Before the SR-71 Blackbird There Was the YF-12 — It Flew Mach 3, Carried Radar-Guided Missiles, and Its Pilots Feuded With XB-70 Valkyrie Crews at the Bar

Before the SR-71 Blackbird There Was the YF-12 — It Flew Mach 3, Carried Radar-Guided Missiles, and Its Pilots Feuded With XB-70 Valkyrie Crews at the Bar

‘We Lose Pieces Bigger Than What You Fly’: A Valkyrie Pilot’s Response to a YF-12 Pilot Bragging About Mach 3 Hours Is the Best Comeback in Aviation History YF-12 vs. XB-70: You have to give credit to Linda Sheffield Miller. She is the daughter of Colonel Richard “Butch” Sheffield, an SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance systems officer. Miller has become an expert on the SR-71 and other high-flying, high-speed reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft …