OT: U-2 is still in service

[Daddy Dee]

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3490523&page=1

Hadn't realized that the U-2 is still in service and flying more missions than ever before. There is a corps of 80 U-2 pilots. Here's a link to an ABC news story where the journalist gets to fly in one of the few two seat U-2's There are three video links on a sidebar. Pretty cool, IMO.

When landing, the pilot's vision is so limited a second pilot chases the plane on the runway in a Camaro or GTO to call out the altitude (in feet) as the plane is touching down.

[LarryC]

I'm glad to see it, since it apparently can "surveill" countries like China from international airspace, now that we're beginning to see post-USSR countries trying to flex muscles again. (I wonder if this is a consequence of our foreign policy/relations from "can't-do" Iraq and related turmoil, or it would have happened anyway?)

Interesting how good that old technology still is, e.g., the U-2, B-52. I still wonder if it was a good idea to phase out the SR-71 Blackbird.

[BEC]

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3490523&page=1

Hadn't realized that the U-2 is still in service and flying more missions than ever before. There is a corps of 80 U-2 pilots. Here's a link to an ABC news story where the journalist gets to fly in one of the few two seat U-2's  There are three video links on a sidebar. Pretty cool, IMO.

When landing, the pilot's vision is so limited a second pilot chases the plane on the runway in a Camaro or GTO to call out the altitude (in feet) as the plane is touching down.

 

 

Dee,

Notice in the article you posted the fact that the wheels that support the wings and keep the plane level on the ground are jettisoned after take off.  Notice the article did not say anything about landing.  Think about that for awhile.

Bob

 

[Jay481985]

I'm glad to see it, since it apparently can "surveill" countries like China from international airspace, now that we're beginning to see post-USSR countries trying to flex muscles again. (I wonder if this is a consequence of our foreign policy/relations from "can't-do" Iraq and related turmoil, or it would have happened anyway?)

Interesting how good that old technology still is, e.g., the U-2, B-52. I still wonder if it was a good idea to phase out the SR-71 Blackbird.

The SR-71 was a beast to maintain. I think they kept the u2 in operations because it is rather low maintenance over the blackbird. Also the blackbird ate fuel at alarming rates, I believe it needs to be fueled atleast three times. First fueled a little before takeoff but just enough to take off for weight, then it gets midair refueling, then as it comes back from the mission another refueling..... that and the sr71 leaked lubricants and fuel when it was cooled. Something I read about the tolerance were low to account for the extreme heat at mach 3. Also I think that flying at mach 3 produces inferior pictures versus the u2, since the sr71 was delta wing it needed to fly fast.

[Jay481985]

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3490523&page=1

Hadn't realized that the U-2 is still in service and flying more missions than ever before. There is a corps of 80 U-2 pilots. Here's a link to an ABC news story where the journalist gets to fly in one of the few two seat U-2's There are three video links on a sidebar. Pretty cool, IMO.

When landing, the pilot's vision is so limited a second pilot chases the plane on the runway in a Camaro or GTO to call out the altitude (in feet) as the plane is touching down.

Dee,

Notice in the article you posted the fact that the wheels that support the wings and keep the plane level on the ground are jettisoned after take off. Notice the article did not say anything about landing. Think about that for awhile.

Bob

"The chase cars talk the pilot down as he lands on bicycle-style landing gear"

I guess it is like a bicycle, where with enough speed it can land but i guess it tips over when it stops or slows down alot?

[BEC]

I think back in the old days, a pair of high performance Ford Ranchero pick-ups would match the speed of the U2 during one pass down the runway and guys in the back would re-attach the wheels.  Then they modified the plane to have skids on the wing tips, so now it just falls over on the skids when it gets slow.

 

[Jay481985]

That sounds pretty dangerous but doable.

[oldtimer]

Still, the blackbird just looks so cool....also amazing how small it is.

[Daddy Dee]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_U-2

Here's a link to a wikipedia entry on the U-2. There is a description of landing and reattaching the pogo strut wheels.

At altitude the pilot drives this thing just 5 knots over stall speed... for hours.

[oldbuckster]

Is BONO still with them????????????? Any one remember Francis Gary Powers ? Wasn't he shot down in a U-2 ?

[arfandbark]

The only reason the Blackbird is not in service anymore is because our government has a better tool. Whatever that is. They'll tell us when they are good and ready to...

I think the U-2 carried fuel in the wings which necessitated the "wing wheels" on take off due to weight.

[boom3]

Is BONO still with them????????????? Any one remember Francis Gary Powers ? Wasn't he shot down in a U-2 ?

Bono is crusading for debt relief for Third World Countries...and wearing those oh-so-cool pink goggles...when he's not minding other people's business, he's fronting a band of the same name...

Yes, Powers was shot down in a U-2...he was killed in a traffic helicopter accident in L.A. about 25 years or so ago...

People also forget that a U-2 pilot was shot down and killed during the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962...that incident had the military wanting to strike Cuba...but JFK held them back and averted a greater problem.

[Groomlakearea51]

The SR-71 was a beast to maintain. I think they kept the u2 in operations because it is rather low maintenance over the blackbird. Also the blackbird ate fuel at alarming rates, I believe it needs to be fueled atleast three times.

IT NEEDED FUEL EVERY 3-4 HOURS, DEPENDENT UPON SPEED. IT USES/USED JP-7 WHICH IS A SPECIAL FUEL. BURNS WITH A GREEN FLAME ON AFTERBURNER....

First fueled a little before takeoff but just enough to take off for weight,

EVERYTHING LEAKED ON THE GROUND BECAUSE IT HAD TO COMPENSATE FOR THE EXTREME HEAT AT SPEED. THE SR-71 "GREW" ABOUT 10 INCHES IN LENGTH IN FLIGHT FROM THE EXPANSION DUE TO THE HEAT AT MACH-3+

then it gets midair refueling, then as it comes back from the mission another refueling..... that and the sr71 leaked lubricants and fuel when it was cooled.

YUP.... LEAKED LIKE A SIEVE. BUT AT SPEED, IT WAS TIGHT. TEMPS APPROACHED 1100 DEGREES ON THE SURFAC OF THE AIRCRAFT AT CERTAIN SPEEDS....

Something I read about the tolerance were low to account for the extreme heat at mach 3. Also I think that flying at mach 3 produces inferior pictures versus the u2, since the sr71 was delta wing it needed to fly fast.

PICTURES WERE FINE (I'VE SEEN THEM FROM BACK IN THE DAY....) CAMERA COMPENSATES WHEN TRAVELING AT SPEED WITH THE OPTIC DESIGN AND FLIGHT TRAJECTORY PARAMETERS. THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS IT FLEW SO HIGH...

It's claim to fame, so to speak is that it could fly higher and faster than anything ever made, including the surface to air missiles (SAM) designed to try to hit it. The last SAM they tried was the SA-3, and it could not track it fast enough to get a fix. It also had "stealth" technology in the surface design and the coating used.

There is still one operational from what I've been told, and they may re-activate the two remaining ones. Don't know for sure, but that's what a friend of a cousin, who was married to a guy who's sister has a nephew in a recon squadron somewhere in some strange place that does not exist.....

Seriously, the last one is/was used by NASA and is supposedly operational and can actually be used.

[colterphoto1]

Dee,

Notice in the article you posted the fact that the wheels that support the wings and keep the plane level on the ground are jettisoned after take off. Notice the article did not say anything about landing. Think about that for awhile.

Bob

Perhaps it's got to be light enough on fuel (stored in wings) that the structure can withstand the stress of landing without additional support?

[arfandbark]

Weren't some U2s rocket assisted @ takeoff to compensate for the short runway/fuel load?

[Groomlakearea51]

On the older ones they used JATO units similar to the ones used on B-52's for awhile. The JATO (jet assisted take off) rocket pod is still used on C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft in certain situations with very short landing fields, etc.

[jacksonbart]

Ok, if you were to put a U-2 on a giant treadmill that could accelerate up to 200mph and the the U-2 attempted to take off and the treadmill matched the U-2 pace perfectly in the opposite direction would it be mistaken for a UFO?

[Islander]

On the older ones they used JATO units similar to the ones used on B-52's for awhile. The JATO (jet assisted take off) rocket pod is still used on C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft in certain situations with very short landing fields, etc.

There's a story that someone once attached a JATO unit to a Chev Impala. It appeared in the Darwin awards. The car apparently reached a speed of 350mph, which was barely manageable on the straight, but eventually a curve appeared and the car left the road, embedding itself in a rock face. There wasn't much left of the driver, other than a few teeth...

[Groomlakearea51]

Urban Myth!!!! (good one though) Darwin Awards looked into that one and could find no basis. See below...

Jet Assisted Take-Off
1995 Darwin Awards Winner
Confirmed Bogus by Darwin

The Arizona Highway Patrol were mystified when they came upon a pile of smoldering wreckage embedded in the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. The metal debris resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it turned out to be the vaporized remains of an automobile. The make of the vehicle was unidentifiable at the scene.

The folks in the lab finally figured out what it was, and pieced together the events that led up to its demise.

It seems that a former Air Force sergeant had somehow got hold of a JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) unit. JATO units are solid fuel rockets used to give heavy military transport airplanes an extra push for take-off from short airfields.

Dried desert lakebeds are the location of choice for breaking the world ground vehicle speed record. The sergeant took the JATO unit into the Arizona desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. He attached the JATO unit to his car, jumped in, accelerated to a high speed, and fired off the rocket.

The facts, as best as could be determined, are as follows:

The operator was driving a 1967 Chevy Impala. He ignited the JATO unit approximately 3.9 miles from the crash site. This was established by the location of a prominently scorched and melted strip of asphalt. The vehicle quickly reached a speed of between 250 and 300 mph and continued at that speed, under full power, for an additional 20-25 seconds. The soon-to-be pilot experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners.

The Chevy remained on the straight highway for approximately 2.6 miles (15-20 seconds) before the driver applied the brakes, completely melting them, blowing the tires, and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface. The vehicle then became airborne for an additional 1.3 miles, impacted the cliff face at a height of 125 feet, and left a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock.

Most of the driver's remains were not recovered; however, small fragments of bone, teeth, and hair were extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.

Ironically a still-legible bumper sticker was found, reading
"How do you like my driving? Dial 1-800-EAT-SH*T."

[Islander]

Thanks for the correction. If I'm telling a story, even a good one, I like to know if it's BS or not.