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‘It’s just black sky up there’: 50 years on, the transatlantic flight speed record remains unbroken | Air transport | The Guardian

theguardian.com · 1,178 words · saved by 1 readers

Two men flew between New York and London at three times the speed of sound. No other aircraft has since been as fast as the Blackbird SR-71, explains crew member Noel Widdifield O n 1 September 1974 two men made the fastest ever journey between New York and London. The astonishing trip – at three times the speed of sound – took less than two hours and set a record that still stands 50 years later. Even the mighty Concorde, which set the record for the fastest commercial transatlantic flight in 1996, straggled in almost an hour behind. The US air force Lockheed Blackbird SR-71 jet had a crew of two – pilot James Sullivan and reconnaissance systems operator Noel Widdifield – who completed the journey between the two cities in one hour, 54 minutes and 56 seconds before triumphantly landing to a fanfare welcome at the Farnborough air show in Hampshire. Widdifield, now 83, splits his time between Virginia and Florida in the US. “In a way, this was a standard flight for us,” he said, reflect

Noel Widdifield, far right, and Jim Sullivan with their wives after the airmen made their record-breaking flight in 1974. Photograph: Central Press/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Noel Widdifield, far right, and Jim Sullivan with their wives after the airmen made their record-breaking flight in 1974. Photograph: Central Press/Getty Images Air transport This article is more than 1 year old ‘It’s just black sky up there’: 50 years on, the transatlantic flight speed record remains unbroken This article is more than 1 year old Two men flew between New York and London at three times the speed

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