Welcome to the Lockheed A-12 Blackbird on display in the outdoor collection of the Southern Museum of Flight. The main museum is just two blocks to the east, but there is a large outdoor display just inside the fences of the Birmingham Airport. You cannot go inside the fence to closely view the aircraft on display, but instead it is intended to be viewed from the roadside by walking along the fence line. This display is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I've included a good parking spot waypoint where you can pull off the road.
First off, to get credit for this virtual cache, you can post a photo of yourself, your GPS or one of your geocaching signature items with the aircraft in the background. If you do not want to provide a photo for confirmation, you must send me a message with the following confirmation information -- at the coordinates, look for the utility pole on the street corner and look near the very top. You will see a group of letters and numbers that are black on a yellow background, are stacked on top of each other and begin with the letter "F". Give me the five numbers you see that are below the "F".
The "Blackbird" platform is still the only aircraft that can fly faster than Mach 3 and can cruise above 80,000 feet. The "Blackbird" fleet consisted of the A-12 original design (photo recon), the YF-12 (bomber/interceptor), the M-21 and finally the SR-71. The A-12 was replaced by the SR-71, but some pilots felt that the A-12 was a better plane. Just a few years after the A-12 was developed, the "overt" SR-71 won out since it could photograph targets without flying directly over them, and the "covert" A-12 fleet was mothballed. In those few years, these aircraft were invaluable. Realizing the U-2 aircraft had flaws, like getting shot down, the US began developing an extreme aircraft. They were very successful! The record of Mach 3.29 (2193.2 mph) at 90,000 feet still stands to this day for a piloted jet aircraft, though pilot Brian Shul reported in "The Untouchables" that he flew in excess of Mach 3.5 on 15 April 1986, over Libya, in order to avoid a missile. Improved satellite imagery rendered the entire "Blackbird" fleet obsolete and they were grounded.
This particular A-12 Blackbird has some interesting history. It was one of only three A-12 aircraft used for recon missions. In it's short time in service, CIA Article 131 flew 13 secret "BLACK SHIELD" missions between May 31, 1967 and January 26, 1968. It flew 10 missions over North Vietnam, 2 missions over Cambodia and Laos and 1 mission over North Korea. The first mission of the total 29 for all three aircraft was flown over Vietnam by CIA Article 131. The three total missions over North Korea found the USS Pueblo to confirm they seized it.
There were a total of thirteen A-12 aircraft produced, but five were lost over time. The remaining eight aircraft have been put on display throughout the US, with three of them located in AL. The A-12 in Huntsville in front of the US Space and Rocket Center, CIA Article 127, also flew missions with CIA Article 131 in "BLACK SHIELD". The current tail number on CIA 131 is "77835", but the original tail number was "06937". It still looks so great because the exterior is made of titanium.
More information and some cool artifacts from the A-12 fleet can be seen just two blocks to the east at the Southern Museum of Flight. The museum is open Tuesday thru Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday. There is an admission fee of $7 when this cache was listed to enter the museum. A complete list of the A-12 and all "Blackbird" aircraft is located on the SR-71 Online web site.
It is an honor and a treat to be able to give a little back to all the geocachers in the great state of Alabama.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.