Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 7, 1990                   TAG: 9003071868
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHANTILLY                                 LENGTH: Medium

BYE-BYE BLACKBIRD: SPY PLANE RETIRED AFTER ITS SWAN SONG

In a final fling for the history books, one of the black, dagger-shaped aircraft flashed from coast to coast in 68 minutes, 17 seconds, arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport outside the nation's capital to the cheers of hundreds of onlookers. The old record was 3 hours, 38 minutes, set in 1963 by a Boeing 707.

The Blackbird took a running start, refueling over the Pacific Ocean at 60,000 feet before heading east from the California coastline and crossing its finish line near Salisbury, Md. The Blackbird then refueled before cruising in to Dulles Airport.

The Blackbird model No. 17972 was donated to the Smithsonian Institution, which plans to display it at a Dulles Airport wing of the National Air and Space Museum.

The Blackbird can outrun the fastest fighters and has never been shot down in 25 years of spying. It remains the fastest and highest-flying jet aircraft in the world.

Built to withstand temperatures of more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit, its skin is a titanium alloy instead of the aluminum used on most airplanes. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney turbojet engines, it can sustain a speed of Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound. Its maximum speed is classified.

On Tuesday's flight, the plane set separate speed records of 2,153.24 mph between Los Angeles and Washington; 2,242.48 mph between St. Louis and Cincinnati; and 2,200.94 mph between Kansas City, Mo., and Washington. Sonic booms were reported in various communities along the flight path.