SR-71 Blackbird: Gone but not forgotten...

Twenty-six years ago Beale said goodbye to the fastest air-breathing jet in the world, the SR-71 Blackbird.

The Blackbird was an advanced, long-range, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft that called Beale Air Force Base home from January 1966 to January 1990.

But for Master Sgt. Floyd Jones (ret.) and a local group of former Blackbird maintainers, the mission continues, not with turning wrenches, but with the same elbow grease.

"It's not glamorous but it needs to be done," said Jones, who worked on the Blackbird for nearly 20 years.
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