dsc32208.jpg

The sign accompanying the SR-71 pressure suit. It reads

U.S. Air Force Type GNS1030 Full-Pressure Suit

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird operated at altitudes of up to 30,500 meters (100,000 feet). To survive in the rarified atmosphere in the event of a catastrophic failure, the crew had to wear full pressure suits. This suit is a high-altitude assembly consisting of a full-pressure coverall, gloves, and pressure helmet. The system also includes a torso parachute harness with an integrated flotation life preserver.

Lt. Col. Joseph T. Vida wore this suit during the coast-to-coast, record-breaking final flight of the Museum's SR-71. Vida was a Blackbird crew member from August 1974 until his retirement from the Air Force in 1990, having served both in the operational program and the SR-71 Flight Test Group. He was chief of the Flight Test Group when he retired and had logged over 1,390 hours in SR-71s, more than any other Blackbird crewmember.

A19920081000	A19920088000
A19920082000	A19920098000
A19920083000

The Smithsonian has since removed all of the inventory numbers from their collections database when the Smithsonian re-did the database's interface, and archive.org's Wayback Machine hadn't saved the original URLs.