the first time in 40 years, the crew of the world's fastest jet was reunited with the spy plane that made history.At the Warner Robins Aviation Museum in Georgia, retired US pilots Eldon Joersz and George Morgan climb into the cockpit of a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

The plane, designed with 1960s technology, set a speed record that still stands today: more than 3,500 km/h, three times the speed of sound, meaning faster than the speed of a bullet.

The SR-71 was a key US intelligence tool during the tense confrontation of the Cold War, which lasted from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Historic Flight

In 1976, Joersz and Morgan were selected to conduct a special US Air Force demonstration flight to set a world speed record in an SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft, under the supervision of the International Air Sports Federation.

Joersz was the pilot in the front and Morgan was the reconnaissance officer in a separate cockpit at the back. They looked like astronauts in their helmets and pressure suits. They had to wear them because the plane reached such high altitudes.

Plane number 17958 departed from Beale Air Force Base in California, carrying a full tank of special fuel for the reconnaissance plane's two giant, custom-designed engines.SR-71 Blackbird.

The plane quickly reached an altitude of 24,500m, twice the normal altitude of a passenger plane, so high that Mr Joersz said he could see the curvature of the Earth.

Once he reached the desired altitude, he let the plane run at full speed for the first 15 km straight flight.

In the back seat, Morgan helped Joersz monitor the mission and make sure they were on track. “I was watching very closely to make sure we were doing it right,” Morgan said. “And we did.”

To break the record, Joersz needed to turn the plane around and repeat the flight path at the same altitude. Morgan gave Joersz an audio signal to let him know when he needed to change his flight path.

"I turned the plane 90 degrees to the left, then 270 degrees to the right," Joersz said. The plane returned to its flight path at 80,000 feet.

Morgan and Joersz were cheering each other on over the intercom, Morgan recalled. “What do you think? Can we do it? Oh, yeah, easy!” they said to each other.

After flying over four states, they landed safely back in Beale about 55 minutes after takeoff.

Final calculations showed that Joersz and Morgan had broken the speed record set by the US YF-12A spy plane in the 1960s, reaching speeds of nearly 200 km/h.

Although there have been aircraft that have flown faster than the SR-71 since then, they have not been officially recorded. The Blackbird still holds the speed record for a piloted aircraft powered by a turbofan engine.

Eldon Joersz (right)andGeorgeMorgan on a mission in 1976. Photo: USAF.

Hard

During flight, the quartz-coated cockpit windows become very hot due to friction with the air at high speeds. Even with protective gloves, “you can’t keep your hand on the glass for more than five seconds because of the heat,” Joersz said.

They also recounted awkward moments during the flight. They couldn't scratch their noses while wearing helmets. "You had to manage by turning your head and using the mic in your helmet to scratch your nose," he said.

Despite its high speed, flying the SR-71 is not like flying a fighter jet in air combat, Joersz said. While it has the advantage of speed and altitude, the plane is less maneuverable.

Flying a plane isn't too difficult, but it's still challenging. "You have to be very focused and prepared to deal with unexpected events," he said.

One dangerous scenario is that the shockwaves created by the plane’s high speed could cause one engine to shut down, causing the plane to veer to one side. If the pilot is unable to handle this situation, the plane risks stalling and breaking apart in mid-air.

Later aircraft were equipped with automated systems that could help pilots handle this situation.

The SR-71 had another problem: it was notorious for leaking fuel.

The extreme temperature changes affected the fuel tank and created a leak in the fuel tank joint. Lockheed tried to fix the problem but was unsuccessful, Joersz said.

“It wasn’t gushing, but it was leaking, dripping, dripping,” said Morgan. “But as you accelerated, it seemed to correct itself.”

Congress retired the SR-71 in 1989. However, the Pentagon briefly brought the aircraft back into service in the 1990s.

Lockheed built only 32 SR-71s. Most of them are in museums. The legendary 17958 is preserved alongside other military reconnaissance icons, such as the Global Hawk and the U2.

"I feel very lucky to have flown this wonderful aircraft," said Joersz.

According to VNE