The Buick Engine That Helped Launch The SR-71 Blackbird

The Buick Engine That Helped Launch The SR-71 Blackbird

The Buick engine that helped launch the SR-71 Blackbird was the 401 Nailhead. Two of these were used to get its turbines running via a start cart.

The SR-71 Could Fly 2,193 MPH. Two Buick V8s Were What Got Its Engines Turning

The SR-71 Blackbird is remembered for what it did at the edge of the atmosphere, not for what happened on the ramp beforehand. On the ground, though, this record-setting spy plane was helpless without outside assistance. For years, that assistance…