Message posted by gary on May 19, 2002 at 11:35:54 PST:

First download and read the sr71 manual, then try one on for size. ;-) BTW, having never made it to Black Bird Park when it is open, can you get inside any of the planes.

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Cockpits—Pilot an SR-71 Blackbird
The Cockpits exhibit in the Museum's Great Gallery invites visitors to climb into the cockpit of a real SR-71A Blackbird reconnaissance plane or a full-scale mock-up of an F/A-18L Hornet fighter. To the best of our knowledge, the Museum of Flight is the only place where the public can manipulate the controls of a Blackbird, the fastest, highest-flying jet ever built. The Cockpits exhibit provides a two-minute overview of the instrument panels, distinctive engine sounds, and a photo opportunity for anyone who has ever dreamed of piloting these historic aircraft.

Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's SR-71A Blackbird was designed as a Mach 3 successor to the U-2 spy plane and used by the U.S. Air Force and NASA. The Blackbird holds the speed record for a jet airplane at more than 2,100 mph. It also has the record for level flight at the highest altitude, more than 85,000 feet, or 16 miles above Earth. The Museum's Blackbird cockpit, from aircraft serial number 64-17977, was built in 1964.

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