To be around those aircraft or to know anyone who flew, built or maintained them is pretty damn cool. The SR-71 is without a doubt the most amazing example of American aircraft ingenuity. I've read several books on Kelly Johnson and the Skunkworks team. To be able to design and build that beautiful, high-speed bird without the aid of any kind of modern computer is simply mind-boggling! What those engineers accomplished using slide rules and 'smarts' is truly incredible. There will be successors that will fly higher and faster, but I don't believe that their accomplishment can ever equal what went into the Blackbird!