In August 1991, the final transport was arranged. In Spring 1991, representatives from the 67th Aerial Port Squadron and 405th CLSS traveled twice with large, flat-bed trucks to transport most of the palatalized components, leaving only larger components that required to be moved by a cargo aircraft. When the disassembly was completed, there was no cargo aircraft immediately available to transport the aircraft. In August 1990, the aircraft was broken down into three major pieces and sorted into smaller components for transport on a C-5 Galaxy. Members of the Air Force Heritage Foundation of Utah, the 67th Aerial Port Squadron and the 405th Combat Logistics Support Squadron (CLSS) traveled to California to decide the best way to disassemble, package and transport the aircraft back to Hill Aerospace Museum. Planning to move the SR-71 from California to Hill Aerospace Museum began immediately. Hatch intervened and Hill Aerospace Museum was assigned the aircraft in April 1990. The aircraft was then moved into long-term storage at the Lockheed plant in Palmdale, California. The aircraft only logged 556.4 flight hours, not including the 180.9 flight hours accumulated from the YF-12A, and completed its final flight in April 1976, when it was removed from flying status in June 1976. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird still holds the official Air Speed Record for a manned airbreathing jet aircraft with a speed of 2,193 mph (3,530 km/h). In September 1970, following flight testing, it was delivered to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base. The C model made its first flight in March 1969. The C model was built after the second of the two B model trainers crashed in January 1968. The C model is a hybrid between the rear fuselage of the YF-12A and a functional engine mock-up of a SR-71A forward fuselage built for static testing. There was only one C model Blackbird ever built and it was the final SR-71 to be manufactured. The SR-71C, located at Hill Aerospace Museum, is a one-of-a-kind.
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