The SR-71 Blackbird at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center

We recently visited the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, near Washington Dulles International Airport. This facility is part of the National Air and Space Museum, although many tourists usually associate “Air and Space” with the original Smithsonian’s museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

One of the most popular exhibits at Udvar-Hazy is the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.  Here are some views from the front.

Here is a view from behind.

Here are some views from above, clearly showing the Blackbird’s signature black paint. The second photo shows the logo of Lockheed’s Skunk Works division that designed the SR-71.

The SR-71 Blackbird is the world’s fastest jet-propelled aircraft. Its last flight from Los Angeles to Washington Dulles International Airport on March 6, 1990, took 1 hour 4 minutes 20 seconds. Here are some closeups of one of the engines that made that speed possible.

For more information about the SR-71 aircraft at Udvar-Hazy and stunning pictures, visit https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/lockheed-sr-71-blackbird.

Future posts will feature other important exhibits at the Udvar-Hazy Center, including the Space Shuttle Discovery, the Enola Gay, and a Concorde.