Top Gear rides the Dragon Lady

[jmcquate]

What would a civilian have to go through to be cleared for a flight like that?

 

[sickboy]

Why do some U-2s have the pods under the wings and some don't?

 

[Cron]

What would a civilian have to go through to be cleared for a flight like that?

Become famous...or be a reporter.

 

[xj220]

Same way it works on deck. The thrust lapse is substantial, but the drag is lower up there, too. The engine only really cares about very few conditions, and most of them are non-dimensional, like Mach number, fuel ratio, etc. So as long as the Mach number at the inlet is in the correct range, and the air/fuel mass flow ratio is maintained by the control system, the engine should run just fine, but you won't get a lot of thrust out of it because the mass flow is so low. I'm sure Huggy could speak to how it "really" works, but that's the idea from a "theory guy."

That makes sense, I was figuring that there would be so little air that the engine wouldn't be able to run but I guess there must be just enough.

 

[rondebmar]

It was just about fifty years ago I saw my first one operate, while TAD to a USAF base...with FGP at the controls. Hadn't seen anything like it before that.

Damn!! Long time ago...

 

[armada1651]

Damn those things are so cool. This may have been covered on here before, but how are U-2 pilots selected? Are they all transfers from other platforms? And just how small a community is it (if that can even be answered on a public forum)?

 

[HuggyU2]

Yes, they come from other platforms first.
Including student in training, Wing leadership, and the staff guys that get a flight every couple of months, there are about 85 - 90 pilots at any given time.
About 862 have flown it since 1955.

 

[wlawr005]

what a fvcking cool airplane...AF or not, I'm impressed. How about the enlisted dudes that get to chase that bastard down the runway at 100 MPH??? Could you see that in the Navy?? Pettibone would have a field day!

 

[Flash]

Why do some U-2s have the pods under the wings and some don't?

It is mission dependent, they carry mission gear and some missions need them and some don't.

 

[MIDNJAC]

How about the enlisted dudes that get to chase that bastard down the runway at 100 MPH???

Maybe I missed something in another video, but I was under the impression that this was a colateral duty for pilots from the squadron (like our RDO)

 

[BACONATOR]

Random pilot-type question, but for birds like the U-2 and SR-71, when you go above FL600, is there any sort of contact between you and ATC (since technically it's uncontrolled at those altitudes) and when you come back down into class A, do you just call em up and let em know you're coming back down and where you're headed? Seems kinda funny since the ATC system wasn't really designed for people to go that high.

And for like the SR-71, if you go above ATC, at those airspeeds, and come down hundreds (thousands?) of miles away, how do you coordinate that with ATC?

 

[Lawman]

(since technically it's uncontrolled at those altitudes)

Class E... Uncontrolled now? I know neither or us will ever be up there on the controls but c'mon man.

:icon_wink


Good question though. Be interesting to see what goes into an IFR flight plan for that kind of flight.

 

[BACONATOR]

Class E... Uncontrolled now? I know neither or us will ever be up there on the controls but c'mon man.

:icon_wink


Good question though. Be interesting to see what goes into an IFR flight plan for that kind of flight.

Give me a break. Like I'm sure the astronauts are making PTAPTP reports to "shangri-la" Center. You know what I mean.

Yeah, it's class E within 12nm of the contiguous 48 and Alaska. Take away my instrument-rating, why don't you. :sleep_125

That goes back to the old story (joke?) about the blackbird pilot who made the following radio transmission:

"LA Center, Blackbird 271 requesting FL800"

"Blackbird 271, if you can climb that high, it's all yours"

"LA Center, Blackbird 271..... uh... we're descending"



EDIT: I temporarily hate you for making me get out my FAR/AIM. That is all.

 

[Lawman]

No hate No Worries. Im currantly sitting in instruments contemplating slitting my wrists with my E6B while knowing theres a 50/50 shot of me never flying an instrument rated aircraft in the Army once this is over.

 

[BACONATOR]

No hate No Worries. Im currantly sitting in instruments contemplating slitting my wrists with my E6B while knowing theres a 50/50 shot of me never flying an instrument rated aircraft in the Army once this is over.

Really? How do you guys keep your rating then?