U2 Again

TAKE A RIDE IN A SPY PLANE !





This is at least an 'E-Ticket' ride, maybe even an 'F'
From watching this video, you can see why the U-2 is considered the
most difficult plane in the world to fly. Each pilot has a co-pilot, who
chases the plane on the runway in a sports car. Most of the cars are
either Pontiac GTOs or Chevrolet Cameros - the Air Force buys American.
The chase cars talk the pilot down as he lands on bicycle-style landing
gear. In that spacesuit, the pilot in the plane simply cannot get a good
view of the runway.



Upon takeoff, the wings on this plane, which extend 103 feet from tip to
tip, literally flap. To stabilize the wings on the runway, two pogo
sticks on wheels prop up the ends of the wings. As the plane flies away,
the pogo sticks drop off. The plane climbs at an amazing rate of nearly
10,000 feet a minute. Within about four minutes, I was at 40,000 feet,
higher than any commercial airplane. We kept going up to 13 miles above
Earth's surface. You get an incredible sensation up there. As you look
out the windows, it feels like you're floating, it feels like you're not
moving, but you're actually going 500 mph.



The U-2 was built to go higher than any other aircraft. In fact today,
more than 50 years since it went into production, the U-2 flies higher
than any aircraft in the world with the exception of the space shuttle.
It is flying more missions and longer missions than ever before - nearly
70 missions a month over Iraq and Afghanistan, an operational tempo that
is unequaled in history. The pilots fly for 11 hours at a time,
sometimes more than 11 hours up there alone.



By flying so high, the U-2 has the capability of doing reconnaissance
over a country without actually violating its airspace. It can look off
to the side, peering 300 miles or more inside a country without actually
flying over it. It can "see" in the dark and through clouds. It can also
"hear," intercepting conversations 14 miles below. The U-2, an
incredible piece of history and also a current piece of high technology,
is at the center of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.



Enjoy the ride! Lockheed U-2 Take A Ride in a Spy Plane, Click the link
below. Go to the lower right corner of the screen and click the icon
immediately to the left of the volume control to bring up the full screen.



Link to and view: http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/

Hi John,
Thanks for the link
It truly is amazing footage and I agree with James May's assesment that If every
politician and / or powerbroker in the world took a similar flight, the world
would probably be a better place, it's certainly a humbling experience.

One more thing...........sorry to burst the patriotic bubble but the Pontiac
GTO's are in fact detuned versions of the Australian designed and built Holden
'Commodore'.

--

Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF
Innisfail, QLD, Australia

"John Crawford" wrote in message
news
TAKE A RIDE IN A SPY PLANE !





This is at least an 'E-Ticket' ride, maybe even an 'F'
From watching this video, you can see why the U-2 is considered the most
difficult plane in the world to fly. Each pilot has a co-pilot, who chases the
plane on the runway in a sports car. Most of the cars are either Pontiac GTOs
or Chevrolet Cameros - the Air Force buys American. The chase cars talk the
pilot down as he lands on bicycle-style landing gear. In that spacesuit, the
pilot in the plane simply cannot get a good view of the runway.



Upon takeoff, the wings on this plane, which extend 103 feet from tip to tip,
literally flap. To stabilize the wings on the runway, two pogo sticks on
wheels prop up the ends of the wings. As the plane flies away, the pogo sticks
drop off. The plane climbs at an amazing rate of nearly 10,000 feet a minute.
Within about four minutes, I was at 40,000 feet, higher than any commercial
airplane. We kept going up to 13 miles above Earth's surface. You get an
incredible sensation up there. As you look out the windows, it feels like
you're floating, it feels like you're not moving, but you're actually going
500 mph.



The U-2 was built to go higher than any other aircraft. In fact today, more
than 50 years since it went into production, the U-2 flies higher than any
aircraft in the world with the exception of the space shuttle. It is flying
more missions and longer missions than ever before - nearly 70 missions a
month over Iraq and Afghanistan, an operational tempo that is unequaled in
history. The pilots fly for 11 hours at a time, sometimes more than 11 hours
up there alone.



By flying so high, the U-2 has the capability of doing reconnaissance over a
country without actually violating its airspace. It can look off to the side,
peering 300 miles or more inside a country without actually flying over it. It
can "see" in the dark and through clouds. It can also "hear," intercepting
conversations 14 miles below. The U-2, an incredible piece of history and also
a current piece of high technology, is at the center of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.



Enjoy the ride! Lockheed U-2 Take A Ride in a Spy Plane, Click the link below.
Go to the lower right corner of the screen and click the icon immediately to
the left of the volume control to bring up the full screen.



Link to and view: http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/