PORTLAND, Ore.- It's enough to make the Spruce Goose turn green with envy. Howard Hughes's famous wooden aircraft, which has found a permanent roost at the Evergreen Aviation Museum near McMinnville, Ore., will be joined by another rare bird, the SR-71AThe Blackbird, also known as the world's fastest spy plane.

Making the announcement at a news conference in Portland July 2nd was Congressman David Wu (D-Ore.), who has worked for the past nine months to secure the aircraft for the Museum on a permanent loan from the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA).

The SR-71A will make its debut in mid-November at the Evergreen Av iation Museum near McMinnville, Ore., about one hour southwest of Portland.

Congressman Wu said, "I am proud to announce the addition of this aviation marvel. The Blackbird will enhance the Evergreen Aviation Museum's growing reputation as one of the best air museums in the nation."

Wu went on to thank former NASA Director Dan Goldin and current NASA Director Sean O'Keefe for their efforts in securing the plane. Wu said the process involved working with a number of departments within the U.S. Air Force, NASA and the General Services Agency (GSA).

Joining Wu for the announcement were Betsy Johnson, State Representative for Columbia and Clatsop Counties, Dist. 1, and Vice President of the Evergreen Aviation Museum's Board of Trustees.

Johnson said she spoke for the Museum Trustees and staff in thanking Congressman Wu for his diligence. "He really kept at this until the miracle happened," she said. Rep. Johnson said the plane would be decommissioned and then shipped in pieces to Evergreen where it will be reassembled for public display.

Mike Wright, the Museum's Vintage Aircraft Restoration Manager, explained why The Blackbird is so unique. "There are a number of fantastic facts' about this fabulous plane," Wright said, as he listed the following:

The SR-71A could fly at 2,300 miles per hour (as compared to an average of 600 miles per hour for a commercial aircraft). That's Mach 3 or more than three times the speed of sound. For example, it could fly over Poland, Iraq or Cambodia (approximately 400 miles each) in 10 minutes.

Charles Lindbergh's record-setting trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris was flown in 33 hours and 29 minutes. In 1974, the SR-71 Blackbird set a new record for the same distance of 1 hour, 55 minutes and 42 seconds.

The Blackbird flies at a maximum altitude of 85,068 feet (as compared to an average of 33,000 feet for a commercial airliner).

The SR-71A was developed from Lockheed's A-12 and YF-12A. Thirty-two SR-71s and 18 variants were designed and built in total secrecy at the Burbank, Calif., Lockheed plant known as the "Skunk Works," a name which came from Al Capp's Lil' Abner comic strip.

Along with the sleek, aerodynamic shape of the plane, the outer surfaces are coated with billions of microscopic balls to make this "stealth" plane hard to detect with radar.

The outer surfaces of the plane reached temperatures upwards of 800 degrees Fahrenheit. To heat up their food during flight, the pilots had only to hold it against the windows of the plane, which heated in flight to more than 600 degrees F.

The plane is a marvel of physics and engineering in many ways. The SR-71A contained six large tanks in the fuselage and wings, but no fuel bladders. The skin of the plane served as the outer wall of the tanks. When on the ground and during refueling, dozens of small leaks caused the fuel to stream from the plane's surface. Once the aircraft reached cruising altitude and speed, the plane expanded one to two feet, the plane's skin closed up and The Blackbird became leak free.

The SR-71A will join the Spruce Goose and 40 other historic aircraft at the Evergreen Aviation Museum. The Museum's summer hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. An extensive museum store and friendly cafe' add to the Museum experience. The Museum is located at 3685 N.E. Three Mile Lane, across the road from Evergreen International Aviation and about five miles southeast of McMinnville, Ore., on Highway 18. Regular visitor admission is required. Call (503) 434-4180 for more information, or visit www.sprucegoose.org.