December 11, 2020
The SR-71 Spy Plane Had a Secret Fuel Source
This super-fast plane cannot run on just any kind of jet fuel.
by Peter Suciu
Key point: The Blackbird is a famous plane that rightly has its place in the Air Force pantheon. However, not many people realize that it requires a special kind of fuel called MIL-T 38219 that had to be invented just for the SR-71.
Nicknamed the "Blackbird" for its black paint job that was designed to dissipate heat, the SR-71's sleek lines almost seem "futuristic" today despite the fact that the aircraft was flying missions before man first set foot on the moon. Yet despite being state-of-the-art, this aircraft wasn't without problems – and its fuel was a big one!
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/sr-71-spy-plane-had-secret-fuel-source-174388
