Flying the SR-71 Blackbird cover art

Flying the SR-71 Blackbird

In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

€0.00/month for the first 3 months
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Flying the SR-71 Blackbird

By: Richard H. Graham
Narrated by: Shawn Compton
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

For anyone who has ever wondered what it's like to fly the SR-71 on a secret Mach 3 reconnaissance mission, this book has the answer. Completely redesigned and updated with photos from author Colonel Richard H. Graham's personal archive, as well as a new introduction, Flying the SR-71 Blackbird details what an SR-71 mission entailed, from planning to donning a pressure suit to returning to base.

The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird, was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed Skunk Works. The aircraft flew so fast and high that not one was ever shot down, even by a missile. SR-71 pilot and instructor Colonel Richard Graham offers a rare cockpit perspective on how regular Air Force pilots and navigators transformed themselves into SR-71 Blackbird crews, turning their unique aviation talents to account in an unprecedented way.

Arguably the world's foremost expert on piloting the Blackbird, Graham takes listeners along on an operational mission that only a few Air Force pilots have ever experienced.

©2008, 2010, 2019 Richard H. Graham (P)2021 Tantor Air Forces Armed Forces Military Military & War Aviation

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Hogs in the Sand cover art
Harrier cover art
Typhoon cover art
Never Panic Early cover art
Concorde cover art
Stealth cover art
How to Build an Aircraft Carrier cover art
Before Topgun Days cover art
Above the Law cover art
Eject! Eject! cover art
Kelly cover art
Viper Pilot cover art
Warriors at 500 Knots cover art
SR-71, the Blackbird, Q&A cover art
Flying from the Black Hole cover art
Victor Boys cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
Flying the SR-71 Blackbird by #RichardHGraham. So if you want to know what it's like 🚀 flying at 3x the speed of sound, this #book takes you there. The writing about the @LockheedMartin & #skunkworks supersonic jet was detailed and accurate throughout. 📚 4/5🌟 #bookreview

3x the speed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Everything that was said about that Blackbird Aircraft, the flying and the maintenance left nothing to your imagination

The detailed imagery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A dry subject that was surprisingly interesting. Lots of insights into both the SR71, management, technology and the politics especially around the intelligence community.
Recommended.

Surprisingly excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If your into aircraft or in the UK heading to Duxford IWM in Cambridge to see the static Blackbird display then this book is for you. Excellently narrated with so much detail it will captivate you. Outstanding.

Incredible detail

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Sometimes a bit dry and specific but it's what is say on the tin. It's a full cockpit seat experience on what it was like to train, fly and be in the SR71 programme. Missss the paperwork with the hard copy a bit but a good listen all the same. Especially as it's so laden with facts and figures on the Blackbird story.

Really pleased I got this myself, but I think you need to be a pretty hardcore aviation enthusiast to appreciate it.

Now, if only "Sled Driver" was on Audible :-(.

Bit nerdy but some good stuff in there

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The audio book references diagrams in the hard copy version of the book which you just don’t have. Loads of nerdy detail down to what switch in the cockpit does what with occasional moments of insight and interest.

Disappointed and often rather bored.

Disappointing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you are interested in these planes, you'll be interested in this book. It is a superb insight into the Blackbird and it's variants.

Wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is of real interest for pilots & aviation fanatics. If you have a interest in all things SR-71 you will love it. The audio version does not come with the SR-71 cockpit schematic, it would benefit the book if these were available as PDF however a search will show you plenty of other SR-71 cockpit layouts. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book but it helped that I have read and watched loads of stuff on YouTube and visited the one at Duxford UK where they have a brilliant display.

A brilliant read for the aviation enthusiast.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Will really appeal to anyone with a knowledge already of the SR71. This really tells the inside story of the pilot and the planes every day operation.

Fascinateing Insight

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you are a pilot or a dedicated aviation person it’s fascinating. For a person just interested in the plane it’s quite good but there’s an awful lot of detail. Pre flight check chapter is an example. Description of every switch in all areas of the cockpit and beyond and why it does what it does. Aircraft capability is awesome and really enjoyed those parts plus what can go wrong at times. Really good descriptions. Liked it overall but a little of detail and like most military activities a lot of letters that are shortcuts to a long winded title of command or something technical.

Detail detail detail

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews