In 1976 Joersz and Morgan flew SR-71 61-7958 at 2,193.167 miles per hour, seven short of the 2,200 they wanted — fifty years later the FAI still lists it as the absolute speed record for a powered airplane, and the cockpit is open September 24–26 in Warner Robins, Georgia

In 1976 Joersz and Morgan flew SR-71 61-7958 at 2,193.167 miles per hour, seven short of the 2,200 they wanted — fifty years later the FAI still lists it as the absolute speed record for a powered airplane, and the cockpit is open September 24–26 in Warner Robins, Georgia

They were disappointed by seven miles an hour. The SR-71 Blackbird record has outlived the mission, the altitude mark, and the men who still come to sit in the cockpit.