927 takes off from Groom Dry Lake - photo courtesy of the Tony Landis collection
A rare glimpse of 927 from a chase plane - Lockheed photo courtesy of the Tony Landis collection
927 on the ramp at Groom Lake - Lockheed Martin photo
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Also known as the "Titanium Goose" and designated a TA-12, 927 was the only trainer in the A-12 series. Bill Park piloted her first flight on January 7, 1963; the flight only lasted 20 minutes and there was no one else on board. Due to several reasons, it was also the only A-12 that was never fitted with J58 engines (Article 123 crashed before the J58 engines were ever available). As a result, it is the only surviving blackbird that was never painted completely black, since it never got hot enough to need the black paint for heat dispersion. |
| Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, about to get his first "check ride" in 927 with Lockheed test pilot Lou Schalk on August 27, 1963. Johnson and Schalk made two flights that day for a total of 2h26m. Contrary to some reports, this was not the only time he flew in a blackbird; in his book Kelly: More Than My Share of It All, Johnson states that he was also in the back seat of a YF-12 on one of the missile test firings. |
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