File A121-R-61-7977SR-71AArticle 2028

61-7977

SR-71A · Article 2028
Lost10 Oct 1968

The Museum of Flight (cockpit section only, 'Cockpits' exhibit)
Seattle, Washington, USA · 47.52, -122.30

No photo on fileNo openly licensed photograph of this airframe is in the archive yet. If you took one or know of one, it can be added with your permission.

Record

61-7977
2028
SR-71A
Not published
Not confirmed
Lost
The Museum of Flight (cockpit section only, 'Cockpits' exhibit), Seattle, Washington, USA

Career

  • Restored cockpit is a sit-in exhibit: the museum says it is the only place the public can handle a Blackbird's controls

How it was lost

Destroyed on 10 October 1968 at Beale AFB when a wheel and brake assembly failed on the takeoff roll, starting a fire; the aborted takeoff ended about 1,000 ft off the end of runway 14. RSO James A. Kogler ejected and pilot Gabriel "Abe" Kardong rode the aircraft to a stop; both survived.

Where the record disagrees

The Museum of Flight labels the cockpit with the erroneous serial form 64-17977. Location is for the surviving cockpit section only; the rest of the airframe was destroyed. First flight and hours not found. Coordinates are the museum site (Wikipedia infobox, cross-checked against OpenStreetMap).

Sources

  1. SR-71 Online (sr-71.org), via Internet Archive. Blackbird Losses (archived copy). Open · In the register
  2. Habu.org. 61-7977 (Blackbird Photo Archive). Archived copy · In the register
  3. The Museum of Flight. Pilot an SR-71 Blackbird or an F/A-18 Hornet (Cockpits exhibit). Open · Archived · In the register
  4. Joe Baugher. 1961 USAF Serial Numbers (61-7950 to 61-7981). Open · Archived · In the register
  5. SR-71 Online (sr-71.org), via Internet Archive. SR-71 Locations (archived copy, lists serial / Lockheed article number and fate). Open · In the register