+ Aircraft Log Al-12p

Americain curator of aviation here at the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum today we'll take a look at possibly the most remarkable airplane in our entire collection the lockheed a-12 the a12 was the product of project oxcart a secret military program to develop a high-speed high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft first flown in 1962 the a12 was built by Lockheed advance development projects office now known as the skunk works and run by their brilliant aircraft designer Kelly Johnson the a12 on display here at intrepid is called article 122 it served as a radar test airframe early in 1962 at the secluded test site known as area 51 near Groom Lake Nevada massive pratt & whitney j58 turbo ramjet engines powered the plane these engines were used only in the a12 and then later in the sr-71 blackbird these pointed parts at the front of each jet engine intake are called shock cones without the