Citat:Meet the SR-71C: Half YF-12A... Half SR-71...
One of a kind.
... SR-71C, “The Bastard” S/N 61-7981, that was the only C model Blackbird ever built and was the last SR-71 to be manufactured. It was nicknamed “The Bastard” since it was a hybrid comprised of the rear fuselage of the first YF-12A (S/N 60-6934) and a functional engineering mockup of an SR-71A forward fuselage built for static testing.
The plane was built to replace the second of the two B model trainers after it crashed on Jan. 11, 1968. The C model made its first flight on Mar. 14, 1969 from the Lockheed plant at Palmdale, California, with Blackbird Chief Project Pilot Robert J. Gilliland at the controls and Lockheed test pilot Steve Belgeau as Reconnaissance Systems Officer. After flight testing, it was delivered to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, California, on Sep. 3, 1970.
The aircraft made its last flight on Apr. 11, 1976 and was removed from flying status on Jun. 24, 1976 with only 556.4 flight hours, not including the 180.9 hours accumulated on the aircraft as YF-12A S/N 60-6934. It was then processed for long-term storage at the Lockheed plant in Palmdale, California... https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/meet-sr-71c.....lane-64986
Citat:The video gives us a hands-on look at the broader strokes that make up the SR-71 and its concept of operations, along with some interesting factual tidbits along the way. It was shot at the very end of the Blackbird's flying career, as the final flying examples were serving with NASA, which is a civilian agency, so the video is about as straightforward and up-close and personal as it gets.
