SpeedOn December 22, 1964, at a small, closely guarded airstrip in the desert town of Palmdale, California, Lockheed test pilot Bob Gilliland stepped into a strange looking aircraft and roared into aviation history. Developed at the super secret Skunk Works, the SR 71 Blackbird was a technological marvel. In fact, more than a half century later, the Mach 3plus titanium wonder, designed by Clarence L. Kelly Johnson, remains the worlds fastest jet. It took a