{"id":3156,"date":"2016-07-20T14:17:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T14:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=3156"},"modified":"2026-03-31T22:42:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T20:42:32","slug":"sr-71-pilot-trolls-bragging-f-18-pilot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/sr-71-pilot-trolls-bragging-f-18-pilot\/","title":{"rendered":"SR-71 Pilot trolls bragging F-18 Pilot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As you probably know the SR-71 Blackbird was the fastest plane in the world<\/a>, at least when we do not take rocket planed into account (otherwise the winner would be the X-15). There is a funny story about the Blackbird – coming from “Sled Driver” – a sold out book by Blackbird pilot Brian Shul.<\/em> We don’t really know if it’s true, but it makes for a great story anyway:<\/p>\n

\"SR-71<\/a>

SR-71 Blackbird<\/p><\/div>\n

There were a lot of things we couldn\u2019t do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane. Intense, maybe. Even cerebral. But there was one day in our Sled experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be the fastest guys out there, at least for a moment. It occurred when Walt and I were flying our final training sortie. We needed 100 hours in the jet to complete our training and attain Mission Ready status. Somewhere over Colorado we had passed the century mark. We had made the turn in Arizona and the jet was performing flawlessly. My gauges were wired in the front seat and we were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves, not only because we would soon be flying real missions but because we had gained a great deal of confidence in the plane in the past ten months. Ripping across the barren deserts 80,000 feet below us, I could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet. I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Walter in the back seat. There he was, with no really good view of the incredible sights before us, tasked with monitoring four different radios. This was good practice for him for when we began flying real missions, when a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital. It had been difficult, too, for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my entire flying career I had controlled my own transmissions. But it was part of the division of duties in this plane and I had adjusted to it. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however. Walt was so good at many things, but he couldn\u2019t match my expertise at sounding smooth on the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with years in fighter squadrons where the slightest radio miscue was grounds for beheading. He understood that and allowed me that luxury. Just to get a sense of what Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit briefly), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally would not talk to them unless we needed to descend into their airspace. *Continue reading below*<\/em><\/p>\n