SR-71 Blackbird pilots David Peters and Ed Bethart left Okinawa on a Saturday morning, flying at Mach 3. When they landed in California five hours later, it was Friday — they had arrived the day before they left.
The SR-71 Blackbird Could Do Time Travel
You probably don’t know this, but the United States government once sent two Air Force pilots back in time. No, this isn’t the start of a science fiction story. It’s the tale of one of America’s most iconic military planes doing what it was designed to do.
The plane in question is the legendary Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. And as you can see from the photos, we visit many of them throughout the year.
SR-71 Blackbird Photo by Dr. Brent Eastwood of 19FortyFive.
The Okinawa Departure That Changed the Clock
At some point during its operational lifespan, US Air Force pilot David Peters and his back-seater, Ed Bethart, were scheduled to fly back to the United States from Okinawa, where they were based.
That’s where things got interesting for the pair.
According to Aviation Geek Club, Peters and Bethart were scheduled to depart from Okinawa with their SR-71 back to the United States on a Saturday morning.
Their replacements had arrived at Kadena Air Base the previous Friday evening. Everything went as planned. Upon their arrival, the pair took them to Happy Hour, and all enjoyed a relaxing evening.
The next morning, Peters and Bethart boarded their SR-71 and began their journey back to Beale Air Force Base in California.
Crossing the Date Line—and Going Back a Day
The Blackbird could fly at more than 2,000 miles per hour (more than Mach 3) and could reach as high as 16 miles above the Earth. The SR-71 crossed the International Date Line on its return to California.
As Peters’ and Betharts’ SR-71 crossed the International Date Line, the plane effectively went back a day in time. That’s because when one flies west-to-east across the Pacific, one goes back a full calendar day. In other words, Saturday morning at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa is Friday morning in California.
SR-71 Blackbird at the Smithsonian 19FortyFive.com Photo
The Blackbird was able to cross the Pacific Ocean in about five hours. In the words of David Peters, the pilot who flew the mission, he and his back-seater outran the clock back to California.
“Beating the Sun” at 2,000+ Miles Per Hour
Indeed, it was almost as if the Blackbird flight from Okinawa to California “beat the sun,” according to Peters in his recounting to Aviation Geek Club. Their SR-71 was flying so fast that the sun appeared to move backward relative to their plane.
When the two men landed in California, they arrived the day before they had taken off from Okinawa!
That feeling of being a time traveler was impossible to miss, especially given the SR-71 Blackbird’s unique appearance and advanced engineering.
Plus, the men who flew the Blackbird had to wear specialized suits—like astronaut spaceflight suits—because the plane flew so high and fast that the pilots would not be protected from the harmful effects of flying at such altitudes and speeds.
So, when they landed the day before they departed Okinawa, it was less like a normal flight back to America and more like two men from the future had landed in the Golden State with their time machine, the SR-71.
SR-71 Engine from Pratt & Whitney J58
SR-71 Blackbird: The Fastest Aircraft Ever Built
The SR-71’s capabilities cannot be overstated. In some respects, the SR-71 remains unmatched even today.
The Blackbird was the fastest operational air-breathing aircraft ever built. In fact, the Blackbird was so fast that it could outrun enemy missiles simply by accelerating.
As you just read, the Blackbird could cover international distances in mere hours.
At the speeds the SR-71 operated, conventional human timekeeping was turned upside down.
Pilots of this iconic plane had to devise ways of thinking about time differently than ordinary pilots because the speeds at which the SR-71 traveled were so great that ordinary intuition could not be relied upon.
Engineering Built for Extreme Speed
The SR-71 was built with unique titanium construction to support its “speed as defense” concept.
In fact, during a tour of the SR-71 museum at Edwards Air Force Base in California, one of the former SR-71 pilots told this author that once the SR-71 reached its cruising speed, the aircraft’s titanium shell would “open up” ever so slightly.
D-21 image taken by 19FortyFive at the U.S. Air Force Museum. This was a drone built out of the tech of the SR-71.
That’s because the plane was traveling at such high speeds that the alloy from which it was made shifted mid-flight.
A layer of dangerous, extreme heat (reaching 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit inside the cockpit) would envelope the bird as it flew at its top speed. Without the astronaut-like suits worn by the pilot and the back-seater, the heat would have proven toxic to the men on board the SR-71.
Two Pratt & Whitney J58 engines, each capable of producing 32,500 pounds of thrust, allowed the aircraft to operate at its high-performance threshold.
The SR-71 set several speed records during its service life. In 1974, the SR-71 flew from New York to London in less than two hours.
In 1990, the SR-71 set a record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in just 64 minutes.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is the Senior National Security Editor at 19FortyFive.com. Recently, Weichert became the editor of the “NatSec Guy” section at Emerald.TV. He was previously the senior national security editor at The National Interest. Weichert is the host of The National Security Hour on iHeartRadio, where he discusses national security policy every Wednesday at 8 pm Eastern. He hosts a companion show on Rumble entitled “National Security Talk.” Weichert consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. His writings have appeared in numerous publications, among them Popular Mechanics, National Review, MSN, and The American Spectator. And his books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. Weichert’s newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter/X @WeTheBrandon.