February 7, 2021 We asked a former RC-135 pilot to choose the Top 10 ‘Spy-Planes’ (though don’t call them that!) When we asked former Blackbird, B-57 and U-2 pilot BC Thomas for his thoughts on the Top 10 spy planes he wasn’t comfortable with the term , noting “The SR-71 was a Strategic Reconnaissance Aircraft, not a ‘spy plane.’ The practice of calling the SR-71 a ‘spy plane’ is so prevalent that I have stopped trying to correct the error, and it is no longer important since the SR-71 is no longer flying, although the U-2 pilots have cause to resent their being called ‘spy pilots.’ We have resented that moniker because of the formal, international consequences of being captured as a spy, as opposed to a military man flying a marked military aircraft, while wearing a military uniform with name and rank displayed, and carrying a military identification card which is also a Geneva Convention Identification card. Our status as a military pilot on a military mission was supposed to carry with it certain prerogatives which other countries were “constrained” to recognise, but whether they did or not was another question. Routinely, spies are summarily executed; military men captured, are supposed to be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention.“.