SR-71 Pilot to Speak at March Field Air Museum

March Field Air Museum will feature Jim Shelton, former SR-71 pilot, as the speaker for its program “Summer Briefings” on Saturday, Aug. 9 at 1 p.m. in the museum’s Yeager Family Library. The museum houses one of only twelve (12) SR-71’s that are on display in the United States. This aircraft was decommissioned in a ceremony at Beale Air Force Base on Jan. 26, 1990. It was then flown to the museum in Feb. 28, 1990 and was moved into the museum’s main hangar in 2011 where it is prominently displayed in the entry. The SR-71 holds a March 16, 1990 flight time record of West-East Coast in 1 hour and 7 minutes. It continues to hold the record as the world’s fastest manned aircraft. Board president, Mr. Jamil Dada, said, “It’s a modern marvel, an amazing aircraft that was decades ahead of its time. It actually helped end the Cold War. And, now with a potential Cold War 2 looming, the SR-71 could come in handy because neither the Russian Military nor the Ukrainian Rebels could shoot this puppy down!” Jim Shelton, who has his personal SR-71 memorabilia on display at the museum, entered the Air Force's Aviation Cadet Program in 1955, receiving his wings in Dec. 1956. His first assignment was flying the F-86F in Korea. In 1958 he was assigned to the B-47 program. He spent 5½ years flying the B-47 from Orlando, Florida and Lincoln, Nebraska, with many deployments to Europe. In Oct. of 1964 he flew the F-102 in preparation for flying the B-58 Mach 2 SAC bomber. He flew the B-58 for 2½ years before being selected for the SR-71 Program. In Nov. 1967 he arrived at Beale and started flying the SR-71 in July 1968. He flew the aircraft for six years accruing 911 hours. He flew operational missions over North Vietnam, North Korea, the periphery of China, the DMZ area of Korea and the first Middle East mission in Sept. 1973. He received 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 7 Air Medals for the operational missions flown. He had several staff positions at Beale AFB and retired as the Director of Reconnaissance for 15th Air Force at March AFB in 1980. Museum admission is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 5 to 12. March Field Air Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and is located at 22550 Van Buren Blvd., Riverside CA 92518. For more information about March Field Air Museum please contact Annie Lunetta at (951)902-5949, annie@marchfield.org or visit the website at www.marchfield.org.