What a great piece of info on the SR-71 submitted by Ms. Myrick. What a great airplane that was. I remember the SR-71 very well from my days of living on Okinawa near Kadena Air Base 1977-1979. You always knew when an SR-71 was about to take off. The roar from their engines was very distinctive and seemed to cover the entire Island. We had a nick-name for the 71. We called it the “Habu” after the local poisonous snake. The take off times for the 71 were supposed to be secret for security reasons but ask any kid on the Island and they all seemed to know just when the bird would take off. I remember a rare night on the Island when, in late Fall, the sky was so clear you could see forever and the moon was very bright. I heard the roar of a 71’s engines and walked to the top of a hill near our base house. The plane took off and you could see the flames shooting out the back of the engines. Suddenly, the 71 literally stood on it’s tail and became a rocket ship shooting straight up into the sky. How high it went I really don’t know but one could follow it’s path from the trail of smoke and condensation it left behind. It was truly an amazing aircraft and this was really brought home to me when, several years later, I met one of the electrical engineers and aircraft designer who had worked on the design and creation of the SR-71. He was retired and had accompanied his wife to Germany as she worked on a consultant contract for our school system. He was a very interesting chap and told me a number of things about the airplane. The technology was very advanced and much of what went into this aircraft still remains a secret. However, much has also been realized in commercial aviation from the development of the 71. I was saddened when they retired the SR-71. As was stated she was an expensive bird to fly but perhaps the main reason was she was no longer needed as satellites had taken over much of the surveillance operations of our military. As anyone who was connected with the Air Force and the SR-71 will tell you she was a great aircraft that brought back the “romance” of military aircraft.