SR-71A/YF-12A takeoff and flight

The YF-12 "Blackbird" was an experimental fighter-interceptor version of the Lockheed A-12 aircraft. In Air Force flight tests on May 1, 1965, the YF-12 set a speed record of 2,070.101 miles per hour and an altitude record of 80,258 feet. First publicly displayed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1964, the YF-12 was never adopted by the military as an operational aircraft. It was, however, a precursor to the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane. Two YF-12 aircraft were flown in a joint A