U2 down in Northern California
I remember reading somewhere that ~80% of ejections were "successful", where successful was defined as the person surviving - walking away uninjured being a much smaller percentage 
. Granted that was probably a couple decades ago.
So, is the modern kit much better?
Every five years, I need to take a safety class to remain qualified for flight testing. One of the scenarios is evacuating a 747 via the overhead flight deck hatch using the inertial reels. I've looked out that hatch on occasion - I'm not saying I wouldn't jump out that hatch and trust my life to the reel (and my ability to hang on to it), but the alternative would have to look rather dire
.
Does that apply to modern ejection seats as well?
. Granted that was probably a couple decades ago.So, is the modern kit much better?
Every five years, I need to take a safety class to remain qualified for flight testing. One of the scenarios is evacuating a 747 via the overhead flight deck hatch using the inertial reels. I've looked out that hatch on occasion - I'm not saying I wouldn't jump out that hatch and trust my life to the reel (and my ability to hang on to it), but the alternative would have to look rather dire
. Does that apply to modern ejection seats as well?
In his book 'Operation Overflight' Francis Powers explains that he chose not to use the ejection seat as he could not get himself in the correct position for ejection because of the g-forces he encountered. Had he used the seat, the canopy edge might have taken off his legs. Apparently the combination of the ejection seat type and the available space in the cockpit meant that a successful ejection could only be made from a very specific seating position. I assume that the more modern seat type in use now, coupled with the larger cockpit size of the newer U-2s, has at least removed part of this hazard.
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Rockytop, Tennessee, USA
Posts: 5,898
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Every five years, I need to take a safety class to remain qualified for flight testing. One of the scenarios is evacuating a 747 via the overhead flight deck hatch using the inertial reels. I've looked out that hatch on occasion - I'm not saying I wouldn't jump out that hatch and trust my life to the reel (and my ability to hang on to it), but the alternative would have to look rather dire .
.The pilots and FE in the Pan Am 73 hijack in Karachi 30 years ago exited through that hatch as the incident started, a move that appears less controversial now than it was at the time.
In his book 'Operation Overflight' Francis Powers explains that he chose not to use the ejection seat as he could not get himself in the correct position for ejection because of the g-forces he encountered. Had he used the seat, the canopy edge might have taken off his legs.
The young pilot had been flying for almost four hours when he heard a dull thump, the aircraft lurched forward, and there was a bright orange flash from a nearby surface-to-air missile. The plane’s right wing began to droop and the nose started to go down. Powers tried to correct it, but the plane continued its downward trajectory. Powers was uncertain if the control cable had been severed or if the tail was gone. He was certain, however, that he no longer had control of the plane.
Powers initial reaction was to pull the destruct switches, but he decided he’d better secure an exit plan for himself first. This, however, was proving difficult as the g forces had hurled him to the nose of the plane, which was spinning tail first towards the earth. Powers thought of ejecting but realized, in his current position, he likely would have had both off his legs cut off while trying to escape the plane.
On the verge of panic, Powers decided he would climb out of the plane. The whirling aircraft had passed thirty-four thousand feet when he removed the canopy. He took off his seat-belt, which sent him flying halfway out of the aircraft. His face plate frosted over rendering him visionless. Powers tried to get to the destruct switches twice but, realizing time was running out, he began kicking frantically and miraculously the oxygen hoses that were holding him hostage in the U-2 broke and freed him from the spiraling plane.
Suddenly, all was silent, except for the rustling of material as the chute opened and settled in the wind. Powers hung in the air desperately trying to comprehend what had just happened and trying to assess his current situation. He was fifteen thousand feet above the Soviet Union and the ground was growing ever closer. As he clutched the straps of his chute, he saw a piece of the plane float down past him.
He was nearly to the ground when he noticed a car driving down a dirt road that seemed to be following his path. During his final moments of solitude, Powers considered using the poison pin. However, he clung to the hope that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance he could somehow escape. Realizing the silver dollar would most likely be confiscated, he removed the pin and placed it in his pocket. He tossed the coin into the field below.
Powers managed to avoid landing on a tractor, in a lake, and on crackling power lines. Children came running out to see the spectacle. Once grounded the two men from the vehicle gathered Powers and his chute and drove him to a village.
Powers initial reaction was to pull the destruct switches, but he decided he’d better secure an exit plan for himself first. This, however, was proving difficult as the g forces had hurled him to the nose of the plane, which was spinning tail first towards the earth. Powers thought of ejecting but realized, in his current position, he likely would have had both off his legs cut off while trying to escape the plane.
On the verge of panic, Powers decided he would climb out of the plane. The whirling aircraft had passed thirty-four thousand feet when he removed the canopy. He took off his seat-belt, which sent him flying halfway out of the aircraft. His face plate frosted over rendering him visionless. Powers tried to get to the destruct switches twice but, realizing time was running out, he began kicking frantically and miraculously the oxygen hoses that were holding him hostage in the U-2 broke and freed him from the spiraling plane.
Suddenly, all was silent, except for the rustling of material as the chute opened and settled in the wind. Powers hung in the air desperately trying to comprehend what had just happened and trying to assess his current situation. He was fifteen thousand feet above the Soviet Union and the ground was growing ever closer. As he clutched the straps of his chute, he saw a piece of the plane float down past him.
He was nearly to the ground when he noticed a car driving down a dirt road that seemed to be following his path. During his final moments of solitude, Powers considered using the poison pin. However, he clung to the hope that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance he could somehow escape. Realizing the silver dollar would most likely be confiscated, he removed the pin and placed it in his pocket. He tossed the coin into the field below.
Powers managed to avoid landing on a tractor, in a lake, and on crackling power lines. Children came running out to see the spectacle. Once grounded the two men from the vehicle gathered Powers and his chute and drove him to a village.
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: New England
Age: 83
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Debriefing of Francis Gary Powers Tape #1 13 feb 1962
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingr...00030002-5.pdf
This was Powers' first chance to tell his story to the CIA debriefing team. There were a total of 16 tapes made over the period 13-18 February 1962. All the transcripts appear to be available as pdfs from the CIA CREST site.
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingr...rogram-archive
This was Powers' first chance to tell his story to the CIA debriefing team. There were a total of 16 tapes made over the period 13-18 February 1962. All the transcripts appear to be available as pdfs from the CIA CREST site.
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingr...rogram-archive
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Rockytop, Tennessee, USA
Posts: 5,898
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Thanks for that historical source document Kubarque. 
A recurrent theme in U-2 and SR-71 spacesuit ejections seems to be problems with the quick disconnects, QD's, on the suit hose fittings. In some cases the flailing hoses have been known to shatter the helmet visor.
Here is an account of the first successful U-2 'ejection' (perhaps actually a bailout from the timeline) by Colonel Jack Nole on September 26, 1957:
A recurrent theme in U-2 and SR-71 spacesuit ejections seems to be problems with the quick disconnects, QD's, on the suit hose fittings. In some cases the flailing hoses have been known to shatter the helmet visor.
Here is an account of the first successful U-2 'ejection' (perhaps actually a bailout from the timeline) by Colonel Jack Nole on September 26, 1957:
Ejecting from the U-2 was no simple process. Each hose, tube and connector had to be individually disconnected, including the shoulder harness and radio connection. Nole had shut down the engine when he first observed the trouble. His pressure suit had inflated and further restricted movement in the cockpit. He struggled to release himself from the various connections then released the canopy and exited the aircraft. He faced another problem after he had ejected from the aircraft.
At this altitude, he had two choices. One, he could pull the cord to open his parachute and allow himself to get oxygen from his emergency tank. Two, he could free fall and risk suffocation. There was a possibility of freezing to death if he opened the parachute at such high altitude. He remembered his training—any action was better than no action, so he pulled the ripcord.
As he descended, he was swinging alternately face up then face down. For the first time in his 17 years, in the cockpit, he became violently airsick. When he landed, he came down on his seat pack on his bottom. Investigators said it would have broken his back without the pack.
As a result of Colonel Nole's incident, many changes were made in the U-2, the most significant being the ejection seat. The first U-2 was designed without ejection seats, but “the decision makers” soon decided to install one in each aircraft. Quick disconnects were also incorporated for all systems and harnesses.
Colonel Nole's successful ejection contributed to the future survival of countless other pilots.
From: Remembering the Dragon Lady: The U-2 Spy Plane: Memoirs of the Men Who Made the Legend (2012)
At this altitude, he had two choices. One, he could pull the cord to open his parachute and allow himself to get oxygen from his emergency tank. Two, he could free fall and risk suffocation. There was a possibility of freezing to death if he opened the parachute at such high altitude. He remembered his training—any action was better than no action, so he pulled the ripcord.
As he descended, he was swinging alternately face up then face down. For the first time in his 17 years, in the cockpit, he became violently airsick. When he landed, he came down on his seat pack on his bottom. Investigators said it would have broken his back without the pack.
As a result of Colonel Nole's incident, many changes were made in the U-2, the most significant being the ejection seat. The first U-2 was designed without ejection seats, but “the decision makers” soon decided to install one in each aircraft. Quick disconnects were also incorporated for all systems and harnesses.
Colonel Nole's successful ejection contributed to the future survival of countless other pilots.
From: Remembering the Dragon Lady: The U-2 Spy Plane: Memoirs of the Men Who Made the Legend (2012)
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Bury St. Edmunds
Age: 64
Posts: 539
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
1995 ejection from U2R at RAF Fairford
Sorry about the weird formatting but the text is copied off the RAF Fairford website.....
The text high-lighted in bold gives some idea of the seats as fitted in 1995 which had then supposedly a "zero-zero" capability..... a ROD of 27 fpm is over 1,600 fpm. The crude rule of thumb, is that to survive one needs height equal to 10% assuming wings level even with a 0-0 seat.......
MB
In early 1995 when RAF Alconbury in East Anglia, UK closed the 9th Reconnaissance Wing moved their forward operating location known as Operating Location-United Kingdom (OL-UK) to RAF Fairford. The unit’s three U-2R aircraft and several hundred ground crew took up residence at the Gloucestershire base at a time when there was international political interest in the former-Yugoslavia.
Once settled into their new Cotswold home the unit began flying operational missions on an almost daily basis. In fact even today the U-2 is the only aircraft in of the United States Air Force that flies operational missions everyday of the year somewhere in the world, and has done for the last five decades. On the 29th August 1995 disaster was to strike. Captain David Hawkens was to take himself and the U-2 68-10338 on what was described as a “higher-headquarters tasked reconnaissance sortie” where “Mooch 31” his mission call sign was scheduled to “conduct operations at high altitude along a classified routing” before returning to RAF Fairford eight to ten hours later.
When Hawkens took off at 7:27am the left pogo, a detachable wheel used to stabilise the aircraft’s wings during ground operations, failed to fall from the aircraft as expected when the aircraft left the runway. With the pogo still attached Hawkens halted the mission and leveled off at 500 feet before beginning a visual approach to Fairford’s runway 27.
The agreed U-2 procedure for a “hung pogo” was to rock the aircraft’s wings and yaw from side to side while over a safe area in the hope the pogo would fall off. In the case of RAF Fairford the procedure specifically mentioned avoiding over flying the village of Kempsford and using the area to the south of the main runway to shake off the pogos while maintaining a minimum height of 500 feet. When Hawkens reached the airfield his Commander on the ground told him to “try rocking the wings a little bit and kick the rudders”. The pilot started shaking and rocking the aircraft but at the same time he was losing vital speed and altitude.
Just after Hawkens had passed the runway’s midpoint the aircraft entered a stall during which the left wing dropped and hit the runway breaking off the wingtip. The aircraft veered left towards the grassed infields and a few seconds later the aircraft struck a power sub-station on the ground and crashed through the base’s perimeter fence. It was when the aircraft hit the concrete taxiway during the bounce that Hawkens ejected.
The U-2’s ejection system is classed as “zero-zero” meaning its considered safe for ejection at zero altitude and zero airspeed however for this to be true the aircraft must also have no bank angle or sink rate. At the time of ejection Hawkens was sinking at a rate of 27 feet per second and the aircraft was banking 20 degrees to the left. The seat’s drogue chute deployed but the main chute didn’t have time to open causing the pilot to land on his side 150 feet east of the wreckage and still pointing in the direction of ejection.
Following the ejection the aircraft came to a halt in a farmer’s field just outside the base perimeter where the nose broke off and the engine, wings and cockpit section caught fire. Five crash rescue vehicles and the Fire Chief arrived on scene and began tackling the fire while the rescue truck which had arrived with fire fighters was out searching the crash site for the pilot. The Air Force ambulance along with the U-2 unit’s Physiological Support Division (PSD) truck which had tools on board to help remove the pilot’s pressure suit helmet also arrived ready to help once Hawkens had been found.
At the time it wasn’t know that he’d ejected from the aircraft but once Hawkens had been found and his injuries inspected it was decided to evacuate him straight away to the base’s trauma centre before he could be airlifted to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon by a local police helicopter. Despite obviously severe injuries the medics continued to try and stabilise his condition however Captain Hawkens’s autopsy later described the force at which he hit the ground as being his cause of
death. His official time of death was recorded as 9:55am, 29th August 1995.
Captain David “Hawk” Hawkens came from a military family in McLean, Fairfax County, North Virginia and was just 35 when he died. He’d been flying the U-2 for just over a year and had flown nine operational missions from RAF Fairford.
The text high-lighted in bold gives some idea of the seats as fitted in 1995 which had then supposedly a "zero-zero" capability..... a ROD of 27 fpm is over 1,600 fpm. The crude rule of thumb, is that to survive one needs height equal to 10% assuming wings level even with a 0-0 seat.......
MB
In early 1995 when RAF Alconbury in East Anglia, UK closed the 9th Reconnaissance Wing moved their forward operating location known as Operating Location-United Kingdom (OL-UK) to RAF Fairford. The unit’s three U-2R aircraft and several hundred ground crew took up residence at the Gloucestershire base at a time when there was international political interest in the former-Yugoslavia.
Once settled into their new Cotswold home the unit began flying operational missions on an almost daily basis. In fact even today the U-2 is the only aircraft in of the United States Air Force that flies operational missions everyday of the year somewhere in the world, and has done for the last five decades. On the 29th August 1995 disaster was to strike. Captain David Hawkens was to take himself and the U-2 68-10338 on what was described as a “higher-headquarters tasked reconnaissance sortie” where “Mooch 31” his mission call sign was scheduled to “conduct operations at high altitude along a classified routing” before returning to RAF Fairford eight to ten hours later.
When Hawkens took off at 7:27am the left pogo, a detachable wheel used to stabilise the aircraft’s wings during ground operations, failed to fall from the aircraft as expected when the aircraft left the runway. With the pogo still attached Hawkens halted the mission and leveled off at 500 feet before beginning a visual approach to Fairford’s runway 27.
Just after Hawkens had passed the runway’s midpoint the aircraft entered a stall during which the left wing dropped and hit the runway breaking off the wingtip. The aircraft veered left towards the grassed infields and a few seconds later the aircraft struck a power sub-station on the ground and crashed through the base’s perimeter fence. It was when the aircraft hit the concrete taxiway during the bounce that Hawkens ejected.
Following the ejection the aircraft came to a halt in a farmer’s field just outside the base perimeter where the nose broke off and the engine, wings and cockpit section caught fire. Five crash rescue vehicles and the Fire Chief arrived on scene and began tackling the fire while the rescue truck which had arrived with fire fighters was out searching the crash site for the pilot. The Air Force ambulance along with the U-2 unit’s Physiological Support Division (PSD) truck which had tools on board to help remove the pilot’s pressure suit helmet also arrived ready to help once Hawkens had been found.
At the time it wasn’t know that he’d ejected from the aircraft but once Hawkens had been found and his injuries inspected it was decided to evacuate him straight away to the base’s trauma centre before he could be airlifted to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon by a local police helicopter. Despite obviously severe injuries the medics continued to try and stabilise his condition however Captain Hawkens’s autopsy later described the force at which he hit the ground as being his cause of
death. His official time of death was recorded as 9:55am, 29th August 1995.
Captain David “Hawk” Hawkens came from a military family in McLean, Fairfax County, North Virginia and was just 35 when he died. He’d been flying the U-2 for just over a year and had flown nine operational missions from RAF Fairford.
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Rockytop, Tennessee, USA
Posts: 5,898
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
A tragically similar stuck pogo scenario also resulted in perhaps the first U-2 fatality, at Groom Lake May 15, 1956. Article 345, 56-6678 crashed killing Wilburn S. "Billy" Rose.
From the NASA publication Unlimited Horizons (2015):
An excellent list of U-2 production and disposition (and sadly, a lot of fatalities 
) is in Appendix 2 of this book.
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/f...d-horizons.pdf
From the NASA publication Unlimited Horizons (2015):
One incident with deadly results was a consequence of the unusual landing gear arrangement. As originally designed, the pogo outriggers were to be dropped during or shortly after takeoff using a manual release system. “We soon learned that any delay by the pilot in dropping them would often cause them to hang up,” Ernie Joiner recalled. “When that happened, it was wise to stay clear of the airplane’s flight path.”
On May 15, CIA pilot Wilburn S. “Billy” Rose had just taken off for a training flight in Article 345 when he noticed that one of the outriggers had failed to separate. He tried to shake it loose while flying low over the lakebed but the airplane, heavy with fuel, stalled and crashed. Rose became the first CIA fatality of the program. To prevent a reoccurrence of the problem, the pilot actuation system was removed so that the pogos would fall away automatically as soon as the wings started to lift, while the airplane was still on the runway. A spring was installed on the upper end of the pogo to push it away from the wing as soon as the weight of the aircraft was lifted.
On May 15, CIA pilot Wilburn S. “Billy” Rose had just taken off for a training flight in Article 345 when he noticed that one of the outriggers had failed to separate. He tried to shake it loose while flying low over the lakebed but the airplane, heavy with fuel, stalled and crashed. Rose became the first CIA fatality of the program. To prevent a reoccurrence of the problem, the pilot actuation system was removed so that the pogos would fall away automatically as soon as the wings started to lift, while the airplane was still on the runway. A spring was installed on the upper end of the pogo to push it away from the wing as soon as the weight of the aircraft was lifted.
) is in Appendix 2 of this book.https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/f...d-horizons.pdf
An interesting sidenote to the discussion of the two pogo-related crashes above:
Lockheed Martin has a video on their site (see here: The U-2 Dragon Lady · Lockheed Martin) that they label as showing the U-2's first flight. You can clearly see the pogos falling away during the take-off roll before lift off. More than one book describes the pogos as being released by the pilot after lift off until after the May 1956 accident, so I suspect that while this video shows a U-2 as flown early in the type's career, it was recorded after May 1956. Anyone else with thoughts about this?
I have a distinct feeling that there are more errors on that page by the way
Lockheed Martin has a video on their site (see here: The U-2 Dragon Lady · Lockheed Martin) that they label as showing the U-2's first flight. You can clearly see the pogos falling away during the take-off roll before lift off. More than one book describes the pogos as being released by the pilot after lift off until after the May 1956 accident, so I suspect that while this video shows a U-2 as flown early in the type's career, it was recorded after May 1956. Anyone else with thoughts about this?
I have a distinct feeling that there are more errors on that page by the way
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: New England
Age: 83
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Inquisitive Angel - film
This video was produced for the CIA c/a 1956-57. It was made for showing to the very few senior leaders who were cleared for the program at that time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvJim_o7Dp0
There is a sequence showing the high speed taxi test a few days before the official "first flight".
The aircraft in the bogus Lockheed Martin "first flight" video referenced by Jhieminga
bears the marking "344" at the tip of the vertical fin. Article 344 was not delivered to the test site till 20 November 1954, nearly 4 months after the first U-2 flight.
Parts 2 and 3 of THE INQUISITIVE ANGEL are here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTNKqQum4e0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRoC0Lo8Ylw
In total, almost an hour-long discussion of the aircraft and its reconnaissance systems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvJim_o7Dp0
There is a sequence showing the high speed taxi test a few days before the official "first flight".
The aircraft in the bogus Lockheed Martin "first flight" video referenced by Jhieminga
bears the marking "344" at the tip of the vertical fin. Article 344 was not delivered to the test site till 20 November 1954, nearly 4 months after the first U-2 flight.
Parts 2 and 3 of THE INQUISITIVE ANGEL are here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTNKqQum4e0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRoC0Lo8Ylw
In total, almost an hour-long discussion of the aircraft and its reconnaissance systems
Memorial Ceremony for Lt Col Steve "Shooter" Eadie
The Memorial Service for Lt Col Steve "Shooter" Eadie - U-2 Solo #876 - was held at Beale AFB on 29 Sep 16.
Lt Col Eadie was a military aviator for over 20 years - 13 years with the USN on the P-3 and then 7 years on the U-2 from 2009. He was one of 6 instructors on 1 RS and had been responsible for training 23 U-2 pilots - including signing off on Solo #1000 earlier this year.
http://media.defense.gov/2016/Sep/30...-CY172-051.JPG
http://media.defense.gov/2016/Sep/30...-HL308-198.JPG
Team Beale remembers one of their own > Beale Air Force Base > Article Display
An appeal fund set for his family by one of his colleagues surpassed $50K within 24 hours and now exceeds $100K. The comments from some of the donors show the high regard in which he was held throughout the U-2 community.
https://www.youcaring.com/ashley-eadie-654162
Lt Col Eadie was a military aviator for over 20 years - 13 years with the USN on the P-3 and then 7 years on the U-2 from 2009. He was one of 6 instructors on 1 RS and had been responsible for training 23 U-2 pilots - including signing off on Solo #1000 earlier this year.
http://media.defense.gov/2016/Sep/30...-CY172-051.JPG
http://media.defense.gov/2016/Sep/30...-HL308-198.JPG
Team Beale remembers one of their own > Beale Air Force Base > Article Display
An appeal fund set for his family by one of his colleagues surpassed $50K within 24 hours and now exceeds $100K. The comments from some of the donors show the high regard in which he was held throughout the U-2 community.
https://www.youcaring.com/ashley-eadie-654162
U-2 + Chase Car
The use of a chase car explained here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvmqmG30dHo
Why does the U-2 need chase cars? > Beale Air Force Base > Article Display
The latest car used at Beale AFB is the Chevrolet Camaro replacing the Pontiac G8 which is no longer produced.
http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sit...uarters-02.jpg
When I first saw a U-2 at "an undisclosed overseas location", they used a Chevrolet El Camino - now a much prized collector car !
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...ffab412828.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvmqmG30dHo
Why does the U-2 need chase cars? > Beale Air Force Base > Article Display
The latest car used at Beale AFB is the Chevrolet Camaro replacing the Pontiac G8 which is no longer produced.
http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sit...uarters-02.jpg
When I first saw a U-2 at "an undisclosed overseas location", they used a Chevrolet El Camino - now a much prized collector car !
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...ffab412828.jpg
I was fortunate enough to be shown around a U-2 at a USAF base by a chum who'd been a U-2 pilot but was now involved in another activity.
The following day a couple of us joined him at the site for the departure. The pilot was being pre-oxygenated in his suit in one of those huge American armchairs whilst the jet was pre-flighted and readied by the support crew. Then he was transferred to an astronaut-style portable life support device and we followed him out to the aircraft in the chase car - he was quickly strapped in and waited for the green signal, before taxying the aircraft to the threshold. We did a quick FOD check along the runway, then turned back to position alongside the cockpit. My colleague gave him a thumbs up, whereupon the engine was slammed to max thrust and off he went; we raced down the runway behind him and collected the pogos, then drove back to the facility.
From leaving the pre-oxygenation chair to take-off took about 5 min at most - and everything was done without radio. A very slick performance which had obviously been practised many times before.
By the time we parked up for breakfast, the U-2 was already in the stratosphere!
Having watched another U-2 landing at another location, it's obvious that it isn't easy!
The following day a couple of us joined him at the site for the departure. The pilot was being pre-oxygenated in his suit in one of those huge American armchairs whilst the jet was pre-flighted and readied by the support crew. Then he was transferred to an astronaut-style portable life support device and we followed him out to the aircraft in the chase car - he was quickly strapped in and waited for the green signal, before taxying the aircraft to the threshold. We did a quick FOD check along the runway, then turned back to position alongside the cockpit. My colleague gave him a thumbs up, whereupon the engine was slammed to max thrust and off he went; we raced down the runway behind him and collected the pogos, then drove back to the facility.
From leaving the pre-oxygenation chair to take-off took about 5 min at most - and everything was done without radio. A very slick performance which had obviously been practised many times before.
By the time we parked up for breakfast, the U-2 was already in the stratosphere!
Having watched another U-2 landing at another location, it's obvious that it isn't easy!
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Rockytop, Tennessee, USA
Posts: 5,898
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
The use of a chase car explained here.
Why does the U-2 need chase cars? > Beale Air Force Base > Article Display
Why does the U-2 need chase cars? > Beale Air Force Base > Article Display
I realize that Mobile is also a city in L.A. (Lower Alabama
).I was somewhat surprised that Lt. Col. Eadie had been a Navy P-3 aviator before becoming an Air Force pilot flying the U-2. Such transfers are uncommon for active duty pilots in my experience.
Also, Lt. Col. (now Colonel) Merryl Tengesdal flew SH60B helos in the Navy before becoming an Air Force U-2 pilot.
This Black History Month Lockheed Martin profile says she started out in the Army, went to the Navy and then the Air Force:
And, Col T stuck to the path. She did well in math and science, majored in electrical engineering in college and entered flight training in 1995.
Then, when she graduated from Officer Candidate School, the U.S. Army’s main training academy for prospective Army Officers, she went directly into the aviation preflight pipeline for the U.S. Navy.
From the Navy, Col T entered the U-2 Program for the U.S. Air Force in 2004, becoming U-2 mission qualified in 2005, and when it comes to U-2 pilots, one of the coolest perks is the view.
Then, when she graduated from Officer Candidate School, the U.S. Army’s main training academy for prospective Army Officers, she went directly into the aviation preflight pipeline for the U.S. Navy.
From the Navy, Col T entered the U-2 Program for the U.S. Air Force in 2004, becoming U-2 mission qualified in 2005, and when it comes to U-2 pilots, one of the coolest perks is the view.
Anybody know the provenance of the peace symbol on 'Col T's' shoulder patch in this hi-res picture?:
http://atlantablackstar.com/wp-conte...-cy182-080.jpg
Such transfers are uncommon for active duty pilots in my experience