FLYING ON THE EDGE: THE U2
Posted by Horst Rademacher
You didn't n
eed to be an aviation buff, to enjoy our program last week. Rich Perkins (Lt. Col. USAF Ret.) talked about his adventures in flying the famous "Dragon Lady", the U2 Spy plane (see photo below). Built by Lockheed in their famous Skunk Works, this plane had its maiden flight in 1955 before the first satellites were launched. It could fly at an altitude of 70,000 ft., which was then considered the "edge of space." One hundred four of these single engine planes were built and – believe it or not - some are still in service! The 390th Expeditionary Wing of the Air Force operates them from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates – and NASA has a few U2 variants, called ER-2, for its science missions.
eed to be an aviation buff, to enjoy our program last week. Rich Perkins (Lt. Col. USAF Ret.) talked about his adventures in flying the famous "Dragon Lady", the U2 Spy plane (see photo below). Built by Lockheed in their famous Skunk Works, this plane had its maiden flight in 1955 before the first satellites were launched. It could fly at an altitude of 70,000 ft., which was then considered the "edge of space." One hundred four of these single engine planes were built and – believe it or not - some are still in service! The 390th Expeditionary Wing of the Air Force operates them from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates – and NASA has a few U2 variants, called ER-2, for its science missions.