March 2010 Dinner Meeting

Thursday, March 18, 2010; 6:30pm-9:00pm
Michaels at Shoreline, Mountain View

SR-71 Blackbird — An Engineering Marvel

Richard Graham, Colonel (ret)
US Air Force

Summary

The world’s fastest and highest flying aircraft was conceived as early as 1958 by the renowned aircraft engineer, Kelly Johnson. The gigantic leap in technology he and his engineers had to overcome at the Lockheed Skunk Works was phenomenal. Built in total secrecy, the first Blackbird flew on April 26, 1962. The Blackbird’s only purpose was to gather highly classified intelligence on hostile countries around the world. Flying at Mach 3+ speeds and cruising at over 85,000 feet, the SR-71 could survey over 100,000 square miles every hour, gathering millions of bits of intelligence. When cruising at over 2,100 mph, with skin friction temperatures reaching 600 degrees F., the SR-71 performed at its very best.

From 1967 to 1990, the SR-71 served seven U.S. Presidents, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Pentagon and other government agencies. It provided them with the necessary intelligence to make crucial political and military decisions during the Cold War era.

About the Speaker

Colonel (ret) Richard Graham graduated from the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio in 1964 and received a Master’s degree in Sociology in 1977 and in Public Administration from Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, California. In 1964 he graduated from pilot training at Craig AFB where he remained and was the T-37 instructor pilot and flight examiner. In 1970 he was assigned to Davis-Monthan AFB to begin F-4 training, after which he was assigned to the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Udorn RTAFB.

Col Graham was selected to enter the SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance program in 1974 at Beale AFB. After several years, he became an instructor pilot and in 1978 he was selected as the Chief, Standardization/Evaluation Division, which included the SR71, U-2 and T-38 aircraft. In 1980 Col Graham was selected to be the SR-71 Squadron Commander, 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, where he served until 1981. He then was assigned to Air War College at Maxwell AFB in 1981.

In 1982, Col Graham was assigned to the Headquarters USAF (Pentagon) to work in Programs and Resources as a strategic force programmer. In 1986 he was selected to be the Vice Wing Commander, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, and remained there until his retirement in 1989. Upon retirement from the Air Force, he joined American Airlines, where he was a Captain on the MD-80 aircraft and amassed over 7,500 flying hours.

A veteran of 15 years of assignments within the SR-71 community, Col Graham is uniquely qualified to tell the Blackbird story. He is the 1999 recipient of the University of Nebraska William F. Shea Award for Distinguished Contribution to Aviation and speaks with the ASME Distinguished Lecturers Program. He and his wife Pat have five children and four grandchildren.

Dinner Meeting Reservations

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Meeting Details

Registration and no-host cocktails at 6:30 pm; buffet dinner at 7:00 pm; program starts at 7:30 pm; program ends at 9:30 pm. This meeting is open to the general public.

Point of Contact

For more information about this meeting, contact Sylvee Walenczewski

Dinner Meeting Location

Michael's at Shoreline
2960 N Shoreline Blvd
Mountain View, CA,94043
650-962-1014

Map: Google