The smartass side of me wants to say, "I'd try reading the 'U-2 Dragonlady info' thread."

The non-smartass side of me wants to say....hmmm...can't seem to access that side.

I must have missed several pages, my apologies for wasting space.

Edit: And for future people who may have the same question and missed the page with the answer:

Currently, they are saying past 2020.

You've got plenty of time: the last U-2 pilot hasn't graduated high school yet.

Edited April 11, 201312 yr by Milchstrasse

Teach a man to fish...

Proof that fear, sarcasm, and ridicule are effective instructional techniques.

Proof that fear, sarcasm, and ridicule are effective instructional techniques.

Not according to Rutgers Basketball

Huggy,

Remember that time they wouldn't let you do solo or night flying?

Blow me, Spoo...

Old guys rule.

And you know it.

Spoo, you obviously don't know the whole story. That letter was published on May 22 and didn't come over the teletype until May 24.

On May 25, Huggy was flying night solo cross country to go have a counseling session with Hap. Letter was rescinded on May 26.

That's how Huggy rolls!

Edited April 18, 201312 yr by Kuma

And I'm sure this was in conjunction with the Andrews Field Airshow as well. THAT'S how Huggy rolls.

Like a VIDEO video? Or the computer generated re-creation that's floating around?

Yes, a VIDEO video. Shot from the ground, showing the U-2 flying really close to the ground with a quite a high bank angle, and with a couple of Mirage 2000s 'escorting it'. I assume, of course, that there have not been two such incidents like this...

Steve,

Do you know Chris Pocock very well? I just saw him at the El Centro Airshow. He's a great U-2 resource in the UK... or worldwide for that matter.

Huggy,

I have never met him. Agree that he's got a great reputation for his U-2 writing.

So this is THE first BMC letter.

The Air & Space article was good. But hearing the actual story from those involved in it is really something. Originally, Oprah wanted to do a segment on it (that was shot down).

The full story is worthy (by Hollywood standards) of a made-for-TV movie. As hokie as that sounds,... and as much as I hope that is never done,... a lot of people, including those of the host nation military and medical community, worked hard to keep him alive.

Were you there, Spoo? I remember that Smoke and Fidel, and maybe Sharkey were, but can't remember who else.

Apparently, in the course of "the situation" some local base leadership stormed into Ops to get "the brief", and wanted to know who was in charge. They were not happy to find that Captains were running the show,... and they were further put out when no one had time to deal with them. For the record, those Captains ran things perfectly.

It's a sad shame that Kevin and Lt Col Russell were never recognized in a more formal manner for their efforts.

I hope Kevin writes a book about it.

https://www.u2...les/Henry-2.htm

Same story but written in 2006 with a little more detailEdited for failure in linking.

Edited April 21, 201312 yr by Left_turn

Linky no worky.

there were a few too many https in there

https://www.u2dla.org/content_files/Henry-2.htm

Thanks to SHUTR for the pic.

Edited April 25, 201312 yr by Spoo

I met a flight doc (not one of the authors) who was telling me about the UCD; sounds downright awful. An article about it:

https://docserver.ing...3EFE33158A1F99B

If link doesn't work, the abstract links to the full article:

https://www.ingentaco...000002/art00007

Edited April 24, 201312 yr by Motrin

In this study, a combined 42.9% of pilots reported UCD mechanical malfunctions or leaks at some point in their U-2 career...

The other 57.1% are lying.

Such leaks, occasionally severe enough to cause the pilot to sit in a bed of urine or fill a portion of the suit lower extremity.

Sucks when it fails at hour one of a 10+ hour sortie; it becomes a vicious cycle. First you're nice and warm, then you get chills, then you warm up again...

The Beale AFB Flight Medicine Office, in conjunction with PSD, has also noted a phenomenon we describe as “UCD envy.” A number of pilots actually maintain two UCDs with their sheath trimmed to differing girth. One is kept in the locker in plain view, while a second is sized properly and actually worn on missions.

Well played Doc V, well played...

The other 57.1% are lying.

Sucks when it fails at hour one of a 10+ hour sortie; it becomes a vicious cycle. First you're nice and warm, then you get chills, then you warm up again...

Well played Doc V, well played...

I guess this is the one you now have prominently displayed on your Staff Officer Desk. This explains quite a bit.

Reminds me of one of my contemporaries ("Big Al") many years ago. Somehow he missed the briefing on cutting the UCD to fit; the stock UCD is basically a cone at the penis end which decreases in size to something the size of your little finger at the very end...you cut it to match your particular anatomy. For his first high flight he struggled mightily to get it on, then had to abort about half way through the flight due to pain. When he got down, the flight doc had to cut the UCD off his extremely swollen dick, and he was DNIF for a week while the swelling went down and the pain stopped. There was some concern about permanent damage due to blood starvation of the tissue. His wife was really spooked!!

Edited April 24, 201312 yr by HiFlyer

I'm sure he asked her for hourly massages to help prevent permanent damage.

Out

SHUTR does good work.

SHUTR does good work.

Didn't know that was his callsign...thanks!

Credit applied.

Quick update on the T-38 program here at Beale.

The following have been prohibited:

- 4-ship formations

- Low level navigation

- Bank angles in excess of 60 degrees in close trail

- Aerobatics in extended trail

Whiteman (GSC), and Tyndall/Langley should not be affected, or so I'm told

For those of us who have no SA on the matter, say reason?

it came out via FCIF.

Reason: everything I have is 2nd hand info, so I will not comment.

For those of us who have no SA on the matter, say reason?

Hmmm. I have no SA either, but I could offer a guess. Let's see, its a "companion trainer" for the U-2...

1. 4-ship?? Don't see that very often in the duece (did it once (5-ship) in 1955 for a PR photo)..

2. Low level? Well, on max range cruise you might get down in the 60s

3. Bank in excess of 60 degrees in close trail? Nope, not likely to see that much in the duece either, anytime!

4. Aerobatics in trail?? Nah...not much training crossover there either.

Sounds like upper management tweaking the training to avoid the appearance of a good deal (which, of course, it most certainly is!). I'm surprised they let 2-ship stay in the program. The way we justified it years ago was to train for pacing the SR-71 in an emergency recovery, and the SR's long gone. I'd be curious to see who directed the changes.

EDIT: It was pointed out to me that this appears to be a slam on the program. Nothing is further from the truth. I think the companion trainer program provides enormous benefits to the U-2 program (as well as similar programs for other aircraft). Due to lack of airframes and cost of flying, you can't fly the U-2 at home with sufficient frequency to maintain a lot of basic skills over the long run (I'm sure that is equally true for the B-2 and other programs that use companion trainers). The T-38 provides that capability at a much reduced cost compared to the primary aircraft.

I was only speculating as to why an outsider might not see the longer term benefits.

Edited April 26, 201312 yr by HiFlyer