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Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard H. Graham
Creator: Jay K. Miller
Publisher: Zenith Press
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $17.09
You Save: $8.86 (34%)
New (15) Used (7) from $15.42
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 44330
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0760332398
Dewey Decimal Number: 358.4583
EAN: 9780760332399
ASIN: 0760332398
Publication Date: July 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
For anyone who has ever wondered what its like to fly the SR-71 on a secret Mach 3 reconnaissance mission, this book has the answer. Flying the SR-71 Blackbird takes readers along on an operational mission that only a few Air Force pilots have ever experienced. The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird, was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed Skunk Works. The aircraft flew so fast and high that not one was ever shot down, even by a missile. SR-71 pilot and instructor Colonel Richard Graham offers a rare cockpit perspective on how regular Air Force pilots and navigators transformed themselves into SR-71 Blackbird crews, turning their unique aviation talents to account in an unprecedented way. Arguably the worlds foremost expert on piloting the Blackbird, Graham details, as no one else could, what an SR-71 mission entails, from donning a pressure suit to returning to base.
Book Description
Flying the SR-71 Blackbird takes readers along on an operational mission that only a few Air Force pilots have ever experienced. The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird, was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed Skunk Works. The aircraft flew so fast and high that not one was ever shot down. SR-71 pilot and instructor Colonel Richard Graham offers a rare cockpit perspective on what an SR-71 mission entails, from donning a pressure suit to returning to base.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
Mach 3 Aviation Nerd Heaven July 3, 2008
Dave English (Arizona, USA)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
This is a great book! It's exactly what the title says it is -- a pilot's inside the cockpit explanation of flying the SR-71, in expansive detail. The author is perfectly qualified for the task as a former SR-71 pilot, instructor pilot, chief stan/eval and commander of the 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron. There are 80 pages of original SR-71 checklists, there are detailed cockpit pictures, and there is explanation of every switch you'd see in a complete mission. Make no mistake, this is not a pretty picture book, this is for true pilot nerds who want to do what is now impossible -- climb inside the Blackbird and take it flying at Mach 3.2 and FL 780.
The foreword correctly states the book, "provides the missing link among the many Blackbird volumes that have been written over the past quarter century. While many nuts-and-bolts references have been written covering the aircraft's development, flight test, and operational history in minute detail, none, until now, have addressed the subject of flying the mission from the perspective of the pilot." It includes illuminating discussions about abnormal and emergency procedures, as well as some sidebars with tales of specific flights. It also includes a few pages of color pictures. The SR-71 was a stunning thrill-ride, and also a hughly complex techno-social system. Graham has written a quality tribute to the aeroplane and the thousands of people that made the system work.
Buy the big picture books by Brian Shul for glossy photographs and fluid descriptions of the feel of flying the SR-71. Buy the various history books for the development story and technical details. But for the this-switch-does-that (and why) (and when) detail of actually flying faster than a bullet, you need to buy this book. If this sort of thing is your cup of tea, you may also enjoy 'The Concorde Stick & Rudder Book' by Mike Riley for details on flying another big plane really really fast. I hope this review helps you.
Three out of Three September 7, 2008
John Freedman (Decatur, IL USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission
HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO FLY AN SR-71? Well there are two things you need, one is this book, the other, well an operating aircraft. That I can't help you with, but I can suggest you should get this book!
Rich Graham was an instructor pilot on the SR-71, and his infinite knowledge of operating the Blackbird is laid out in the step by step procedures of flying the aircraft. Each check list item is described and laid out to explain it in terms you can understand.
This is Col Graham's third book, and 'Flying the Blackbird' like the others is a must for the Blackbird fan. This book is unique in that it tells you the complex cockpit procedures of this marvel of aviation. No other book or writer could give you the insight that Col. Rich Graham does.
A must.
Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission September 20, 2008
James P. Pratt (Fresno, CA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
If you are interested in knowing every minute detail about the SR-71 Blackbird, this is the book for you. I have seen the Blackbird up close, sat in the cockpit, and have spent many hours flying the SR-71 on Microsoft Flight Simulator (SR-71 sim available online). Now, with this book, I am learning all of the Blackbird's intimate secrets. The author leaves nothing to the imagination as he steps you through a mission. The planning, the preflight, the cockpit check, taxiing, runup, takeoff, climbout, mission navigation, descent, and landing. It is all there. Did you know that the SR-71 gets only 20% of its thrust from the two jet engines? Where does the rest come from? The author will tell you. There are diagrams and descriptions of every instrument, switch, and lever in the aircraft. This all was top secret stuff a few years ago.
An absorbing technical book about Mach 3 flying. October 31, 2008
removeb4flight (California, USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The previous reviews are right on the mark, so I won't restate what they said. This book has a tremendous amount of detail on the physics of flight, engine parameters, navigation challenges, and steps taken to do an actual mission. It is not for casual readers, although there are short sections boxed in the text that relate to humorous or unusual incidents, that all readers would enjoy. I am still amazed that engineers working for Kelly Johnson built this aircraft with slide rules, paper tables, and drawings made by draftsmen, not computers. They achieved Mach 3+ flight using "steam gauges" and pilot skill. Contrast that with the Stealth fighter which flys because a computer moves the control surfaces in response to pilot input. I have seen the SR-71 fly at Beale and this book adds a great insight into its design and operation. I highly recommend it.
SR-71 Switch by Switch December 26, 2008
J. Burden
This is a valuable and very interesting view of this magnificent airplane and we are in debt to Graham for taking the time to share it with us. If you are not into the details of technical flying, this is not for you. However, with Graham's writing style I found myself inside the cockpit with him, and was fascinated with what it took to put one of these things in the air.
A valuable addition to the history of the plane and the remarkable men who flew them.
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