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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Elaine Nathanson
520-745-8221
520-490-9889
FOR DECADES, THEY COULDN'T TALK ABOUT THE SUPER-SECRET SR-71 BLACKBIRD
ON FEBRUARY 21 AND 22, THEY'LL TELL ALL ABOUT IT
Tucson, Arizona (January 9, 2009) --The weekend of Feb. 21 and 22, 2009, visitors to the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, will have a rare opportunity to participate in the SR-71 Symposium.
At the Symposium, more than 20 former SR-71 crew members, maintenance and Lockheed personnel who were involved with the top-secret SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft will share their experiences.
Former SR-71 pilot Richard H. Graham, Col., USAF (Ret), author of three books on the SR-71 --Flying the SR-71 Blackbird, SR-71 Revealed: The Inside Story and SR-71 Blackbird: Stories, Tales, and Legends -- will be moderating some of the panel discussions at the symposium. A veteran of 15 years of assignments within the SR-71 community, he is uniquely qualified to tell their story.
Another Blackbird author, Donn Byrnes, Col., USAF (Ret.) will also be at the event. Col. Byrnes, a flight test engineer for the SR-71, has written Blackbird Rising and Air Superiority Blue.
The SR-71 books will be for sale and both authors will be available to sign copies. Other SR-71 merchandise will be available in the Museum Store.
The Symposium will take place under the wing of an SR-71 that is on display in the Spirit of Freedom Hangar at the Pima Air & Space Museum, 6000 E. Valencia in Tucson.
Panel discussions with SR-71 Symposium members will be at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
Attending sessions at the Symposium and speaking with the participants is included in the price of admission to the museum. One day admission is $15.50 for adults; $12.75 for seniors and $9 for children age 7 to 12. For this special weekend, two day passes are available for $20 for adults; $16.75 for seniors and $12.50 for children. Children six and under are free. The museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm
The two-man crews of the SR-71 wore space suits, flying the unarmed aircraft to altitudes of greater than 85,000 feet at speeds exceeding mach 3.2 (2,100 mph). They flew over denied territory, taking photographs at precise locations on the planet with camera resolution high enough to identify an object the size of a golf ball. (To give you an idea of the speed of the SR-71, it could fly from Tucson to Phoenix in three minutes!)
The SR-71 entered service in 1966 and was retired in 1990. It was brought briefly out of retirement in 1995, and then retired for the second and final time in 1998. Despite an airframe design dating back to the late 1950's, the SR-71 Blackbird still holds virtually every world record for absolute speed and altitude by a manned operational aircraft. The pilots, ground crews and engineers gather every few years for this unusual event.
Pima Air & Space Museum has over 250 vintage and modern aircraft on permanent display. The museum is the third largest aviation museum in the United States and hosts nearly 200,000 visitors each year.
For more information, contact:
Mina Stafford
Program Manager
Arizona Aerospace Foundation
520-618-4819
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