Trine University hosts SR-71 Pilot

Tuesday, March 18 2014 at 7:00 p.m.

Military pilot to share adventures of flying world’s fastest aircraft

Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 11:00 pm | Updated: 10:32 am, Thu Mar 13, 2014.

kpcnews.com

ANGOLA — A retired U.S. Air Force colonel who has flown more than 750 hours in the world’s fastest and highest-flying aircraft will share his experiences next week at Trine University.

Col. Richard Graham is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Fabiani Theatre in the Rick L. and Vicki L. James University Center. His visit is sponsored by the Wade Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the Allen School of Engineering & Technology. Everyone is invited to attend the free speech.

During his 25 years of military service, Graham flew 4,600 hours and recorded 756 hours in the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, an aircraft capable of flying at more than three times the speed of sound, or more than 2,200 mph.

“Trine is truly fortunate to have Col. Graham share his experiences with us. He is an accomplished Air Force pilot and a wonderful historian of the SR-71 program,” said Jamie Canino, an assistant professor in the Wade Department who invited Graham to campus. “His speech will make the SR-71 come alive so the audience can better understand this marvelous aircraft and the engineers who built it.”

His presentation links the world of engineering with aviation and gives the audience a better understanding of the outside-the-box thinking by Kelly Johnson, the aircraft engineer who led the SR-71 development team.