<story><title>SR-71 Blackbird Speed Check Story</title><url>https://www.thesr71blackbird.com/Aircraft/Stories/sr-71-blackbird-speed-check-story</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>michaelteter</author><text>I never tire of that story.&lt;p&gt;Growing up in an aviation family, I have heard endless cool stories (but few so cool).&lt;p&gt;One of my favorites was when my grandfather was flying when the F15 was in early flight development.  The skies were much less busy, and there was a bit less formality.&lt;p&gt;Ground knew who was where, so it asked my grandfather, “would you like to see something interesting?”  GD agreed, and moments later an F15 pulled up alongside him, pointed at an upward angle and maintaining what was a slow flight speed for it.  The two pilots were close enough to exchange waves, and moments later the F15 rocketed away.&lt;p&gt;Most likely that day, the F15 was the fastest thing in the air for several hundred miles.</text></comment>
<story><title>SR-71 Blackbird Speed Check Story</title><url>https://www.thesr71blackbird.com/Aircraft/Stories/sr-71-blackbird-speed-check-story</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>hinkley</author><text>The SR-71&amp;#x27;s actual top speed was classified, and the &amp;#x27;official&amp;#x27; top speed was faster than anything else in production.&lt;p&gt;At several points growing up someone would come up with a new plane that encroached on the SR-71&amp;#x27;s speed record. Then a couple weeks later there would be an announcement about the SR-71 setting a new top speed.&lt;p&gt;I suspect someone in Intelligence had to decide that being officially the fastest was important, but exactly how fast being a secret made the plane and pilot a little bit safer. So they had to nudge the fiction a little bit closer to the truth any time there was a pretender. Or, manufacturing improvements nudged the maximum safe speed up over time, and they only bothered updating the public about this when a dick measuring contest was held in their honor. Or maybe both.</text></comment>