My grandfather helped in the design and fabrication of the J58s inside behemoth. As a boy, he would talk to me, going over the project he worked on at Pratt & Whitney and how they often had to redefine innovation to create an engine capable of what was required. After I got into school to become a doctor, we took a trip to this museum and to DC to celebrate. In 2015, nearly 60 years after its design, he stood next to this exact blackbird, pointing out airframe designs and his contributions/struggles they encountered in the engine design. A level of recollection I still struggle to comprehend.

I went back here this Summer, for the first time since his passing. People often look at this and see peak innovation and how ‘pushing the envelope’ translates to application. I see my grandfather passing off his greatest life lessons.