File:A12Blackbird.jpg

One-of-a-kind A-12 trainer with an extra cockpit for the instructor at the California ScienCenter's Roy A. Anderson Blackbird Exhibit & Garden in Los Angeles.

Regular A-12s were one-seater spy planes built for CIA. Compare to the later SR-71 which were two-seater spy planes built for USAF. Compare to the YF-12 interceptor which has a pointy nose cone. All three types of airplanes A-12, SR-71 and YF-12 are designed with different capabilities for different missions and have distinct exterior features though they look very similar. Even press release photos from the government sometimes mixed up the pictures. It is unknown if the mix up was intentional or not because these projects were in secrecy and unclassified pictures were hard to come by.

On 26 January 1960, the CIA ordered twelve A-12 aircraft. After SR-71 was chosen to replace the A-12, May 8th, 1968 saw the last operational mission of an A-12, which was over North Korea. After this, all A-12s were sent back to Palmdale to be put into storage for several decades before going to museums around the United States. This particular specimen in LA is the only A-12 trainer ever built. It was put on display in 2003.

The plaque at the exhibit said the following: Spy in the sky The A-12 Blackbird flew high and light A-12 Trainer Specs Material: Titanium Length: 31.2 meters (102 feet, 3 inches) Wingspan: 16.9 meters (55 feet, 7 inches) Height: 5.6 meters (18 feet, 6 inches) Takeoff weight: 53,000 kg 117,000 pounds) Landing weight: 23,600 kg (52,000 pounds) Speed: Mach 2.0, twice the speed of sound Altitude: 18,000 meters (60,000 feet) Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney I-75 engines, each rated at 17,000 pounds of thrust First flight: January 1963 Number of flights: 614