Denver to Honolulu

This next flight in the SR-71 leaves Denver for Daniel K Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii. I've visited this island several times in my early lifetime, and always enjoyed my stay. Love their sunsets! I caught a picture a lot like this one, on my last trip there. Here are some things to do in Honolulu.

This destination is farther than most of my recent flights, at 2,958 nautical miles (NM). I've read that the SR-71 needs in-flight refueling to accomplish its missions, so I don't have a lot of confidence that it has the range to make it to Hawaii from Colorado. However, based on its performance getting to Seattle and back, I think I've got a chance of making it all the way, without having to do any mid-air refueling.

Lined up for takeoff from Denver's runway 34L.

I did the dipsy-doodle maneuver at 30,000 feet, and it worked perfectly - the Blackbird accelerated through the high-drag airspeed range, and started climbing rapidly. In this pic, it's climbing through 39,000 feet at 500 knots, at about 2,600 feet per minute.

Climbing into the dark sky.

Cruising at 75,000 feet.

Descending into the Honolulu area, passing through 17,000 feet.

Descending through 10,000 feet, into the broken cloud layer.

First sight of Oahu.

Nearing the east coast of Oahu.

Approaching the center of the island.

Crossing over Honolulu International Airport, westbound.

Flying the downwind for the ILS approach to runway 08L.

On the ground in Honolulu! Rolling out after touching down on runway 08L.

Stopped on the ramp, in front of a passenger terminal at Honolulu airport, just for fun.