70,000 Feet + U2 ride

[trax1]

Amazing video, thanks for sharing it.

[007Rusty]

wow ... thanks for sharing   

[sntslilhlpr6601]

I didnt know that thing has only 1 wheel.. i'd hate to have to land that thing.

So would I. She's a tough bird, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eamnTyfkUBY (music has bad language)

[Flipperk]

I thought you had to have 20/20 to be in the airforce

[Phaser11]

Look for the U2 vid of some girl reporter going for a ride. The were setteled before an IFE at 70,000 or so keeping the speed right at 135 knts. Any faster and the dragon might showe its face.

[Phaser11]

I thought you had to have 20/20 to be in the airforce

You do or corected by lasers, but once you're in they don't toss you if you get older and your eyes start to change for the worse. That being said there is always a limit.

[indy007]

I thought you had to have 20/20 to be in the airforce

I've heard you can get an exemption for that. YMMV

[Drex]

A couple friends of mine just transferred to the U-2.  I decided not to follow them or interview at the end of my current assignment because I have 2 small children and the U-2 deployment tempo would be extremely difficult for my wife.  And it might effectively end her career, which would pretty much shatter our post-military service plans.

I think I'd enjoy flying the U-2 and I wouldn't personally mind the deployments, but it would be very very hard on my family with no real payoff to us except for the cool factor of flying that plane.  Which wouldn't help my wife at all.  If she tells me she wouldn't mind me being gone half the year (2 months gone, 2 months back, 2 months gone... etc), then I still might go out to Beale to interview...

I think you should sit down and talk to her about it.  You've ripped it in a F-15, and now you could have the chance to fly where only a select few humans have ever been.  I think your kids and wife would be proud of that.  Plus, I've met your wife... She is an extremely smart independent woman who doesn't need you!     I'll watch the kids for a ride at 70,000ft!  

Drex

[Buzzard7]

Airspeed was reading 104-110 kts and mach # of.7
Nice find.

[eagl]

You can go for two weeks screening process....and 'not make it'.   

Yea, I know that.  I've flown with a bunch of guys who DID make it though, and I think I have similar capabilities.  If I did try out and get turned down, it wouldn't bug me that much.  I'm good at what I'm doing now, and I hope I can keep doing it for a while longer.  No reason to try to force something that isn't going to work out...

Plus it would be pretty hypocritical of me to get upset if I got turned down for a special program like the U2...  Part of my job is separating "regular" pilots from the "fighter" pilots we try to produce at ENJJPT, before they get in over their heads and kill themselves.  I've been responsible for re-directing a handful of smart young pilots to the C-130 or other airframes, instead of continuing them at ENJJPT.  Sucks to be told sorry you're gonna be a pilot but we're not going to give you a chance to even try out for fighters, but some of the students we get simply don't have the aptitude for the job.  Rather than just let them wash out of T-38s, IFF, or FTU, we're trying to get them into a job where they'll be highly successful.  To my knowledge, most or all of the re-tracks out of ENJJPT after T-37s or T-6s have done quite well where we sent them, which is a total *win* for the USAF.