The Supersonic Speed Machine
Can you imagine flying from London to Los Angeles in under four hours? It sounds like a thing of the future, and for passenger planes it still is. But for the Blackbird SR-71, which was created to advance the U.S.’s aerial reconnaissance capabilities, supersonic speeds and high altitudes are what makes this piece of machinery unlike any other. It first took flight in 1968 during a spy mission over Vietnam. And on September 1, 1974, the Blackbird broke the transatlantic speed record, flying from New York to London in just under two hours.
