Blackbird
 

http://www.nodarkroom.co.uk/videos/blackbird.wmv

8) the legend :P

What an awesome plane this still is.....

Still my favourite plane ever made :)

A W E S O M E :D it looked pretty small on the ground btw...

Pretty small? Take a look at the cockpit and the rest of the plain :shock:

Now that is a plane..

Seriously.. that thing is beautiful. Can't wait for the scramjet planes of the future ;)

I LOVE IT!
its just so amazing!
its built in titanium and the most titanium comes from russia, so to build this plane to spy on russia, they had to buy titanium from them first! crazy! they used all kinds of dummie corporations to hide who really bought the titanium.
but the most crazy thing is that the plane is built for the temprature when its at ver high mach speed and since the titanium gets bigger the hotter it is its actually to small when on the ground so when fueling it up there are holes in the plane that disappear when it gets hot enough, but on the gound its fuel tanks cant hold the fuel, so the first thing it has to do after take of is to refuel since the fuel just runs straight out of the hull, and that first refuel in air is really dangerous since the fastest speed of the fuelplane is basically the stall speed of the blackbird so its VERY difficult to do and the first thing the pilots had to learn and if they didnt...no blackbird flying for them!

amazing plane! and still is the fastest plane ever!

I remember when this plane was "unveiled" and remember getting a signed picture of it at an air show when I was a kid. I even had a model airplane of it. Amazing that on its last flight before retirement, it set the cross-country record in the US. Whether it still stands, I don't know...but remember hearing about it. "I'm going to get retired now, so I think I'll just go show everyone what it's all about"...that's pimp!

i know its not small, it just looked that way to me, maybe it was an angle thing, or the runway is HUGE and wide...
and i believe its also the highest flying airplane, at 30 km altitude? i believe the pilots have to wear astronauts' suits so they can get to the ground safely in case anything happens...

I saw one once about 12 years ago or so flying above Goffstown, New Hampshire where nearby is an air force tracking station with an F-111 on each side you want to see somebody go nuts you had to be there for my reaction. That was the first time and the last time I saw one. :shock:

Actually that plane isn't as big as one may imagine when standing next to it. Of course I am next to planes all the time so a C-17 or C-5 is big.

Saw one of the last flights even after it's retirement at the EAA in Oshkosh few years back. It flew in formation with a KC-135, from near by ANG in Milwaukee and a B-2 bomber.

And yes it did a sonic boom run.