I'm no expert on grenades, but I would say don't ever throw a grenade into a crowded bar and then NOT walk away! :ok:

Driving north out of Highworth towards Lechlade at 13.02 GMT this afternoon I definitely did not see one of those weather balloons in the descent before turning left towards Fairford, dirty up, dangle the dunlops before disappearing out of view.

On a more serious note Sqn Ldr Birney Limb was mentioned earlier on in the thread. Does anyone have any information on him? He was a very good friend of my fathers and was very inspirational in me joining the mob. I would love to get in touch with him if he is still around.

A2QFI wrote

Some U-2s did have an AAR capability. At least one of the carrier capable U-2s was AAR capable.

Thanks TEEJ - I grovel corrected! Probably not used much at 75K ft over Moscow me-thinks!

Dragon Girl's wish and chase car due to budgetary cuts
 

Dragon Lady wish comes true

http://www.501csw.usafe.af.mil/share...-LH253-044.jpg

Weather Balloon from a few days ago and have to admit, theres no substitution for the good ol'd blue Mustang :) Though Obama's budgetary constraints on the USAF doesn't look too bad if ground crew are driving in the latest VW :) :cool:

That's a nice story about the girl. Someone obviously is good at PR.

Wot 'e zd :ok::D:D

Top PR which was VERY impressive. Was that the same aircraft that chalked a cheeky message to a well know aircraft spotter at that UK airfield?

I did a quick search on "Ellie Carter U2" to see what type of publicity this visit received, it seems this went quite a bit further than the air force newspaper article.

Ellie Carter: How a spyplane-obsessed schoolgirl melted an air crew's heart | Mail Online




I see in the article that she got to go in the chase car when the U2 landed,
I bet that is something SAMXXV hasn't even done !!! LOL:O

If you played table footy in the American bar at Akrotiri, and drank copious amounts of brandy sours, you would soon be invited for a spin in the chase car, and a sit in the cockpit. Don't eat the spaceman food, mind, gopping!

Same type of aircraft, different airframe and crew - They must just be all round top guys! ;)

Good news - apparently the Dragon Lady is being extended in service, due to problems with UAV data gathering.....

Surprise surprise, even Global Hawk can only carry a small amount of payload compared to the U2.

Ah Memories...just behind Lady Lamps if I recall...

:}

Three year old learning to swim at at Button Bay, Akrotiri: "Bloody U2 again" she said as her instructor was distracted once again.....

Early days of the weather ballon
 

The last post brought back memories of sitting at the Limmassol Services Sailing Club on Ladies Mile watching these big black aeroplanes which weren't here coming in to land. Not as bad as being woken up in the morning early by the same non-existent aeroplanes taking off! I did a tour on 103 M.U. between Dec 68 and Aug 71 which was over the period when they WEREN'T there and when they weren't there, if you follow me. We lost the use of the small hangar next to our Vulcan maintenance hanger to the same non-existent bunch of people, it was all so laughably obvious who they were and what they were there for, that nobody could really get excited about it, apart from not being able to take a shortcut through the hangar and having to walk the long way round to get past it.The pompous pronouncements of various politicians that these non-existent aeroplanes were not operating from any British military bases only made it more of a farce than it was.

Flt Lt Bernie Limb
 

I have just been reading the posts on here and remember serving with a Flt Lt Bernie Limb (Navigator) at RAF Oakington c1965/7 could this be the same man? A really nice man, married to Judy.

If it is the same chap and anyone knows where he lives I would love to get in touch with him.

In the early 70's whilst enjoying a drink one evening with my dear wife at the Akrotiri Ski Club the Americans turned up, (no idea why they were there?). One immediately started to chat up my wife who was stood next to me telling her that he was a U2 pilot, likely story. He was really trying it on and I was just about to intervene when my dear wife said to him, "If you don't go away, (she was always polite) you will not be able to fly tomorrow because your testicles will be too swollen after suffering from sudden and violent contact with my knee!" :)

The rest of the crew were great and I enjoyed many hours socialising and drinking 'Blab', (mixed in the bathtub and decanted into 5 gallon plastic containers).

I know this is an old thread, done to death, but I was browsing Goggle Maps for an upcoming trip to Cyprus and was surprised to spot this:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps94822adc.jpg

Strange, I cannot see it now as just got Google maps opened just now and Google Earth ?

Cheers

...that's the Bing Maps image not Google maps/earth. It's no secret anymore tho' is it.