Tickets are now on sale for a talk by Colonel Rich Graham USAF Ret’d, who is returning for another fundraising evening on behalf of the Vulcan Restoration Trust on Thursday 1 September 2011.
The former SR-71 spy plane pilot will talk about the many different aircraft he flew during his career with the United States Air Force. This follows the sell-out talk he gave in March 2010 which concentrated on the incredible Mach 3 SR-71 ‘Blackbird’. As well as the SR-71, Colonel Graham will describe what it was like to fly aircraft as diverse as the F-4 Phantom (which he flew in combat during the Vietnam war), the KC-135 Stratotanker and the U-2 spy plane.
The talk will take place at the Orsett Hall Hotel, Prince Charles Avenue, Orsett, Essex RM16 3HS, starting at 8.00 p.m. Proceeds from the event will go towards the continued restoration of XL426.
Tickets cost £10.00 plus booking fee are now on sale from tickets.avrovulcan.com . Tickets are strictly limited to 100 so don’t delay placing your order.
More about Colonel Rich Graham
Colonel Graham was selected to enter the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance program in 1974 at Beale AFB, California. After several years as a crew member, he was further selected to become an instructor pilot, and in 1978 was selected as the Chief, Standardization/Evaluation Division, which included the SR-71, U-2 and T-38 aircraft. In January 1980 he was selected to be the SR-71 Squadron Commander, 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, where he served until his assignment to Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama in 1981. The SR-71 was the world’s fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. On 28 July 1976, an SR-71 broke the world speed record for its class at 1,905.81 knots (2,193.17 mph; 3,529.56 km/h, Mach 3.3 – three times the speed of sound), and an “absolute altitude record” of 85,069 feet (25,929 m), which is well into the stratosphere and approaching the edge of space. SR-71 pilots wear outfits similar to spacesuits to enable them to survive at these heights. In 1981 Kelly Johnson of Lockheed announced that the SR-71 has had over 1,000 missiles launches against it, but none successful.
In June of 1986 Colonel Graham was selected to be the Vice Wing Commander, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SRW), Beale AFB, California. In that capacity, he was able to fly all of the wing’s aircraft: the U-2, T-38, KC-135Q, and SR-71.During the 1980s Detachment 4 of the 9th SRW operated from RAF Mildenhall in the UK using a small number of SR-71 and U-2 aircraft. From here these high flying aircraft carried out reconnaissance and information gathering missions over Soviet Bloc countries, and other ‘hot spots’ such as Libya and the Middle East. In June of 1987 Colonel Graham was selected to become the Wing Commander of the 9th SRW, where he remained until November 1988. As the Wing Commander, he was responsible for 10,000 personnel and their dependents on base, over 85 Air Force aircraft deployed around the globe, and a base of 22,000 acres in northern California. He was assigned to the 14th Air Division, Beale AFB, until he retired on 30 September 1989.
Colonel Graham has published three highly acclaimed books about the SR-71: The SR-71 Revealed:The Inside Story, SR-71 Blackbird: Stories, Tales and Legends and Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission. A veteran of 15 years of assignments within the SR-71 community, he is uniquely qualified to tell their story.
The event will take place at the following location:
Whitmore Suite
Orsett Hall Hotel
Prince Charles Avenue
Orsett
Essex
RM16 3HS
By: Arabella-Cox - 14th August 2011 at 06:05
I have heard Mr Graham talk many times at Duxford and his knowledgeability about all the aircraft he has flown is outstanding well worth listening to if you can make it.
His walk around the SR71 is also very illuminating and taught me a couple of things I did not know about this unique aircraft.
Curlyboy
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August 13, 2011 at 9:57 pm