I love this story! SR-71 pilot Brian Schul tells the story of what happened on a routine training sortie one day as he and his RSO Walt Watson were headed toward LA from Tucson AZ.
Brian is one hell of a guy. I had the pleasure of trading email with him when I was writing an article and needed permission to quote excerpts from his book Sled Driver.
Continue reading “LA SPEED CHECK”
This may be the single greatest aviation story ever told, it’s about the iconic SR-71 Blackbird whose full operating specs are still classified to this day. The story, from the now out-of-print book Sled Driver by former SR-71 jockey Brian Shul (available used on Amazon for just $700). Here’s the ultimate aviation troll:
There were a lot of things we couldn’t do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane. Intense, maybe. Even cerebral. But there was one day in our Sled experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be the fastest guys out there, at least for a moment.
Continue reading “SR-71 Blackbird Pilot Trolls Arrogant Fighter Pilot with Ground Speed Check.”