The other day we were out running errands in NoVa, and I noticed this license plate.
The car was moving pretty fast, and I couldn't get a shot of the plate, so I followed the car into a restaurant parking lot. Turns out the driver was retired COL Larry Elliott, who was the RSO in a SR-71 on July 27-28 1976 that set a record - altitude in Horizontal Flight: 85,068.997 ft (25,929.031 meters) SR-71A (Tail #963). World Absolute and World Class Altitude Record for Horizontal Flight - 85,069 feet, surpassing the previous record of 80,257 feet set by a Lockheed YF12A in June of 1965. SR-71 flown by Capt Robert C. Helt, Pilot and Major Larry A. Elliott, RSO.
Chatted with him and his wife, and he was happy to describe how much he enjoyed flying the SR-71.
At home in the PNW and loving it