Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" - American reconnaissance aircraft

Lockheed SR-71, unofficially called "Blackbird", is a long-range, extremely fast US reconnaissance aircraft. The SR-71 reached more, than three times the speed of sound. The flight from New York to London took about 1 hour 54 minutes. For a passenger supersonic "Concorde", it took 3 hours and 20 minutes, compared to about six for a conventional airliner. Efforts were made to make the plane, invisible on radar screens, but this was only partially successful. The radars of the target country often saw these planes, and they were repeatedly attacked by anti-aircraft missiles, but due to the high speed of the SR-71, none of them were shot down. A total of 12 such planes have crashed, none of them in combat. About 800 anti-aircraft missiles were fired at the SR-71 during the Vietnam War, but during its operational life, not a single aircraft was shot down. After the SR-71 landed, no one could get to it for a while, because the body was heated to about 300 °C from friction with the air. Aluminum alloys, used in aviation, are no longer resistant at such temperatures, so the body was made of titanium. Lockheed Martin managed to purchase titanium for this plane from the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. The United States managed to keep military secrets, so that no one knew, what the purchased metal was used for. Due to thermal expansion, the plane became sealed only, when heated and the cold tanks released fuel. Therefore, the plane took off with a small amount of fuel, "warmed up" in the air, refueled during the flight and then flew on reconnaissance. The SR-71 missions were so secret, that most of the data, collected during them have not been disclosed to this day. The SR-71 used special fuel JP-7, which were also used as a refrigerant - they were used to cool the plane, when circulated in the hull cooling system. For safety, an extremely flammable fuel was developed, that was almost impossible to ignite outside the engine of the plane. The cost of this fuel was equivalent to the price of Scotch whiskey, sold in a store and contributed to considerable ( US$24,000 to US$27,000 per hour) in operating costs.The aircraft used complex engines, that were initially controlled by analog computers. These computers did not always cope with the task - it happened, that the engine went out in the air, throwing the plane violently. Later, digital computers were installed, which ensured more reliable operation of the engines. Gradually, a cult of mysticism and adoration was created among enthusiasts interested in this aircraft, largely due to its unusual appearance, impressive capabilities and the shroud of secrecy surrounding it. Rumors spread, that the true capabilities of the SR-71 were much greater, than what was actually advertised and were never really revealed. According to publicly available data, the maximum speed achieved with these engines was Mach 3.44. However, pilots say, they have reached Mach 3.5. The plane could climb up to a height of about 25.9 km. Formally, the use of aircraft in the US Air Force was discontinued in 1990, and until 1999. several aircraft were transferred to NASA, for research purposes, continuing reconnaissance only from artificial satellites. However, the fact, that these aircraft were briefly returned to the line-up several times and then transferred back to the reserve, and the fact, that they were not officially replaced by anything after a long and successful service, gave rise to the myth, that the United States has and uses the next generation of about five times the speed of sound reconnaissance planes. Rumors also mention their code-name "Aurora". At the beginning of the 21st century, Skunk Works, a division of Lockheed Martin, has confirmed, that it is developing a new unmanned aircraft, the SR-72, which could reach speeds of up to Mach 6.0.

A simple 1:72 "plastic" scale model, consisting of approximately 100 parts, which can be easily assembled by a beginner and a modeler with little experience without any help from more experienced colleagues. But working in a team is more fun. The model is quite well detailed for such a scale - there are even cabins and undercarriage niches (it's true - quite primitive).