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First Flight of the Blackbird by Stan Stokes. (B)
Construction of the first SR-71 Blackbird (61-7950) was completed by Lockheed at its Burbank California Skunk Works in October of 1964. The aircraft was then broken down for shipment to Palmdale, California where it was reassembled. Kelly Johnson, the famous aircraft designer for Lockheed, had oversight responsibility for this project, and Kelly gave specific instructions to Robert Gilliland, the pilot chosen for the first flight of the Blackbird. The first flight was originally scheduled for December 21, 1964. Bad weather had caused a one-day postponement. During the first flight only Gilliland would be on board, and a trio of F-104 fighters would fly chase. Following take off Gilliland performed a number of stability and handling checks. He then took the Blackbird up to 30,000 feet and easily went supersonic (hitting Mach 1.2) before some caution lights came on. Determining that he faced no serious problems Gilliland accelerated to Mach 1.5 and climbed to 50,000 feet. Returning to Palmdale he made a subsonic flyby before lining up for his landing. Gillilands first flight is commemorated in Stan Stokes painting. The first six SR-71s produced were assigned to flight-testing at Edwards AFB. The first successful aerial refueling of a Blackbird occurred on April 25, 1965, and two pilot training aircraft (designated SR-71B) were delivered in 1965. A set back to the program occurred in January 1966 when an SR-71 was lost over New Mexico and a year later the original Blackbird (61-7950) was destroyed when the craft caught fire during braking tests at Edwards. Overall ten Blackbirds were lost during the first six years of the program. A total of thirty-two SR-71A aircraft were produced. In March of 1990 an SR-71 was flown from California to Washington before being retired to the Smithsonians Air and Space Museum. This flight was interesting because it set a coast-to-coast speed record of 68 minutes. The aircraft took off from Southern California and flew north to rendezvous with a tanker near San Francisco. The craft then flew south while refueling. It passed over its official starting point for the trip near Ventura. Accelerating to Mach 2.5 the Blackbird reached Kansas City in 39 minutes. Climbing to 85,000 feet the aircraft reached a top speed of Mach 3.2 as it passed the official finish line near Baltimore. After slowing to subsonic speeds the bird needed another shot of fuel prior to making its final approach into Dulles Airport. This truly amazing aircraft had once again demonstrated its capabilities more than two decades after its first flight. |
| | Item Code : STK0154B | First Flight of the Blackbird by Stan Stokes. (B) - This Edition | |
| | TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | | PRINT | 225 prints from the signed limited edition of 4750 prints, with signature of Stan Stokes and pilot, and a remarque.
Only 1 print now remains. | Image size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm) |  Gilliland, Robert 
+ Artist : Stan Stokes
Signature(s) value alone : £50 | £10 Off! | Now : £130.00 |
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| Other editions of this item : | First Flight of the Blackbird by Stan Stokes. | STK0154 |
| | TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | | PRINT | Signed limited edition of 4750 prints.
Supplied with signed and numbered certificate of authenticity. | Print size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm) | Artist : Stan Stokes | £15 Off! | Now : £35.00 | VIEW EDITION... | | PRINT | Limited edition of 100 giclee art prints.
Just two of this print edition now available. | Size 21 inches x 14 inches (53cm x 36cm) | Artist : Stan Stokes | | £145.00 | VIEW EDITION... | | PRINT | Prints from the 225 prints from the signed limited edition of 4750 prints, with signature of Stan Stokes and pilot. | Image size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm) | Gilliland, Robert
+ Artist : Stan Stokes
Signature(s) value alone : £50 | £35 Off! | Now : £95.00 | VIEW EDITION... | GICLEE
CANVAS | Limited edition of 100 giclee canvas prints.
SOLD OUT. | Size 36 inches x 24 inches (91cm x 61cm) | none | | SOLD
OUT | VIEW EDITION... | GICLEE
CANVAS | Limited edition of 100 giclee canvas prints. | Size 27 inches x 18 inches (69cm x 46cm) | none | | £400.00 | VIEW EDITION... |
| | General descriptions of types of editions : |
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| Signatures on this item | | *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | | Name | Info | 
Robert Gilliland (deceased)
*Signature Value : £50
| He trained in America's early jets before being assigned to a veteran front line fighter squadron in Germany. While stationed there as a Second Lieutenant, he won his Air Wing's 'Top Gun,' competition, which Second Lieutenants were not supposed to win. During the Korean War, he was reassigned to Taegu Air Base where he flew F-84's in nearly daily combat in the air war over North Korea. After returning to America, he received a 'plum assignment' to the USAF Research and Development group at Eglin Air Force base in Florida. Finding little excitement in the peacetime Air Force, he left the service to assist in his father's business. Upon his dad's death, he returned to his first love, aviation, as a part of Lockheed's F-104 Starfighter test flight group in Palmdale, California. In early 1962, while working as Lockheed's chief pilot for European production of the F-104 in Turin, Italy, he was recalled to Burbank by the chief of the Skunk Works, the legendary Kelly Johnson. Johnson asked him to lead the test flight program for the highly secret 'article' - the future Blackbird. Bob flight tested the 'article' known as the A-12 Blackbird at Area 51, a secret facility in the Nevada desert, for later delivery and use by the CIA. Bob later flight tested the interceptor version of the Blackbird, the YF-12A. Subsequently, he was hand-picked by Kelly Johnson to fly the final and newest version of the Blackbird - the SR-71. Under the call sign 'Dutch 51,' Bob successfully piloted the SR-71 Blackbird on its maiden flight on December 22nd, 1962. His work there continued intensively through multiple modifications until the envelope of the plane was fully developed and a critical supply could be delivered to the USAF. During these development years, he accumulated more Mach 3 plus experimental flight test time than any other pilot in the world. Even after President Johnson acknowledged that the Blackbird existed, little was released beyond what air controllers could see on their radar screens: that it was the fastest and highest flying aircraft ever created, rocketing at over three times the speed of sound on the edge of space at 80,000 feet. Long before Bob was allowed to comment on 'what he did at work,' his colleagues at the Society of Experimental Test Pilots recognized the magnitude of his achievements and honored him as the top test pilot/astronaut, the year after the Mercury 7 astronauts received the award. The SR-71 changed the calculus of the Cold War. Although over the course of the development program several aircraft were lost, no Blackbird was ever shot down despite the thousands of surface-to-air missiles fired at it by hostile countries. Since its declassification, Bob has been honored with virtually every significant aviation award in the western world, including the top award - enshrinement into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. He died on 4th July 2019.
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| The Aircraft : | | Name | Info | | Blackbird | Construction of the first SR-71 Blackbird (61-7950) was completed by Lockheed at its Burbank California Skunk Works in October of 1964. The aircraft was then broken down for shipment to Palmdale, California where it was reassembled. Kelly Johnson, the famous aircraft designer for Lockheed, had oversight responsibility for this project, and Kelly gave specific instructions to Robert Gilliland, the pilot chosen for the first flight of the Blackbird. The first flight was originally scheduled for December 21, 1964. Bad weather had caused a one-day postponement. During the first flight only Gilliland would be on board, and a trio of F-104 fighters would fly chase. Following take off Gilliland performed a number of stability and handling checks. He then took the Blackbird up to 30,000 feet and easily went supersonic (hitting Mach 1.2) before some caution lights came on. Determining that he faced no serious problems Gilliland accelerated to Mach 1.5 and climbed to 50,000 feet. Returning to Palmdale he made a subsonic flyby before lining up for his landing. The first six SR-71s produced were assigned to flight-testing at Edwards AFB. The first successful aerial refueling of a Blackbird occurred on April 25, 1965, and two pilot training aircraft (designated SR-71B) were delivered in 1965. A set back to the program occurred in January 1966 when an SR-71 was lost over New Mexico and a year later the original Blackbird (61-7950) was destroyed when the craft caught fire during braking tests at Edwards. Overall ten Blackbirds were lost during the first six years of the program. A total of thirty-two SR-71A aircraft were produced. In March of 1990 an SR-71 was flown from California to Washington before being retired to the Smithsonians Air and Space Museum. |
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