The SR-71 Blackbird could be the most beloved aircraft any military has ever produced. It’s almost mythical at this point.
Built by Lockheed Martin, its virgin flight came in 1964. It was flown all the way up until 1999, when it was finally retired by NASA.
In July of 1976, the futuristic mechanical bird set a speed record that still stands today — 2,193.13 mph (to put that into mind-bending perspective, when Wilbur Wright piloted the Wright Flyer in December 1903, he went a little over 6 mph)
But how did the plane achieve such incredible speed? With a Pratt & Whitney J58 engine — that’s how.
See how they worked in the video above.