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Be not wise in thine own eyes |
Was lucky enough to be stationed at RAF Mildenhall years ago. Worked ground support during Airfete 1985 & 86. Amazing number of WWII and current aircraft from U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy and France. Nothing better than an airshow in England with a large variety of historical military aircraft from many countries. I recall standing under the Vulcan bomber, looking up at the wing in awe. The Vulcan is one of my favorite aircraft to this day. Never understood the logic of the British Lightening. Why would you stack engines like an over/under shotgun. Learned that those engines make the steel cable leading to the drag chute dang hot. During one of the air shows I was riding around in the back of a pickup collecting drag chutes. Grabbed a hold of the cable on a chute from a Lightening and it left quite an impression. Stumbled across these YouTube videos by bobsurgranny this evening and got a bit nostalgic. He has some amazing aircraft videos. Had the opportunity to see the U2 take off and land a few times. Here is one of bobsurgranny’s videos showing the take off and landing procedure. Link to his other videos. “We’re in a situation where we have put together, and you guys did it for our administration…President Obama’s administration before this. We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics,” Pres. Select, Joe Biden “Let’s go, Brandon” Kelli Stavast, 2 Oct. 2021 | ||
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Purveyor of Fine Avatars |
I had to google what all the stuff on the U-2 was for. It's amazing how in can be physically configured differently depending on the mission. "I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak!" - Calvin, "Calvin & Hobbes" | |||
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Be not wise in thine own eyes |
The U2 Pilot in the Chase Car is critical for landing. Providing direction and calling out distance above ground. Not easy landing with those long wings and bicycle wheels. “We’re in a situation where we have put together, and you guys did it for our administration…President Obama’s administration before this. We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics,” Pres. Select, Joe Biden “Let’s go, Brandon” Kelli Stavast, 2 Oct. 2021 | |||
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Optimistic Cynic |
I always thought that the chase car was so the pilot could just climb out, toss the keys to the parking attendant, and get a quick ride to the mess/bathroom (whichever was most critical). | |||
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Official Space Nerd |
Last time I was in Qatar (2012), they had the occasional U-2 land there. I never saw one personally, but I did see the Pontiac GTOs (not the classic muscle cars, but the 2006 or so model year versions) they used as chase vehicles. I saw a U-2 do a fly-over at the Air Force Academy (where I work) a year or so ago. It wasn't very fast, but that sucker can CLIMB! When I worked duty shifts at the USSTRATCOM Command Center, I worked with a bird Colonel who had flown U-2s. That guy was perhaps the coolest O-6 I ever worked for. In one case, they lost an aircraft due to a control surface failure; the pilot ejected safely. This same problem happened to him. He had to maintain about 1-200 lbs of pressure on the stick (the aircraft wanted to dive; he had to pull the stick back to prevent this) to maintain his landing approach, but he saved the aircraft. From this, they were able to identify the failure and retro-fit the entire fleet so it wouldn't happen again. This was really an amazing feat of strength, airmanship, and outright balls, especially considering how hard it is to land the aircraft when nothing was going wrong. Fear God and Dread Nought Admiral of the Fleet Sir Jacky Fisher | |||
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Official Space Nerd |
The Lightning was a second-generation fighter. Back then, they really didn't know what worked and what did not. I suppose some engineer figured over/under was better than side by side (maybe it made the airframe slimmer, reducing cross section and drag?). Also, the Brits did things differently. On the Lightning, they also placed drop tanks ABOVE the wing, when pretty much everybody else puts them under. According to Wiki,
Fear God and Dread Nought Admiral of the Fleet Sir Jacky Fisher | |||
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