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Travel Adventures – Aviation Hall of Fame – U2 Spy Plane and D-21 Recon Drone

PART TWO – The U2 and D-21. In the days before satellite imagery, broadband and digital photography — it was all about actual aerial photographs in the military planning and intelligence worlds. The Blackbird program was accelerated and approved for use largely as a result of a U-2 being shot down and its pilot captured in the USSR. The U-2 was designed to fly higher than any Soviet missile could reach. It moved slowly, like today’s surveilance drones, because the thinking was that its altitude would protect it from any attack. Flying slower also allowed the Kodak large-format camera systems …

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Travel Adventures – Aviation Hall of Fame – 2,193MPH Lockheed SR-71A and SR-71B Blackbirds

PART TWO – The Blackbirds. Has there ever been a plane more enigmatic and also enchanting in its design and capabilities? The Lockheed Blackbird is a true icon for the ages. Included below are two of the only SR-71 Blackbirds that are viewable by the public – anywhere on Earth. The first is the world aviation speed record-holder, and the second the SR-71B double cockpit model. They are both housed inside giant museum buildings, making photographs tricky. The lighting is atrocious, but their impact up close is unforgettable. Why inside? Well, despite having their engines removed and on display, these …

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Travel Adventures – Robins AFB Aviation Hall of Fame – B1 Bomber

PART ONE – B1 Bomber There are a few signs you see on a road trip that are usually worth taking the next exit. One of those is an AFB Museum. Without any prior planning or knowledge of the Robins Air Force Base Museum on my way to Atlanta today, we pulled off the highway ASAP and set the navigation with this new destination. 24 minutes off the highway, and we are staring head-on with a B1-B Lancer and a Warthog A10 out front. This is the second amazing detour for an AFB museum — the other being in Kalamazoo, …

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