We all have our favorite aircraft—even the people who are charged with caring for them at the aviation museums across the country. Since December is the birthday month of powered flight, FLYING magazine reached out to museums across the country to find out which aircraft are the personal favorites of the museum staff as well as the museum visitors.
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
“One of my favorite things to do is watch visitors come into the Udvar-Hazy Center, busy and distracted, and then be totally mesmerized by the sight of the SR-71 Blackbird. I love seeing them slowly lower their phones, their jaws dropping as they take in the sleek, majestic shape of the fastest jet airplane ever built. I can’t blame them, I had the same response when I saw it for the first time! The SR-71 is certainly one of my favorite aircraft. It still looks like it’s from the future, even though its design began in the late 1950s. It was designed by hand, calculated with slide rules, long before computer-aided design techniques existed. It was also the first airplane to be designed from the beginning to reduce its detectability by radar. Although it is not a ‘stealth’ plane by today’s standards, it was a foundation for later stealth aircraft like the F-117 Nighthawk and the B-2 Spirit. I think the fact that the Blackbird is also an unarmed surveillance and reconnaissance plane adds to its mystique. This is not a plane that engages in active fighting, but its role demonstrates just how important reliable information is for national security concerns. The Blackbird provided key intelligence during the Vietnam War and most of the Cold War, allowing policy makers at every level to make informed decisions.”
