| The Untouchable by Philip West.
The SR-71 Blackbird is the world's fastest and highest flying jet aircraft. For over 23 years, the SR-71s gathered highly classified intelligence around the world for the President of the United States, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Pentagon and other governmental agencies, allowing them to make crucial political and military decisions during the Cold War. At Mach 3+ cruising speed, the SR-71's leading edges heat up to over 600 degrees F, where the outside air temperature is already at a -60 degree F. In September 1975 the SR-71 set a world speed record from New York City to London in one hour, 55 minutes. When the SR-71 was delivered to the National Air & Space Museum in 1990, it set a Coast-to-Coast record, flying from Los Angeles, California to Washington, D.C., in 64 minutes, 20 seconds. |
| Item Code : DHM2230 | The Untouchable by Philip West. - This Edition | |
| TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | PRINT | Signed limited edition of 350 prints.
| Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm) | Graham, Richard + Artist : Philip West
Signature(s) value alone : £15 | | £90.00 |
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Other editions of this item : | The Untouchable by Philip West | DHM2230 |
| TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | ARTIST PROOF | Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. | Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm) | Graham, Richard + Artist : Philip West
Signature(s) value alone : £15 | | £115.00 | VIEW EDITION... |
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Extra Details : The Untouchable by Philip West. | About all editions : | A photograph of an edition of the print :
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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 |
Col Richard Graham *Signature Value : £15
| Colonel (Rtd.) Richard Graham was born August 19, 1942 in New Castle, Pa. He graduated from the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, in 1964 and received a masters degree in sociology in 1977 and in Public Administration in 1979 from Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Air War College in residence in 1982. After receiving his commission from AFROTC he entered pilot training at Craig AFB, Alabama. In 1965 he graduated from pilot training and remained at Craig AFB as a T-37 instructor pilot and flight examiner. In August 1970 he was assigned to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, to begin F-4 training. Upon completion of his training he was assigned to the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Triple Nickel) at Udorn RTAFB, Thailand from March 1971 to March 1972. During that time he flew 145 combat missions over North Vietnam and Laos in the F-4C/D aircraft. In April 1972 he was assigned to the 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Japan, flying F-4D aircraft. Four months later he volunteered for, and joined, the 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron as an F-4C Wild Weasel pilot. In September 1972, until February 1973, Colonel Graham was deployed with his squadron to Korat RTAFB, Thailand, to augment F-105 Wild Weasel aircraft. At Korat he flew 60 combat missions, suppressing enemy surface-to-air missile sites in North Vietnam. During Christmas 1972 he participated in six Linebacker II sorties over Hanoi. In March 1973 his squadron joined the 17th Tactical Fighter Wing deployed to CCK Air Base, Taiwan. He departed Kadena as the F-4 Standardization/Evaluation Branch Chief. Colonel Graham was selected to enter the SR-71 strategic reconnaissance program in 1974 at Beale AFB, California. After several years as a crew member, he was further selected to become an instructor pilot, and in 1978 was selected as the Chief, Standardization/Evaluation Division, which included the SR-71, U-2 and T-38 aircraft. In January 1980 he was selected to be the SR-71 Squadron Commander, 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, where he served until his assignment to Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama in 1981. Following Air War College in June of 1982, he was assigned to the Headquarters USAF (Pentagon) to work in Programs and Resources as a strategic force programmer. In April 1984, he was selected to work in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs and Installations. As the Director of Program Integration, he worked Air Force budgetary matters closely with the Office of the Secretary of Defence, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Air Staff. In June of 1986 Colonel Graham was selected to be the Vice Wing Commander, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SRW), Beale AFB, California. In that capacity, he was able to fly all of the wing's aircraft: the U-2, T-38, KC-135Q, and SR-71. In June of 1987 he was selected to become the Wing Commander of the 9th SRW, where he remained until November 1988. As the Wing Commander, he was responsible for 10,000 personnel and their dependents on base, over 85 Air Force aircraft deployed around the globe, and a base of 22,000 acres in northern California. He was assigned to the 14th Air Division, Beale AFB, until he retired on 30 September 1989. Colonel Graham was a command pilot with more than 4,600 military flying hours. His military decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with 18 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with V device and one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, Combat Readiness Medal with one oak leaf cluster, National Defence Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with four service stars, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. Upon retirement from the Air Force he joined American Airlines in Dallas, Texas. He flew with them for 13 years, and in August 2002 he retired as a Captain on the MD-80 aircraft amassing 7,500 hours. Col. Graham has published a second volume on the SR-71, entitled SR-71 Blackbird: Stories, Tales and Legends. His first book, SR-71 Revealed: The Inside Story tells the crew's story of how they lived and flew the world's fastest and highest flying aircraft, the SR-71 Blackbird. A veteran of 15 years of assignments within the SR-71 community, he is uniquely qualified to tell their story. Col. Graham frequently speaks about the SR-71 program at aviation events across the United States. |
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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