My Dad worked on this plane at Lockheed. I was about 5 when it took its maiden flight. We still see it flying around the Antelope Valley. My Dad died back in 2002, but when ever I see this plane it makes me smile.
My dad worked on the U2 optics at Lockheed as well... They probably knew each other. : ) I didn't realize until after he passed in 2001 how amazing his work was. I obviously don't know any details (they didn't have "take your daughter to work" days, lol), but to know he was part of Skunkworks makes my heart proud. He was a kind man. I'm thankful he didn't see what happened on 9/11, but am grateful for his and his colleagues' work, including your dad, as well as men and women at other companies, that help us defend our country.
I know when you're at 36,000 ft in a normal plane & you look out the window it looks like you're moving quite slow but at 70,000 ft it doesn't look like you're moving at all. Just amazing.
Thanks for the wide angle lens/fish eye lens - it will keep quite a few people from realizing the earth is in fact flat for a bit longer.🤣Update: At 7:30 the effect is off, and the real shape of the (flat) earth can be observed...
@@JLar-bb5hl delusional 🤣🤣 keep believing that you ignorant asshole, all you need to do is take your own flight anywhere and see the curvature yourself lol. Its insane how deluded people like you tricked by idiots in the internet seriously believe the word of some bozo on RUclips rather than scientists work over hundreds of years. Get a grip loser
Wow!!! This looks more incredible than I imagined it would look. What's really amazing to think about is the fact that the U-2 first flew in 1955. Imagine being the first pilot to take this up to 70,000ft and see such a breathtaking view? Right there over the edge of earth's atmosphere? The world must have seemed so small.
albinoman13bt Well, I'm probably messing up the terminology, but I didn't mean that the plane is literally flying on the edge of space; just that the view out of the cockpit allows you to see where the earth's atmosphere ends and space begins. Is that not correct??
+doctor zaius The U-2 pilot has to handle all the spying instruments while avoiding SAM missiles and missiles fired at him from Russian or Chinese jet fighters. Flying the U-2 is no easy job no matter how you look at it. But U-2 pilots have a reputation for laughing in the face of danger. It takes a special breed of pilot to fly the U-2.
I know. Looks like a typical flight, except the ground is a bit farther away. Oh, and the glider pilot doesn't give a crap about thermals. Because of the massive jet engine he's got. You don't get a sense of the hostility of the environment or the flight regime, while he's tooling around in the coffin corner.
70,000 feet = 13.25 mile/ 21.33km, so i question '30mins and still climbing' for a plane that can apparently travel at 3x the speed of sound thats 1030 metres every second or 1.03 kilometres (0.65 mile). A Tour de France rider averages 25mph and, could do 13 mile in 30 minutes.
@@duongallen4094 Be it a U-2, SR-71, bus, cycle or Tuk-Tuk, 70,000 feet still equals 13 mile. A glider cruising between thermals can reach 100mph, so a glider could cover 13mile in 7 mins and taking 13mins to achieve that in a highly powered piece of military hardware doe's not make sense.
I served my apprenticeship in underground coal mining. Down there, working on your own in one of the disused workings was also another place to really experience what "alone" feels like. Somewhat suffocating if you turn your headlamp off ..... absolute darkness and silence.
How about Michael Collins being on the part of the moon not facing earth...with Aldrin and Armstrong being on the surface of the moon? Seems more lonely to me.
I was stationed at Beale (worked the flight-line) for 2.5 years. Watching the Dragon Lady take off and land never got old. Amazing how quickly she disappeared into the sky. The Sutter Buttes were the backdrop, truly stunning at sunset.
SR-71 pilots fly higher than the U-2 -- they have a cruising altitude of 85,000 feet compared to the 70,000 for U-2 pilots, and they also use those pressure suits for two reasons: one, the normal suits fighter pilots use do not work at such altitudes, and two, just in case the cockpit depressurizes mid-flight ;v;
Well, they say that space starts at about 100KM high. This plane can get up to about 21KM high, so about a quarter of the way there. It sure looks like space much lower than 100KM.
Now, this is FLYING. Much better than those suborbital FARTS of Bezzos and Branson. If I could have the money, this is the flight I would take. Or within an SR-71... 👏🏻🤤👍🏻
Thanks for the video. Outstanding footage. This looks less like high altitude flying and more like low orbit! Just an insane height and the soothing sight of the ground miles below. And it was made even better by leaving just the engine noise, no crappy music. Nice job guys!
slowerthansound What does that mean? The image quality is sub standard? I uploaded the best footage available. My comment to you about the string was just a reference that old things still work... that's all.
slowerthansound OK, yea. I misunderstood. And you are so right, these guys film the Earth from such a perspective... it's really amazing. I appreciate your comments. Come back anytime.
Super light and super lift configuration. At max altitude it was only just fast enough to be a few knots above stall speed even with all of that lift. There was plans in the early days for a cable lift and winch recovery system onto a moving platform instead of an undercarriage system.
My late son, Travis, was a jet engine mechanic on the "Dragon Lady" while in the US Air Force stationed at Beale Air Force Base. These old birds have always fascinated me. I understand that the U-2 is the single most difficult aircraft in US Air Force inventory to land; requiring the use of a "chase car" which is driven by another U-2 Pilot. Each time I see a Dragon Lady, I'm reminded of Travis.
It might not be the fastest or most maneuverable jet, but to be able to get really high and stay there for hours is quite impressive...oh wait that's me right now ;)
Watching people fly with full astronaut suits at 70K feet makes it even more remarkable that Concorde routinely took passengers at some 60K feet between continents in shirtsleeves drinking champagne, twice the speed of sound. I know, there is a good difference from 60K to 70K feet (and the suit has as much to do with the U2's small internal cabin volume as compared to an airliner's as much as with the lower outside pressure), but the airliner's achievement is still striking.
Having one more system to worry about is yet another thing that makes Concorde even more remarkable for its era. Not sure about the U2, but design study for Concorde started in the early 50s and at the time a lot of people thought it was not going to fly. I dont think that G forces were much of a concern for the U2 ecxept maybe fou the take-off pull up, sometimes quite espectacular.
EscapeforMankind . Concorde was the pinnacle of civil aircraft engineering in the late 60s and early 70s. The fact of the matter is that Concorde transported thousands of passengers in scheduled, supersonic transatlantic flights while the American SST came to nothing. One might call "loser" whatever they see fit, but applying the term to Concorde is just plain funny, sorry. If I think "loser" and "supersonic transport", the Boeing SST immediately comes to mind.
Don't forget that the Tupolev Tu-144 was the first commercial supersonic transport aircraft. It reached Mach 2 that was absolute record for that 1970-s. And it even was used by NASA some time.
Back in 84, me and two other C-130 mechanics on the graveyard shift at RAF Mildenhall got tired of waiting for a ride across the active runway for late night chow and decided to sneak across on foot. A U2 had been running up on the hammerhead FOREVER and we eventually concluded that it was a maintenance run. As soon as we started running across... Brake release! With a U2 coming at us, the width of that runway felt like the Boston Marathon. Made it across about two seconds before the rocket with wings passed over our dumb asses.😂 We continued to run a considerable distance while laughing to put some tarmac between us and the potential official proceedings that would, at best, cost us the few stripes that we had thus far earned and grown fond of. And that reminds me of the time that an armoured personnel carrier left the nuclear alert pad to chase me down on my Fuji 12 speed bicycle one quiet Sunday morning after work while some of my buddies were chasing me in a convertible and shooting me with a very realistic M-16 water gun. Good times🤣😂
Had a VIP tour of Beale AFB back in ‘98. Got to ride in the chase car (shown at the end). Because of the cockpit design, the pilot can’t judge his height above the runway so another pilot follows in a sports car at 100+MPH and counts him down. You can hear the counting in the audio. Brave men.
My first flight was in a cessna... I had to push the door open with my foot @ 120mph and dump 2 buckets of candy on a field for kids to go pick up! That dive then accent was insane as a 13 year old! And illegal as fuck!!! Especially for a church function!
You know shit is serious if you're flying with a space helmet...!! That's an awesome view... Flying high enough to see the curvature of the Earth is sick!!
I keep seeing that American flag on his shoulder and makes me feel proud and honored to be able to call my self an American. Can you imagine the amount of effort and training that went into the making of such an amazing aviator? I'm glad he's on my side!! And not only thankful for his service but for bringing breath taking views like this to me!! Go Navy, Fly Navy!!
This is amazing footage i have a new respect for those who fly these planes, the views are spectacular but a bit scary being that high up in the atmosphere.
Totally love this video. It's almost as if this pilot and airplane are as one and basically floating through space. Thanks for sharing this awesome video.
In the early '80s, I worked across US-101 from Moffett Field. My office window faced Moffit. When a U2 took off it rattled the windows and the plane appeared to climb nearly vertical. Our production manager was a retired Navy Chief, formerly in charge of one of the hangars at Moffett, he had some great stories to tell.
At 7:40 in the video, the pilot is holding the camera to get the view over the left wing... Clearly you can see the curvature of the Earth along the horizon. This is proof that the Earth is NOT flat, as some are now trying to claim. No, the camera doesn't have a fisheye lense. If it did, then the wing and edge of the cockpit would be warped as well. And this video was recorded at just 70,000 feet.
Rich Handsome Oh heck yeah! There's RUclips videos of people saying that Astronauts don't go into orbit, man never went to the moon, the Earth is flat and the universe revolves around it! And they use no scientific evidence to back their claims, it's mostly their own opinions.
+James Lanning Unfortunately....you're wrong. The video camera DOES have a very wide angle lens and it exaggerates the curvature of the earth. If the center of the lens is pointed below the horizon, then the horizon looks convex. If it is pointed above the horizon, it appears concave, and you can see that at 3:40 to 3:50. This is something that Flat Earthers latch onto and it's exasperating to me because it's VERY difficult to find footage or stills taken at high altitude or in space that do NOT use fish eye or some other wide angle lenses. I don't know why there is this propensity to distort the views of Earth....I suppose the pictures are just more interesting if they show a wider view.
Kreuzer Sixtysix I'm sorry, I disagree with this being a fisheye lens. It's a hand held camera that probably belongs to the pilot himself. If it were a fisheye, the wing in the shot would be "warped," to the image created by the lense. But the wing, while is shaped for flight, according to it's design, is still "straight," in the shot, and warped due to fisheye effects. Nothing else about the aircraft, in the shot, is effected by the camera lense. What you see, is the shape of the aircraft. For the pilot to have a fisheye lense on the camera he has, he would have to add it to the camera, which may not even be possible, depending on the model he has... Even when you first look at this post, and you see the pilot sitting there in the cockpit, that's the width of the cockpit, not a fisheye effect... The pilot himself, with his "space helmet," appears normal, and not warped in any way, due to fisheye effects. The entire video, is shot with a camera, that only reflects what we would call, "normal vision."
+James Lanning Sigh....I didn't say he's using a fisheye lens, but he IS using a very wide angle lens Probably a 24mm (fisheyes are 8 or even 6mm) which distorts the image, especially near the edges of the view. Go to 3:41 and pause it. You will see the wing is distorted as well as the horizon beyond it. The vertical canopy supports look curved and they are supposed to be straight on the U2. I'm not sure why you think that a hand held camera can't have a wide angle lens. Wide angle lenses make a photo or video look grander or more dramatic. And there is very little aerial or space photography that is done for the purpose of proving the Earth is round because THAT's taken for granted by normal people. BTW a normal or rather "standard" lens is around 50mm. That gives you a normal vision picture. I really wish that he had used a standard lens, then I could link this video and rub some flat earthers noses into it.
I've ridden in those chase cars for both takeoff and landing, and it's about as exciting as anything I could imagine. I even have a small piece of the tailwheel that broke on takeoff. That was quite something.
I'm so glad those days seem to be gone. Another one that used to really boil my piss is the "Let the bodies hit the floor, LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR, LEEETTT TTHHEEE BBBOODDDIIEESS HIT THE FLLLLOOOOOOORRRR! Roar!" on every piece of Iraq combat footage and skateboard stackage video. I do not miss either of those songs one bit.
Is it just me or was that an insanely short takeoff distance? Looked like ~500 feet or so? Crazy. Love the landings with those cars. Did they move to only one chase car now?
+youtubasoarus Has a very long wing span for high altitude flight that has tremendous lift at low altitudes. Short runway takeoff's, even with full fuel load are common.
I’m a pilot, not many hours but I’d love to fly one of these, this looks like my dream job. So quiet and peaceful up there. Just cruising along the border between heaven and earth.
Concorde used to reach nearly 60000 feet at the end of its flights . The amazing thing is that the 10000 feet difference makes a huge difference, The difference between this planes max speed and the stall speed was I believe 4 knots . The most amazing thing was that this plane first flew in the late 50's and Concorde was being built in the mid 60's and the YF12 a had flown by then. Despite all the advances since these 3 planes and the Mig 25 are still unique for the height and the speed they fly at. Sure Concorde is not the fastest plane but no plane can fly the distance it can at Mach 2. And that includes the SR71 that needs refuelling to cross the Atlantic. Amazing planes Kelly Johnson was a genius. These guys were working were working with so many unknowns. Amazing.
1.2k dislikes by people who were spied on? Lol.... amazing video. Thank you for leaving it with its original sounds and not adding music. Incredible video.
Reading through 90% of these comments, it's perplexing and baffling how intelligent some of these commenters are. Yet it's their emotional lack of maturity which would ace them right out of any such thrilling, demanding and exciting line of work. It's so frustrating to me --- I came here to view some video-posts on things which you'd think would draw in mature men and women who would seemingly be able to dialogue and even debate topics without being reduced to insulting, foul name-calling, threatening, anger, aggression, etc....,
Not many men left in the western world today.....mostly immature kids in men's bodies. Easy to say nasty things when not face to face with another human being.
40cleco I have a good intuition of what you mean by men. I agree with your say. There is little proving ground left, no indulgence toward youthful stunts, no more field trips and winter camps. I always had a sweet spot for tall ships. The first time you overcome your fear and climb to the crow's nest, what you feel, no one can take from you. We become what we experience. The range of available experience and the opportunities to live it is getting narrower.
It must be cool to look down at passenger jets from two or three times their maximum altitude capabilities, let alone seeing a black sky and curve of the Earth. But what really blows me away is how anyone can land that thing. Touchdown looks like it's coming down on a set of roller blades or bicycle tires!
hello, according to many reports and reading on books about the high-flying planes, if we talk of 70,000 feet altitude it still is not enough in order to notice Earth's curve. That starts to be seen around 86,000 - 87,000 feet, and just very slightly. Those pilots able in reaching such altitudes (and even much more) were of A-12, SR-71, and some X-planes; plus, all those who zoom-climbed their supersonic fighter airplanes to go beyond 95,000 - 100,000 feet for not more than a handful seconds (not true sustained flight, rather the so-called 'ballistic' climb manoeuver).
great video, no music, good engine sound and great view, cant see why people would dislike this, probably people who take technology for granted.iinstead of thinking about what a fantastic achievement mas had made regarding aviation.
Jeez!,,, at 3:38 the camera gets moved and pans backwards and that long scratch on the glass it pans across could be easily be identified as a "near miss". Visions of Francis Gary Powers getting dinged. Neat vid. Thanks again.
@@tato1271 I don't get YOUR comment. It was a joke about showing off like a nice car with the left arm hanging out the window. What's there not to get?
Dear Mr. Yacucci, or public at large: If you read this comment, can you please tell me what was the sigficance of the black sweater LHO was made to wear? I saw the headline in a JFK journal regarding this, but I didn't actually read the article. Obviously, black is the color of death, but is there more to it than that?
Jason schmidt It doesn't use the typical tricycle Landing Gear. Its LG is more like a bicycle. The main wheel is just behind the cockpit and the rear LG is located behind the eng., which is then coupled to the rudder to provide steering while on the ground. Because of it's unique design and high performance, it also makes it a difficult aircraft to fly. Maintaining balance while on taxi config., 2 auxiliary wheels, called pogos are added when taking off which then falls off after leaving the ground. Landing must be precise hence the chase car. The wing tips has a titanium skid which is hard to discern, to protect the wings during landing (well, just in case). Then after the U2 comes to a stop, the ground crew reinstalls the pogos one at a time in each wing after which the aircraft proceeds to parking.
Franz N. Isler What it isn't by any stretch of imagination is a difficult aircraft to fly - it handles like a glider with engines strapped to it, which is exactly what makes it possible to use such a bizarre landing gear arrangement: the stall speed is probably about 120 km/h. Well, wiki says 130 - I wonder if that's with flaps. :) There are biplanes that envy that.
Sobakus I haven't flown a U2 (yet) lol, but many sources from the Air Force say that pressurization used to be at 29,000 ft but has been changed to 14K feet. Also they made the pilot breath pure O2 to avoid rapid decompression sickness. To make the experience a bit more palatable to the pilot, he spends an hour before the flight in a 100% oxygen chamber. Some of the reasons why it's a difficult machine to fly are already pretty obvious: the ultra long wingspan can be quite a challenge for take off and landing. In take-off alone, precise alignment is needed despite the assistance of the pogo auxiliary wheels. Then, of course the landing itself...ONE OF THE MOST trying experience of the flight (exceeded only in flying at 70+k ft.), hence the chase car, which shouts out the wing angles and wing clearance. The chase driver himself has to be an experienced U2 pilot. In most planes, the pilot and the co-pilot go through a series of pre-flight inspections & engine/systems check before take off. However, in a U2, somebody else does that...so when it is fully checked and readied, at the last minute, the mission pilot boards the a/c. just before takeoff. He's wearing a pressure suit, which limits his mobility and this causes rapid heat buildup if he has to do all these and that. It has been observed that a pilot loses around 3 lbs during a routine 9hr. mission. Since the air at 70K + ft. is so rarefied, aircraft designers gave it an exceptionally long/thin wings to be able to sustain lift. It's wingspan is103 ft or 31.4 m. & its wing area is about 1,000 sqr. feet, (92.9 sqr m). At such high oper. altitude, its stall speed increases drastically because of very low air density and so the margin between the Critical Mach Number and the stall speed narrows with an increase in altitude resulting in a flight regime called the "Coffin Corner" (if you have some familiarity with aerodynamics, check out Wikipedia's article on this). Because here, at the coffin corner, the margin between the Critical Mach Number and the stall speed is so small, that they almost coincide, and if the pilot reduces speed, he will then cause a stall (due to loss of lift) but if he increased speed, he will reach Mach buffet and he can lose control of the aircraft. Here is a real aerial ballet, which absolutely required superb airmanship!
Franz N. Isler Thanks for the info, I didn't know about this altitude phenomenon. However, I'm pretty sure the plane can't approach its CMN in level flight any way.
Jason schmidt It doesn't have landing gear on the wings. If you he would show a bit later, There usual be two things, either the car with a guy in the back to prevent it from tipping or watch as two engineers run like hell to put posts on the sides so it doesn't tip over.
Edward Smith they’re not heavy at that altitude, almost weightless near space, that’s why he’s strapped into the seat or he’ll float away especially when using the outside toilet 😉😊
![James May Rides in a U2 Spy Plane [HQ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/w-COlil4tos/mqdefault.jpg)
![James May Rides in a U2 Spy Plane [HQ]](/img/tr.png)
Extraordinary. No annoying music. No "talk, talk" BS. Just the real, right stuff. Thanks a lot for sharing with us this video.
Armafly of course some shit tard will make something out of it
The flat Earthers be calling this fake.
My Dad worked on this plane at Lockheed. I was about 5 when it took its maiden flight. We still see it flying around the Antelope Valley. My Dad died back in 2002, but when ever I see this plane it makes me smile.
My dad worked on the U2 optics at Lockheed as well... They probably knew each other. : ) I didn't realize until after he passed in 2001 how amazing his work was. I obviously don't know any details (they didn't have "take your daughter to work" days, lol), but to know he was part of Skunkworks makes my heart proud. He was a kind man. I'm thankful he didn't see what happened on 9/11, but am grateful for his and his colleagues' work, including your dad, as well as men and women at other companies, that help us defend our country.
CURVATURE = FISH EYE LENS 3:39
@@jesus4400😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
That 10 second take off though.
It's the short distance that gets me, the lift surface on the u2 is ridiculous (and it needs to be) to be able to reach such high altitudes.
@@RBsRealm It's also way smaller than I always thought it was!
You
That is what got me ~ also how do you blow your nose inside that helmet?
Nicholas Jordan Imagine that itchy spot on your nose
That guy scrolled out pretty far on Google Earth.
Nangleator22 best comment
Maybe he was "charting" for them. ("to boldly go where no man has gone before....")
@Jeffrey Walsh Those are words! Congratulations!
Flat Earthers.... Do Not Watch This!!
LoL yea he zoomed out so they could zoom in.
Thank you for not adding music.
Hey Jef. I agree. Good point.... Shit music will only ruin it.
What music could make this video better? Rocketman? MajorTom? Wild Blue Yonder?
None! I agree music not needed
Hell yes!! It really is good!
The engine provides the "music". :^)
Awesome video the real deal , and no one should need music with this , ,,, USA🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Imagine being up there all alone by yourself. I would totally love that.
Do it all the time
Nah I would be scared shitless lmao
@@jacksoncnc atleast they give you diapers lmao
Peace right?? 😌😌
Far away from this BS system
what blew me away is the absolutely short take off roll for this thing to get off the ground.. wow..
I noticed that, too. Impressive!
I know, right! I was expecting this huge roll out, and he lifted off so fast. Awesome climb performance.
The wings are huge!! Plus the turbo jet is insanely powerful.
This thing is a powered glider - it's going to have a short takeoff roll.
The owner of the channel posted the Wikipedia link on a comment, check the design tab, it's really interesting.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_U-2
I know when you're at 36,000 ft in a normal plane & you look out the window it looks like you're moving quite slow but at 70,000 ft it doesn't look like you're moving at all.
Just amazing.
Thanks for the wide angle lens/fish eye lens - it will keep quite a few people from realizing the earth is in fact flat for a bit longer.🤣Update: At 7:30 the effect is off, and the real shape of the (flat) earth can be observed...
Pifftttt
@@JLar-bb5hl delusional 🤣🤣 keep believing that you ignorant asshole, all you need to do is take your own flight anywhere and see the curvature yourself lol. Its insane how deluded people like you tricked by idiots in the internet seriously believe the word of some bozo on RUclips rather than scientists work over hundreds of years. Get a grip loser
@@JLar-bb5hl You are so damn stupid and you don’t even know it
@@JLar-bb5hl holy shit wow people are fucking dumb.
Wow!!! This looks more incredible than I imagined it would look. What's really amazing to think about is the fact that the U-2 first flew in 1955. Imagine being the first pilot to take this up to 70,000ft and see such a breathtaking view? Right there over the edge of earth's atmosphere? The world must have seemed so small.
doctor zaius They are by no means anywhere near the edge of Earth's atmosphere. It is and AIRplane, not a rocket.
albinoman13bt Well, I'm probably messing up the terminology, but I didn't mean that the plane is literally flying on the edge of space; just that the view out of the cockpit allows you to see where the earth's atmosphere ends and space begins. Is that not correct??
Jo Walker flew the X15 to over 350,000 ft in aug 1963
+doctor zaius The U-2 pilot has to handle all the spying instruments while avoiding SAM missiles and missiles fired at him from Russian or Chinese jet fighters. Flying the U-2 is no easy job no matter how you look at it. But U-2 pilots have a reputation for laughing in the face of danger. It takes a special breed of pilot to fly the U-2.
+Ron Thompson It was WAY to expensive to run because it leaked fuel. Plus intelligance is gathered mostly by UAVs now
There's a string of yarn on the nose.
Can't beat old tech.
hey nothing as direct as a piece of string on the nose. .. It is nothing but an oversized powered glider after all.
@@3v1Bunny Yes, that it is. What I use to fly the string was on the windscreen.
@@3v1Bunny We had those strings on the F-4 Phantoms in the squadrons I was assigned to.
@@alanhess9306 Wow. It must've been a useful tool considering the monster your were piloting. Haha
What is the string for please x
Awesome. My dad used to work on the U2 and was part of Francis Gary Powers ground crew. A piece of history now forgotten.
No. I remember. And any historically a bit at least educated person, especially in post USSR ;) and I believe in US too!
Did he tell you why Gary escaped manually?
@@alexanderrusskov561 He never mentioned anything other than the official disclosure.
Never forgotten
The name Francis Gary Powers will NEVER be forgotten.
its so peaceful upthere, it makes me feel at ease.
I know. Looks like a typical flight, except the ground is a bit farther away. Oh, and the glider pilot doesn't give a crap about thermals. Because of the massive jet engine he's got. You don't get a sense of the hostility of the environment or the flight regime, while he's tooling around in the coffin corner.
If I would be in this plane up there it wouldn‘t be peaceful
Ya he will be watching you
It looks loud as shit man
I love how this multi-million dollar aircraft still uses a yaw string to help with coordination.
Jess Whallon so that’s what that is!
It’s an old aircraft, there’s much more advanced secret aircraft today
@@GiaNicci100 the pressurized suites were used by our astronauts as well so yes. Vintage.
Speed?
@@fernandojvalencia8151 That's very kind of you. Don't mind if I do.
- Hey, what ya doin?
- Climbing.
10 minutes later:
- Hey, what ya doin?
- Climbing.
30 minutes later:
- ?
- Still climbing.
70,000 feet = 13.25 mile/ 21.33km, so i question '30mins and still climbing' for a plane that can apparently travel at 3x the speed of sound thats 1030 metres every second or 1.03 kilometres (0.65 mile). A Tour de France rider averages 25mph and, could do 13 mile in 30 minutes.
@@MidsBlue U-2 can only go as fast as Mach 0.75. It will take time but not that long, it will take somewhere about 13 minutes to get to 70000 feet
@@duongallen4094 Mach 0.75 = 570.9mph. So 570.9mph and 13 mile + 30mins and still climbing' do not go together, common sense, no maths needed.
@@MidsBlue what I pointed out is you mistook this plane with SR-71
@@duongallen4094 Be it a U-2, SR-71, bus, cycle or Tuk-Tuk, 70,000 feet still equals 13 mile. A glider cruising between thermals can reach 100mph, so a glider could cover 13mile in 7 mins and taking 13mins to achieve that in a highly powered piece of military hardware doe's not make sense.
06:30 the view is absolutely amazing. Damn I regret not following that path in my life. Pilots get to see what many do not. Thanks for posting
there is another version of you on another branch of another universe where you are a pilot.
Pretty amazing to see how the atmosphere changes the color of the sky to blue and looking up to see the black of space.
Thats racist....
@@BoringFlightVids You're taking the piss, aren't you?
@@ThatTurboProbe yes.....
Now that is about as ALONE as you can get. Great video, thanks for sharing.
You nailed it. Most people don't don't even know how small this cockpit is. This video does not really convey how cramped it is. Thanks for watching.
I served my apprenticeship in underground coal mining. Down there, working on your own in one of the disused workings was also another place to really experience what "alone" feels like. Somewhat suffocating if you turn your headlamp off ..... absolute darkness and silence.
+Allan Patterson
Now that sounds "Scary" alone!
How about Michael Collins being on the part of the moon not facing earth...with Aldrin and Armstrong being on the surface of the moon? Seems more lonely to me.
Tell that to the CM pilots on the Apollo lunar missions. lol
I was stationed at Beale (worked the flight-line) for 2.5 years. Watching the Dragon Lady take off and land never got old. Amazing how quickly she disappeared into the sky. The Sutter Buttes were the backdrop, truly stunning at sunset.
2:03
"Look ma! No hands!"
look ma no hands! oh no ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Lol
I’m like does this guy really need a damn space suit... then 3 minutes in I’m like wow good thing he has a space suit lmaoo
SR-71 pilots fly higher than the U-2 -- they have a cruising altitude of 85,000 feet compared to the 70,000 for U-2 pilots, and they also use those pressure suits for two reasons: one, the normal suits fighter pilots use do not work at such altitudes, and two, just in case the cockpit depressurizes mid-flight ;v;
@@JetFalcon710 shut. him. down.
I envy pilots of this and the SR-71 very lucky men indeed.
The SR-71 should be brought back into service with the advances we have made.... That baby can out run a S-400
The SR-71 has less visibility from the cockpit...
No, the SR-71 cannot outrun an S-400. S-400 intercepts head-on. Need new hypersonic airframe.
There are only a few women to ever fly them. 99% of those pilots are men.
Yes, very secret. Satellites.
I wish he would roll the window down so i could get a clearer look.
Hahahaaahahahahhaahahahahahahaha👎🏻
that would be a really bad idea.
hahaha 😂
3:45 ohh its concave .... fish eye lens
Lemme just get some fresh ai- FWOOSH.
70,000 ft from people and their bullshit. Beautiful!
the thought makes me feel warm inide
Listen up people! NowBow obviously knows his shit. Precision, consequences, severity.. and other keyword indicators of first hand knowledge!
What stealth craft pfttttt lolololol
Now Bow U2's are far from stealth and are pretty much only used by nasa for weather. They have stealth drones for spying.
Davis Pow Well no shit, the stealth technology it uses is a little out of date since it was released in 1957!
That has to be one of the coolest things I've ever seen! It's almost like flying into space, just short of! Love it! I wish I could try this!
Call the CIA, tell them you want to fly the U-2. Can’t hurt! Who knows, you might be just who they’re looking for…..
Well, they say that space starts at about 100KM high. This plane can get up to about 21KM high, so about a quarter of the way there. It sure looks like space much lower than 100KM.
They fly right below the stratosphere. So, pretty much.
Now, this is FLYING. Much better than those suborbital FARTS of Bezzos and Branson. If I could have the money, this is the flight I would take. Or within an SR-71... 👏🏻🤤👍🏻
At that altitude 80 percent of the atmosphere is effectively below you
Thanks for the video. Outstanding footage. This looks less like high altitude flying and more like low orbit! Just an insane height and the soothing sight of the ground miles below. And it was made even better by leaving just the engine noise, no crappy music. Nice job guys!
You can find nasa employee video saying they have only ever been to low earth orbit
Sorry moon landings
@@ErocNelson88 you know that people know how to lie right?
Amazing aircraft, still in service. Charming to see the old school air flow
indicator, a piece of string, attached to its nose!
slowerthansound Hey, don't fix it if it's not broken. Thanks for the comment.
Gung Ho Vids If this image quality was the youtube standard, we'd all
be in heaven. Tnx
slowerthansound What does that mean? The image quality is sub standard? I uploaded the best footage available. My comment to you about the string was just a reference that old things still work... that's all.
Gung Ho Vids I meant good quality video, and 70,000 ft is as close to heaven
as any of us are likely to get! Great channel, thanks.
slowerthansound OK, yea. I misunderstood. And you are so right, these guys film the Earth from such a perspective... it's really amazing. I appreciate your comments. Come back anytime.
Such an amazing thing to be 70 thousand feet in the air.
Must be glass smooth up there.
A truly amazing club that has very few memebers
The footage is mesmorising, kind of puts things into perspective when your looking down on this beautiful little marble we call our home.
The most amazing part of this is that it was OFF the ground in like 2 seconds....WOW that's fast...
The only way it can Land is in a stall , or it just floats at 100 knts
Avolp777 Yeah the plane wants to fly, you have to physically force it not to in order to land.
Super light and super lift configuration. At max altitude it was only just fast enough to be a few knots above stall speed even with all of that lift. There was plans in the early days for a cable lift and winch recovery system onto a moving platform instead of an undercarriage system.
Picie piwnaedycyna
When I was in the USAF I saw one of these take off from my base in CA. I does indeed almost leap into the air and climbs like crazy.
Wow.. comes off the runway quickly
My late son, Travis, was a jet engine mechanic on the "Dragon Lady" while in the US Air Force stationed at Beale Air Force Base. These old birds have always fascinated me. I understand that the U-2 is the single most difficult aircraft in US Air Force inventory to land; requiring the use of a "chase car" which is driven by another U-2 Pilot. Each time I see a Dragon Lady, I'm reminded of Travis.
Sorry about the death of your son. Nothing is worse than your children passing away.
A parent should never have to bury a son or a daughter. My deepest sympathy.
It might not be the fastest or most maneuverable jet, but to be able to get really high and stay there for hours is quite impressive...oh wait that's me right now ;)
puff puff pass!!! yur fucking up the rotation!!!
That why just ignore the flat earther hahaha
High as a kite I mean us spy plane
@@bobicramza4158 Flat Earthers will call this fake lmao
It is the fastest
Watching people fly with full astronaut suits at 70K feet makes it even more remarkable that Concorde routinely took passengers at some 60K feet between continents in shirtsleeves drinking champagne, twice the speed of sound. I know, there is a good difference from 60K to 70K feet (and the suit has as much to do with the U2's small internal cabin volume as compared to an airliner's as much as with the lower outside pressure), but the airliner's achievement is still striking.
Having one more system to worry about is yet another thing that makes Concorde even more remarkable for its era. Not sure about the U2, but design study for Concorde started in the early 50s and at the time a lot of people thought it was not going to fly. I dont think that G forces were much of a concern for the U2 ecxept maybe fou the take-off pull up, sometimes quite espectacular.
corisco tupi Concorde was a loser.
EscapeforMankind . Concorde was the pinnacle of civil aircraft engineering in the late 60s and early 70s. The fact of the matter is that Concorde transported thousands of passengers in scheduled, supersonic transatlantic flights while the American SST came to nothing. One might call "loser" whatever they see fit, but applying the term to Concorde is just plain funny, sorry. If I think "loser" and "supersonic transport", the Boeing SST immediately comes to mind.
WootTootZoot No, no. He's talking about the American SST...at the end. Not the Concorde.
Don't forget that the Tupolev Tu-144 was the first commercial supersonic transport aircraft. It reached Mach 2 that was absolute record for that 1970-s. And it even was used by NASA some time.
Awww crap. I forgot to turn on the spy cam but I got some great Go Pro video.
Back in 84, me and two other C-130 mechanics on the graveyard shift at RAF Mildenhall got tired of waiting for a ride across the active runway for late night chow and decided to sneak across on foot. A U2 had been running up on the hammerhead FOREVER and we eventually concluded that it was a maintenance run. As soon as we started running across...
Brake release!
With a U2 coming at us, the width of that runway felt like the Boston Marathon.
Made it across about two seconds before the rocket with wings passed over our dumb asses.😂
We continued to run a considerable distance while laughing to put some tarmac between us and the potential official proceedings that would, at best, cost us the few stripes that we had thus far earned and grown fond of.
And that reminds me of the time that an armoured personnel carrier left the nuclear alert pad to chase me down on my Fuji 12 speed bicycle one quiet Sunday morning after work while some of my buddies were chasing me in a convertible and shooting me with a very realistic M-16 water gun.
Good times🤣😂
And then the chase car hit you guys?
That was me in 84 flying the U-2 it quit an adventure
Lol. Now that's a "close call" for the ages!
jed-henry Witkowski
Your polish
@@leejeffries1903 you said the samething haha
2:03 My flight instructor:
Keep your hands on the steering weel!
@@stars227 LOL Isn't that the truth!
That's not how flying works
And one hand on the throttle!!!
@@somedudeinchirons4936 Yoke.
A beautiful film record and an important piece of US history, to boot. Nice work and thanks for posting!
William Cox Thank you for the positive feedback. Stop by anytime.
Thank you to the pilot for making this video and sharing the experience with us!!! Much appreciated!!!
Nothing more disconcerting than seeing that your pilot is wearing a space suit (?!).
There is not breathable air at 70000 feet if he had to punch out 😁
Above 55,000 feet is considered the near space zone. Blood boils at body temperature at such altitudes.
Near edge of space! Wow!
You can do it with a Миг-25 / 31 😉
I forgot they needed super cars to assist with landing. What a job.
"Look at those 747's down there....they look like ants."
Fuckin where?
@@andrewhopkins3986 in the fucking joke
@@andrewhopkins3986 r/woosh
Pilot: "Hey, there's the Grim Reaper right outside my window"
Same here: Thank you for not adding music !
And thank you for the spectacular views !
Had a VIP tour of Beale AFB back in ‘98. Got to ride in the chase car (shown at the end). Because of the cockpit design, the pilot can’t judge his height above the runway so another pilot follows in a sports car at 100+MPH and counts him down. You can hear the counting in the audio. Brave men.
Glad he’s got that mirror to see his blind spot when changing lanes.
Underrated comment ,noticed that to
Wow, amazing! He could of made an amazing Flight VLOG out of this.
*could have. he could have made...
i see...
Just like flying my Cessnas at 4000 feet.
Steve Sinai
Yeah just like it
“LA Center, altitude check”
Roger that Sky King!
My first flight was in a cessna... I had to push the door open with my foot @ 120mph and dump 2 buckets of candy on a field for kids to go pick up! That dive then accent was insane as a 13 year old! And illegal as fuck!!! Especially for a church function!
The only thing that gets higher is when you smoke weed and talk like an open unflushed poop toilet
You know shit is serious if you're flying with a space helmet...!! That's an awesome view... Flying high enough to see the curvature of the Earth is sick!!
My dream has finally come true. Always , wanted to see the view from this plane ; I'm sure all the pilots are really loving every second up there.
I keep seeing that American flag on his shoulder and makes me feel proud and honored to be able to call my self an American. Can you imagine the amount of effort and training that went into the making of such an amazing aviator? I'm glad he's on my side!! And not only thankful for his service but for bringing breath taking views like this to me!! Go Navy, Fly Navy!!
Ah, he's Air Force.
He's Air Force, not Navy. Lmao
spying on other countries since the 1960s. I'm not criticizing the pilot here but the cia or whoever gives out these scummy missions
It's really awesome when you realize he is as much farther above normal passenger jets as they already are above us on the ground.
This is amazing footage i have a new respect for those who fly these planes, the views are spectacular but a bit scary being that high up in the atmosphere.
Totally love this video. It's almost as if this pilot and airplane are as one and basically floating through space. Thanks for sharing this awesome video.
great high altitude selfie....
In the early '80s, I worked across US-101 from Moffett Field. My office window faced Moffit. When a U2 took off it rattled the windows and the plane appeared to climb nearly vertical. Our production manager was a retired Navy Chief, formerly in charge of one of the hangars at Moffett, he had some great stories to tell.
2:23 mark just chillin nodding to the song “spirit in the sky”. Lol
That's pretty amazing! I like the "no hands" at 2:03
50's technology wows me, imagine the things flying around our skies today!
Wee Joe it is flying around out skies today... you think they had this video quality in the 50’s?
At 7:40 in the video, the pilot is holding the camera to get the view over the left wing...
Clearly you can see the curvature of the Earth along the horizon. This is proof that the Earth is NOT flat, as some are now trying to claim.
No, the camera doesn't have a fisheye lense. If it did, then the wing and edge of the cockpit would be warped as well.
And this video was recorded at just 70,000 feet.
Really ? People are still arguing about earths shape ?
Rich Handsome Oh heck yeah!
There's RUclips videos of people saying that Astronauts don't go into orbit, man never went to the moon, the Earth is flat and the universe revolves around it!
And they use no scientific evidence to back their claims, it's mostly their own opinions.
+James Lanning Unfortunately....you're wrong. The video camera DOES have a very wide angle lens and it exaggerates the curvature of the earth. If the center of the lens is pointed below the horizon, then the horizon looks convex. If it is pointed above the horizon, it appears concave, and you can see that at 3:40 to 3:50. This is something that Flat Earthers latch onto and it's exasperating to me because it's VERY difficult to find footage or stills taken at high altitude or in space that do NOT use fish eye or some other wide angle lenses. I don't know why there is this propensity to distort the views of Earth....I suppose the pictures are just more interesting if they show a wider view.
Kreuzer Sixtysix I'm sorry, I disagree with this being a fisheye lens.
It's a hand held camera that probably belongs to the pilot himself.
If it were a fisheye, the wing in the shot would be "warped," to the image created by the lense.
But the wing, while is shaped for flight, according to it's design, is still "straight," in the shot, and warped due to fisheye effects.
Nothing else about the aircraft, in the shot, is effected by the camera lense. What you see, is the shape of the aircraft.
For the pilot to have a fisheye lense on the camera he has, he would have to add it to the camera, which may not even be possible, depending on the model he has...
Even when you first look at this post, and you see the pilot sitting there in the cockpit, that's the width of the cockpit, not a fisheye effect...
The pilot himself, with his "space helmet," appears normal, and not warped in any way, due to fisheye effects.
The entire video, is shot with a camera, that only reflects what we would call, "normal vision."
+James Lanning Sigh....I didn't say he's using a fisheye lens, but he IS using a very wide angle lens Probably a 24mm (fisheyes are 8 or even 6mm) which distorts the image, especially near the edges of the view. Go to 3:41 and pause it. You will see the wing is distorted as well as the horizon beyond it. The vertical canopy supports look curved and they are supposed to be straight on the U2. I'm not sure why you think that a hand held camera can't have a wide angle lens. Wide angle lenses make a photo or video look grander or more dramatic. And there is very little aerial or space photography that is done for the purpose of proving the Earth is round because THAT's taken for granted by normal people.
BTW a normal or rather "standard" lens is around 50mm. That gives you a normal vision picture.
I really wish that he had used a standard lens, then I could link this video and rub some flat earthers noses into it.
What? No cup-holder?? Always cutting corners to save a buck...
Jeff S more like to save weight!
atleast they have a device connected to their dick so they can piss into a small tank using the positive pressure in their suit to push it out :D
aah, I just bought a large coke at McDonald's. where am I going to put it now?
@@oscar_bru8455 first world problems, right? hahaha
I've ridden in those chase cars for both takeoff and landing, and it's about as exciting as anything I could imagine. I even have a small piece of the tailwheel that broke on takeoff. That was quite something.
Incredible how quiet it is when you don't have all that bothersome atmosphere to contend with
thanks for not putting on sail- awolnation on in the background 👌
Ron Busch hahaha
I'm so glad those days seem to be gone. Another one that used to really boil my piss is the "Let the bodies hit the floor, LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR, LEEETTT TTHHEEE BBBOODDDIIEESS HIT THE FLLLLOOOOOOORRRR! Roar!" on every piece of Iraq combat footage and skateboard stackage video.
I do not miss either of those songs one bit.
Blame it on my ADD.
Not only is he lucky......he stayed at a Holiday in last night!
Laughing....no doubt. Had to turn down every DJI drone video for a couple years over that...
I like the yaw string on the nose, reminds those jet-pilots to use the rudder properly :-D
Up,up,and away. Simply beautiful. Thanks for no music or chatter! Very cool indeed!!!!!!
Is it just me or was that an insanely short takeoff distance? Looked like ~500 feet or so? Crazy. Love the landings with those cars. Did they move to only one chase car now?
+youtubasoarus Has a very long wing span for high altitude flight that has tremendous lift at low altitudes. Short runway takeoff's, even with full fuel load are common.
between 8 and 9 seconds from brakes off to wheels up. Crazy!
Someone STOL the U2 at take off!
u2 operated from aircraft carriers
With those wings? XD
Wow, the rotation off the runway was almost as short as a piper cub! Love the string attached for yaw indication like a regular glider. Great video.
Well the U-2 is basically the worlds largest, fastest and highest climbing powered glider lol
I’m a pilot, not many hours but I’d love to fly one of these, this looks like my dream job. So quiet and peaceful up there. Just cruising along the border between heaven and earth.
Just amazing, absolutely enjoyed it thanks a lot!
I would love to hear comms on a flight like this.
ToxicPositivity check out L.A Speed Check
The pilot has to be very Knowledgeable in order to fly to this incredible aircraft.
The landing is main task.
The fact that this plane first flew only 10 years after WW2 is mind boggling
Imagine being shot down in that thing while flying over the Soviet Union. Then surviving.
One of my favorite aircrafts. And to think the pilots only land w 2 wheels is insane. What a beauty.
Concorde used to reach nearly 60000 feet at the end of its flights . The amazing thing is that the 10000 feet difference makes a huge difference, The difference between this planes max speed and the stall speed was I believe 4 knots . The most amazing thing was that this plane first flew in the late 50's and Concorde was being built in the mid 60's and the YF12 a had flown by then. Despite all the advances since these 3 planes and the Mig 25 are still unique for the height and the speed they fly at. Sure Concorde is not the fastest plane but no plane can fly the distance it can at Mach 2. And that includes the SR71 that needs refuelling to cross the Atlantic. Amazing planes Kelly Johnson was a genius. These guys were working were working with so many unknowns. Amazing.
Epic video. Epic editing.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Don’t let this obviously rendered “footage” of the curvature of the earth distract you from the fact that the earth is actually a triangle
Well that killed my rectangle theory.
I though it was a pentahectogon
no no no, it’s clearly donut shaped
1.2k dislikes by people who were spied on? Lol.... amazing video. Thank you for leaving it with its original sounds and not adding music. Incredible video.
This man went on a mission to find the legendary Spacefires.
Reading through 90% of these comments, it's perplexing and baffling how intelligent some of these commenters are. Yet it's their emotional lack of maturity which would ace them right out of any such thrilling, demanding and exciting line of work. It's so frustrating to me --- I came here to view some video-posts on things which you'd think would draw in mature men and women who would seemingly be able to dialogue and even debate topics without being reduced to insulting, foul name-calling, threatening, anger, aggression, etc....,
Ah, the dilemma of the internet, so much goodness buried by shite... A very good day to you. ;)
You may be more satisfied with content offered by war colleges. Many have great lectures and debates on Utube.
Not many men left in the western world today.....mostly immature kids in men's bodies. Easy to say nasty things when not face to face with another human being.
Yep. Still you find bubbles of gentility like this.
40cleco I have a good intuition of what you mean by men. I agree with your say. There is little proving ground left, no indulgence toward youthful stunts, no more field trips and winter camps.
I always had a sweet spot for tall ships. The first time you overcome your fear and climb to the crow's nest, what you feel, no one can take from you.
We become what we experience. The range of available experience and the opportunities to live it is getting narrower.
Hey, I recognize the pilot, we go to the same gym! 😎
That's so awesome. And I thought I was flying high in the Cessna at pilot school. That would be so awesome to fly that high. What a cool job you have.
2:20 Garmin strapped to a mirror with rubber bands lol so ghetto
No - its called being resourceful ....
This guy is in a spy plane and he still has the audacity to hand wave to the camera xD
It must be cool to look down at passenger jets from two or three times their maximum altitude capabilities, let alone seeing a black sky and curve of the Earth.
But what really blows me away is how anyone can land that thing. Touchdown looks like it's coming down on a set of roller blades or bicycle tires!
hello, according to many reports and reading on books about the high-flying planes, if we talk of 70,000 feet altitude it still is not enough in order to notice Earth's curve.
That starts to be seen around 86,000 - 87,000 feet, and just very slightly. Those pilots able in reaching such altitudes (and even much more) were of A-12, SR-71, and some X-planes; plus, all those who zoom-climbed their supersonic fighter airplanes to go beyond 95,000 - 100,000 feet for not more than a handful seconds (not true sustained flight, rather the so-called 'ballistic' climb manoeuver).
@Luke Jackson you can see the curvature of the earth with the naked eye at as little as 650ft.
@Luke Jackson I wanna try what hes takin :D
Luke Jackson no❤️
That isn't the curve of the earth, that's just what it looks like using a fish eye lens.
great video, no music, good engine sound and great view, cant see why people would dislike this, probably people who take technology for granted.iinstead of thinking about what a fantastic achievement mas had made regarding aviation.
What an awesome video. Best part was no music. Wish there were more videos like this.
Love that it still has a yaw string!
Thats not a string........its his lower intestines trying to catch up with the rest of him.
I knew if i scrolled down to comments there would be a flat earth argument, so i did and there was!!
+i8thegovernment Of course. There almost always is
@@Arctic_Adjuster chill will, you're everywhere.
Jeez!,,, at 3:38 the camera gets moved and pans backwards and that long scratch on the glass it pans across could be easily be identified as a "near miss". Visions of Francis Gary Powers getting dinged. Neat vid. Thanks again.
Me: "This guy's so freaking cool"
2:03
I can only imagine he is saying "I have the best job in the world" and "I wish someone would clean these windows"
8 second take off roll... extremely impressive
What would have impressed me, and believe me, I am not easily impressed. If he had got out and did a space walk. That would have done it for me.
FANTASTIC VIDEO GUYS WELL DONE
Nice ride. He should open the window and hang his arm out.
😳😳🤔🤔🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👀🤙🤙💯
I'm wainting for that comment that doesn't get the joke.
@@tato1271 I don't get YOUR comment. It was a joke about showing off like a nice car with the left arm hanging out the window. What's there not to get?
GeoDrone funny joke
@Cameron Williams found it.
holy shit hes so high you can see the curvature of the ROUND earth!
No! You only see the curvature because you want to see it, 130,000 feet is when literally see it.
You must be the happiest man a!ive.I'd love to take a ride up sometime .Thanks for the great video
Dear Mr. Yacucci, or public at large: If you read this comment, can you please tell me what was the sigficance of the black sweater LHO was made to wear? I saw the headline in a JFK journal regarding this, but I didn't actually read the article. Obviously, black is the color of death, but is there more to it than that?
The landing of a jet with inline wheels is the tricky part!
ok.. im confused, where is all of his landing gear @10:05?
Jason schmidt It doesn't use the typical tricycle Landing Gear. Its LG is more like a bicycle. The main wheel is just behind the cockpit and the rear LG is located behind the eng., which is then coupled to the rudder to provide steering while on the ground. Because of it's unique design and high performance, it also makes it a difficult aircraft to fly. Maintaining balance while on taxi config., 2 auxiliary wheels, called pogos are added when taking off which then falls off after leaving the ground. Landing must be precise hence the chase car. The wing tips has a titanium skid which is hard to discern, to protect the wings during landing (well, just in case). Then after the U2 comes to a stop, the ground crew reinstalls the pogos one at a time in each wing after which the aircraft proceeds to parking.
Franz N. Isler What it isn't by any stretch of imagination is a difficult aircraft to fly - it handles like a glider with engines strapped to it, which is exactly what makes it possible to use such a bizarre landing gear arrangement: the stall speed is probably about 120 km/h. Well, wiki says 130 - I wonder if that's with flaps. :) There are biplanes that envy that.
Sobakus
I haven't flown a U2 (yet) lol, but many sources from the Air Force say that pressurization used to be at 29,000 ft but has been changed to 14K feet. Also they made the pilot breath pure O2 to avoid rapid decompression sickness. To make the experience a bit more palatable to the pilot, he spends an hour before the flight in a 100% oxygen chamber.
Some of the reasons why it's a difficult machine to fly are already pretty obvious: the ultra long wingspan can be quite a challenge for take off and landing. In take-off alone, precise alignment is needed despite the assistance of the pogo auxiliary wheels. Then, of course the landing itself...ONE OF THE MOST trying experience of the flight (exceeded only in flying at 70+k ft.), hence the chase car, which shouts out the wing angles and wing clearance. The chase driver himself has to be an experienced U2 pilot. In most planes, the pilot and the co-pilot go through a series of pre-flight inspections & engine/systems check before take off. However, in a U2, somebody else does that...so when it is fully checked and readied, at the last minute, the mission pilot boards the a/c. just before takeoff. He's wearing a pressure suit, which limits his mobility and this causes rapid heat buildup if he has to do all these and that. It has been observed that a pilot loses around 3 lbs during a routine 9hr. mission.
Since the air at 70K + ft. is so rarefied, aircraft designers gave it an exceptionally long/thin wings to be able to sustain lift. It's wingspan is103 ft or 31.4 m. & its wing area is about 1,000 sqr. feet, (92.9 sqr m). At such high oper. altitude, its stall speed increases drastically because of very low air density and so the margin between the Critical Mach Number and the stall speed narrows with an increase in altitude resulting in a flight regime called the "Coffin Corner" (if you have some familiarity with aerodynamics, check out Wikipedia's article on this). Because here, at the coffin corner, the margin between the Critical Mach Number and the stall speed is so small, that they almost coincide, and if the pilot reduces speed, he will then cause a stall (due to loss of lift) but if he increased speed, he will reach Mach buffet and he can lose control of the aircraft. Here is a real aerial ballet, which absolutely required superb airmanship!
Franz N. Isler Thanks for the info, I didn't know about this altitude phenomenon. However, I'm pretty sure the plane can't approach its CMN in level flight any way.
Jason schmidt It doesn't have landing gear on the wings. If you he would show a bit later, There usual be two things, either the car with a guy in the back to prevent it from tipping or watch as two engineers run like hell to put posts on the sides so it doesn't tip over.
Budget cutbacks forcing spy planes to use GoPros for secret imaging from 70,000ft above earth’s surface....😉😊
And Rubber Bands to hold devices to windows. hehe
😂😂😂
The heavy gloves make it hard to pan around too.
Edward Smith they’re not heavy at that altitude, almost weightless near space, that’s why he’s strapped into the seat or he’ll float away especially when using the outside toilet 😉😊
Oh shit,the earth has a curve,does that mean it's round?
Awesome. Thank you for video and no music.