The fastest pilots in history - 40 years ago - Curt Lewis video

The Fastest Jet Flight in History

Forty years ago, the SR-71 Blackbird set a record that still stands.

Eldon Joersz (left) and George Morgan on the day of their record-setting flight. (FAI)

Eldon Joersz wasn't originally interested in flying the SR-71 Blackbird. He was a fighter pilot-he'd flown the F-105 over Vietnam and Laos-and he knew that the sleek spy plane wasn't about pulling Gs so much as flying high and very fast.

But Joersz applied to pilot the SR-71 anyway, and so it happened that he was in the cockpit on July 28, 1976, when the Blackbird set a world air speed record: 2,193 miles per hour (Mach 3.3) on a straight-line course over Edwards Air Force Base in California. Forty years later, the record still stands-the fastest flight ever for a piloted jet.

Joersz, a retired Air Force Major General, explains in a recent 40th anniversary interview with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (the body that keeps official aviation records) how the record was actually set twice. He and reconnaissance systems officer George Morgan flew the same course at the same speed on July 27, but because there was a cloud cover that day, they couldn't verify the 80,000-foot altitude. So, for the benefit of the FAI observers, they flew the same route again on the 28th, and that's the official date in the record books.

Timed for the 1976 U.S. bicentennial, the Edwards flight was part of a deliberate attempt to capture three speed records, and it was all very methodical and planned, recalls Joersz. The SR-71 normally flew at Mach 3.2, so it wasn't even much of a stretch in terms of speed. "That's where we flew the SR-71 all the time. It wasn't difficult, but it was precise, it demanded your attention and it demanded smoothness," he told the FAI interviewer. "For us at the time, it was just a fun thing to do. It was not Earth-shattering."

The record-setting Blackbird is now on display at the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB in Georgia.

This Lockheed Martin video gives a little more background on Eldon "Al" Joersz and his historic flight:

World's fastest jet crew are reunited with the supersonic SR-71 Blackbird spy plane - which is still the fastest plane ever built, 40 years later   Pilot Al Joersz and reconnaissance system officer George Morgan reunite with SR-71 spy plane On July 28, 1976, Joersz and Morgan flew faster than a speeding bullet The Blackbird reached 2,193 miles per hour - one mile every 1.64 seconds Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia, is hosting a weekend celebration honoring the crew Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was built in the 1960s by engineers in California Long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft was made for US Air Force Held world record for the fastest manned aircraft since 1976 For 40 years it has been the fastest plane ever built, and now the crew who flew the record-breaking, speed-shattering mission have been reunited with the aircraft they once commanded, and climbed back into the cockpit. It was 1976 when U.S. Air Force pilot Maj. Gen. Eldon 'Al' Joersz and Lt. Col. George 'GT' Morgan flew a jet faster than a speeding bullet. They flew faster than anyone had done before, or since. On July 28, 1976, the two men flew a SR-71 Blackbird spy plane for more than a thousand kilometers at 2,193 miles per hour, covering one mile every 1.64 seconds, a record that still stands today. Back in the saddle: Maj. Gen. Eldon "Al" Joersz, USAF pilot retired, front, and Lt. Col. George "GT" Morgan, USAF retired reconnaissance systems officer, set a world speed record in 1976 in this SR-71 aircraft Big metal bird: The pair were reunited with the plane that they flew in 1976 to set an air-speed record that has stood for the past 40 years. The reunion happened at the Museum of Aviation in Macon, Georgia Forty years on from their speed-smashing record, the pilots were able to sit in the cockpit of the aircraft once again. The supersonic spy plane, which flew at more than three times the speed of sound is now on display at the Century of Flight Hangar at the Museum of Aviation in Georgia and on Thursday the original crew were reunited with the record-setting plane they flew. Joersz, who retired from the Air Force as a major general, was the pilot. Morgan, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, was the reconnaissance systems officer. The idea was to set the World Absolute Speed record as part of the nation's bicentennial celebration. They crew set their course and altitude and fired the afterburners to soar into the sky and with it, the record books. In 1976, reconnaissance officer George Morgan, left, and pilot Eldon "Al" Joersz set the world aviation speed record in an Air Force SR-71 Blackbird spy jet. Their record -- 2,193 mph -- still stands. On the day of the record, Joersz recalls how after making final checks, he lined the aircraft at the end of the runway, ready for takeoff. When he got the green light Joersz pushed the throtles forward the plane blasted into the sky and were at their target altitude at 80,600 feet within minutes. It was so high that Joersz remembers seeing the curvature of the Earth. In the seat behind him, Morgan helped Joersz follow the mission checklist and made sure they remained on track. 'I was watching very closely to make sure we were right on the money,' Morgan said to CNN. 'And we were.' The plane had to complete a 15 kilometer course which it passed through within a matter of seconds, before turning around and flying the same course one more time. 'I powered back ... and began the turn -- 90 degrees to the left, then a 270-degree turn to the right,' Joersz said. Morgan and Joersz say they encouraged each other over their headsets. Morgan spoke into the microphone, 'What do you think? Are we gonna make this thing? Oh, yeah, piece of cake!' After crossing four states, the pair landed safely back at Beale Air Force Base in California about 55 minutes after they took off. Joersz and Morgan climbed out of their cockpits to be met by a crowd of saluting VIPs that included generals, Lockheed executives and a congratulatory phone call from commander in chief of the Air Force Strategic Air Command. The pair had beated the previous record by 123mph but were just 7mph short of breaking the 2,200mph mark. Joersz said he never expected the record to stand. He said he was happy to see the plane for the first time at the museum. 'It wasn't supposed to be that big of a deal,' Joersz told CNN. 'We knew we were going to be setting some records, but we didn't look at it as something that would endure this long.' Morgan said they were lucky to get the assignment. 'We didn't go as fast as we could, we just went as fast as we needed to go to set the record.' This Saturday, the museum hosts Blackbird Day - which includes a panel discussion about the SR-71 with Joersz and Morgan and a chance for the public to meet the world's fastest jet crew. 'I'm real pleased to see the way the museum has cared for the airplane,' he told the Macon Telepgraph. 'It's encouraging to see the respect the aviation community and this museum in particular has for this airplane.' The plane was so fast that it could outrun surface-to-air missiles as it traveled close to the edge of space at about 85,000 feet, or about 16 miles above the earth. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile. The plane flew so high above the Earth's surface that Joersz said there was no real sense of speed at all with the clouds so far below. A total of 32 of the aircraft were built which flew from 1964 to 1999; 12 were lost in accidents, but none were shot down by enemies. Lockheed's previous reconnaissance aircraft was the relatively slow U-2, designed for the CIA. In late 1957, the CIA approached the defense contractor Lockheed to build an undetectable spy plane and within ten months they had come up with the design for the Blackbird. Flying at 80,000 ft meant that crews could not use standard masks, which would not provide enough oxygen above 43,000 ft, so specialist protective pressurised suits were made. The plane's titanium skin was capable of surviving temperatures up to 482C. The SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career and is believed to be the most advanced airplane ever built in relation to the technology available at the time. Almost every aspect of its design required new approaches or breakthroughs in technology. To withstand high temperatures generated by friction in the upper atmosphere during sustained Mach 3 flight, the Blackbird required an array of specially developed materials including high temperature fuel, sealants, lubricants, wiring and other components. Around 93% of the Blackbird's airframe consisted of titanium alloy that allowed the aircraft to operate in a regime where temperatures range from 450 degrees to 950 degrees. On July 24 1964, US President Lyndon B. Johnson publicly announced the existence of the classified Lockheed SR-71 program. The first flight was held on December 22 and operational aircraft deliveries began in 1966. Looking back over the past 40 years, Joersz is confident a new aircraft will someday break the record he managed to set, perhaps reaching five or even six times the speed of sound. 'It'll make Mach 3 seem pretty slow.' An SR-71 refueling from a KC-135Q Stratotanker during a flight in 1983. Because they were powered by a uniquely formulated jet fuel, SR-71 Blackbirds were refueled exclusively by KC-135Q tankers