@spacemanclips haha! LET US????? You'd be speaking German if we hadn't been there in the 40's. Your military is so weak now you'd be extremely vulnerable without us there. Facts
@@wr6392 The numbers may be down but it's all about doing more with less. That's why we kept a canoe, a Bailey bridge _and_ a snatch land rover: the landy can tow the bridge and drive over it, the canoe can float under it, but will also be able to move under its own power when we get the paddle in 2035; a potent combined arms force able to continue projecting British military power around the globe for up to tens of meters. This is the real reason Putin hasn't invaded us yet - he might be mad but he ain't suicidal.
I've never seen one with that pod before, but I have watched one from a standing stop lift off in under 300 feet. 282 feet is what a I recall the ground crew rejoicing about at the time, but that was late 80's, and an absolutely perfect late spring morning in the desert(Palmdale). 80 degrees or so, just a nice headwind out of the West. The outriggers came off almost as soon as it started it's forward motion.
Stationed at RAF Alconbury 1983 to 1989. Worked around the TR-1s (U-2 Variant) pulling security. Still remember working at RAF Wyton when our runway was being resurfaced. The huge TabVees that were built in 88-89 had a short life once the base was deactivated years later. I enjoyed my stay living at RAF Upwood all those years.
I worked on the U-2 program (specifically Senior Span, and Senior Stretch) for almost 20 years. It's clear from many of the comments that a lot of people haven't got a clue to the history and capabilities of the Dragon Lady.
some idea, but it's always useful to hear from folks with real, hands-on, *experience*! I really noted the huge amount of hardware on these versions, antennae everywhere, bulbous 'things'... a long, long way from the original F-105 'chassis'.... and, after what, 60+ years, still getting the job done.-
This is from a fighter Crew Chief that worked VIper's and later Raptor's ...One of the little pleasures I used to enjoy at Osan AB, ROK in 2005-06 while working TA/Crash Recovery was watching the U-2's take of and land .. It never gets old.
I got to meet Kelly Johnson in 1981 when NASA received their first ER-2 at Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. The ER-2 is the same model as this one which was first caller a TR-1 before the redesignation. Impressive man and plane for sure.
The angle of climb is phenomenal. Used to watch the take off out of Akrotiri and Alconbury, amazing but subject to all sorts of restrictions in UK airspace.
I was surprised by the climb-out angle. Perhaps this U-2 version has received an engine upgrade. It's so old it probably has had its engine replaced a dozen times. According to the specs published by Wikipedia, the U-2S uses the GE F118 turbofan, the same engine used by the B-2, which has almost twice the thrust output of the J57, the engine used in the early history of the U-2, giving the U-2S a climb rate of 9000 ft/min, which is very impressive for a non-afterburning jet like this one.
I watched them take off from Moffett Field in the '70's - looked just like that even back then.....but never saw them with all the added sensor pod/blister/antennas either.
All the U2's flying today were built in the mid/latter 1980's. Site 7 Palmdale. So, not 43 years BUT m 20% larger than the original...let's say 37 years....😁😁😁
@@ftargr imagine spending a trillion dollars a year on military to blow up middle eastern farmers and not having affordable health care or basic medical rights to half of your population.
Wow the radar etc additions, are ugly but at least it kept this wonderful aeroplane flying! Impressive power to weight for an aircraft of that era. So to fly high, you either need to have a big wing area or a very high speed - the U2 takes the former approach and it looks pretty much like a jet powered glider!
0:38 There's one of those "Remove Before Flight" streamers attached to the port side just aft of the wing. I assume it got removed by that ground crewman shown doing a final inspection after the jump-cut.
That's the ESS pin. The ESS (emergency start system) uses toxic hydrazine, so the pogo crew pulls the pin and replaces it on recovery. By the way, port and starboard are for boats, airplanes have left and right.
the secret is... the U2 doesn't actually do anything, but it looks so badass that it scares the enemy into thinking its doing something really terrifying.
It's fitting that the U2 is still patrolling the skies in a new era of Russo-Western hostilities. I hope it brings back good intel for our friends in Ukraine.
They’re stabiliser wheels. The U2 only has a single main wheel and a trailing wheel as undercarriage to save space and weight - when it comes to a stop it tips onto one wing like if you stop riding a bicycle. That’s designed to happen, but it obviously can’t taxi like that. Upon landing, a crew in a chase car will literally pick up the wing (it’s that light), and fit the stabilisers so it can taxi off the runway. When it takes off, they simply drop off as the wings gather lift.
Yes, light fuel load on take-off and nearly empty to land, a spectacular performing aircraft but very limited flight parameters... a very difficult job to fly.
Unlikely... It wouldn't be filmed this easily if it were. Plus after Gary Powers if missions like this were needed, the US would likely use Global Hawk
Not necessarily Ukraine there is plenty of other NATO airspace to loiter and see what’s developing given the current levels of Russian and Belorussian activity.
👌😍..many thanks for sharing your video !..I always enjoy watching this aircraft!..is this the one they call "Dragon Lady"?.....just out of curiosity. Love watching your videos, keep em coming mate!👌cheers 🍺📸😎
The most striking feature of this U-2S is what looks like a radome on its back, but probably isn't. One assumes its presence at RAF Fairford is connected to the Russia-Ukraine War. U-2s usually go where the trouble is.
I think the chap who brought that in to being must of sat on a valley cliff observing albatrosses gliding on the thermals.the spitfire was created in a similar fashion only the birds weren't albatrosses not in the uk 🤭the wings were maybe a bird of pray. curved at the tips for agility.
fanatstic piece of Kelly Johnson genius design & engineering,love the nose art reminds me of the USAF F-4E & G Wild weasels from back in the day
You guys in the UK are so lucky to see so many different types our 🇺🇸 coolest aircraft! And so close up!
True, and you guys are lucky that we let you base them here.
@spacemanclips haha! LET US????? You'd be speaking German if we hadn't been there in the 40's. Your military is so weak now you'd be extremely vulnerable without us there. Facts
@@wr6392 what a stupid comment, grow up.
@@wr6392 The numbers may be down but it's all about doing more with less. That's why we kept a canoe, a Bailey bridge _and_ a snatch land rover: the landy can tow the bridge and drive over it, the canoe can float under it, but will also be able to move under its own power when we get the paddle in 2035; a potent combined arms force able to continue projecting British military power around the globe for up to tens of meters. This is the real reason Putin hasn't invaded us yet - he might be mad but he ain't suicidal.
OMG such patriotism..We are so lucky to speak your language too!🇬🇧
That's impressive how much lift those wings have on takeoff, she dropped the outriggers really quick.
I've never seen one with that pod before, but I have watched one from a standing stop lift off in under 300 feet. 282 feet is what a I recall the ground crew rejoicing about at the time, but that was late 80's, and an absolutely perfect late spring morning in the desert(Palmdale). 80 degrees or so, just a nice headwind out of the West. The outriggers came off almost as soon as it started it's forward motion.
Missed the climb, and level off😕
@@andyfletcher3561 The pod houses a dish... 😁😁😁😁
Lockheed offered Northrop the wing design for their Global Chicken but they refused.... 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@ucdbnxt7318 Yeah, I figured that. I'd seen them with the second cockpit just not with the pod like that.
That engine tone - remember it so well, even now, heading over Wyton on its way into Alconbury back in the 80's
Stationed at RAF Alconbury 1983 to 1989. Worked around the TR-1s (U-2 Variant) pulling security. Still remember working at RAF Wyton when our runway was being resurfaced. The huge TabVees that were built in 88-89 had a short life once the base was deactivated years later. I enjoyed my stay living at RAF Upwood all those years.
I worked on the U-2 program (specifically Senior Span, and Senior Stretch) for almost 20 years. It's clear from many of the comments that a lot of people haven't got a clue to the history and capabilities of the Dragon Lady.
some idea, but it's always useful to hear from folks with real, hands-on, *experience*!
I really noted the huge amount of hardware on these versions, antennae everywhere, bulbous 'things'... a long, long way from the original F-105 'chassis'.... and, after what, 60+ years, still getting the job done.-
Русские имеют представление. Мы ещё в 60е годы прошлого века сбивали ваши у2. Вспоминается гери пауэлс
@@user-ih5cn4ir4c russia army cheap
Best plane when you need to destroy some Third world country in illegal war like you and your colleagues did with Serbia in 1999.
is the "banana" side-looking radar?
Worked U-2's for ten years. Great utility aircraft. They just keep adding capabilities.
such as what?
What years did you work them? I worked them 96-97 EW/Sensors.
pity they didn't add anti missile counter measures Gary Powers maybe would have benefited from them
@@VPPAF it did. It flew at over 70k ft.
This is from a fighter Crew Chief that worked VIper's and later Raptor's ...One of the little pleasures I used to enjoy at Osan AB, ROK in 2005-06 while working TA/Crash Recovery was watching the U-2's take of and land .. It never gets old.
Kelly Johnson. The man transformed how we appreciate the world.
The man who cribbed an awful lot of his planes from British innovation, research, and invention
@@iatsd In what way?
I got to meet Kelly Johnson in 1981 when NASA received their first ER-2 at Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. The ER-2 is the same model as this one which was first caller a TR-1 before the redesignation. Impressive man and plane for sure.
@@iatsd Britain didn't invent airplanes or jet engines you ridiculous wanker.
1960 и 1962 годы когда это чудо было сбито.
Used to watch the U-2s take off every morning at U-Tapao. Ground crew used a 396 El Camino.
The U-2's still getting it done after 68 years, incredible.
Is it so much cheaper to operate or what is its advantage to Blackbird?
The angle of climb is phenomenal. Used to watch the take off out of Akrotiri and Alconbury, amazing but subject to all sorts of restrictions in UK airspace.
Impressive but also very little fuel on board during takeoff...
American military aircraft have priority in British air space.
@@WilhelmKarsten Look at the squat on the pogos during taxi. That isn't light.
I was surprised by the climb-out angle. Perhaps this U-2 version has received an engine upgrade. It's so old it probably has had its engine replaced a dozen times. According to the specs published by Wikipedia, the U-2S uses the GE F118 turbofan, the same engine used by the B-2, which has almost twice the thrust output of the J57, the engine used in the early history of the U-2, giving the U-2S a climb rate of 9000 ft/min, which is very impressive for a non-afterburning jet like this one.
I watched them take off from Moffett Field in the '70's - looked just like that even back then.....but never saw them with all the added sensor pod/blister/antennas either.
2:40 Like a homesick angel! Thanks for posting.
This plane is 43 years old, and the plane that it's based on first flew in 1954.
All the U2's flying today were built in the mid/latter 1980's. Site 7 Palmdale. So, not 43 years BUT m 20% larger than the original...let's say 37 years....😁😁😁
🤯🤯
Plus - sci-fi technology list
It's mysterious and exciting.
This airplane, despite the fact that it's a machine, has its own soul.
Some mechanicus shit...
Well, it is assigned to that officer till they part ways in the future.............
Nice nose art. Hopefully anyone who doesn't like this plane will never get close enough to see it.
it really doesnt
@@spikespa5208 Horrible nose art. Hopefully anyone who likes this plane will never get close enough to see it.
One of the two aircraft you needed a spacesuit to fly. The other was the SR-71 Blackbird.
The lightning needed a pressure suit and would intercept these back in the 60s
English Electric Lightning, way before these needed a full pressure suit too......
X-15 wants to have a word
sorry doug, the brits have to do everything they can to avoid remembering the present state of their military
@@ftargr imagine spending a trillion dollars a year on military to blow up middle eastern farmers and not having affordable health care or basic medical rights to half of your population.
Wow !! Super beautiful takeoff on this legacy Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady !!!😎😊
I hear her soaring up into the sky evert morning in Gloucestershire..and glide back in the evening..noisy beast
After 40 years of commercial aircraft, it's so sweet to hear a turbojet again. 😊❤
Low bypass turbofan.
@A H well it sure sounded better than anything else.
Wow the radar etc additions, are ugly but at least it kept this wonderful aeroplane flying! Impressive power to weight for an aircraft of that era. So to fly high, you either need to have a big wing area or a very high speed - the U2 takes the former approach and it looks pretty much like a jet powered glider!
Well, it literally IS a jet powered glider ROFL.
Well, if you start off with an F104 Starfighter......!!!
Truly one of the most elegant aircraft ever built.
What an incredible aircraft. Always ahead of its time!
Off to the edge of space. It’s older than I and I’m old . What a trip
Great aircraft, nice capture.
Basically a glider with a massive afterburner. Great piece of engineering. Happy to have it flying from the UK.
@FunnyVideoCollector GE F118, granted no afterburner. But developed from the GE F110, which has an afterburner.
That looks so cool. Love it.
always amazes me this plane
The U2-R/S & the TR-2 are very different airplanes than the original U2-A
Awesome video. A treat for us aviation nuts! Thanks for posting 😎
absolutely wonderful to see.
0:38 There's one of those "Remove Before Flight" streamers attached to the port side just aft of the wing. I assume it got removed by that ground crewman shown doing a final inspection after the jump-cut.
That's the ESS pin. The ESS (emergency start system) uses toxic hydrazine, so the pogo crew pulls the pin and replaces it on recovery. By the way, port and starboard are for boats, airplanes have left and right.
That looks great.
great video!
needs another couple of antennas though... LOL
Huge respect to those U-2 pilots . . . Literally every facet of flying this bird requires intense training, particularly the landing!
Didn’t they have to use a different paint on the 52’s here awhile back. Because of radar reflections.?
the secret is... the U2 doesn't actually do anything, but it looks so badass that it scares the enemy into thinking its doing something really terrifying.
It's excellent at flying around Chinese' Spy Balloons :) Those pilots will have some stories to tell :)
they can take pictures of your wife sunbathing naked on your roof terrace.. that's really terrifying 🤣
Let them think that
@@fiaadmin92 Terriying for those who have to look at the pictures!
@@fiaadmin92 Those are probably photos no one would want to see anyways.
It's fitting that the U2 is still patrolling the skies in a new era of Russo-Western hostilities. I hope it brings back good intel for our friends in Ukraine.
Nato/Biden are so corrupt. The West has gone woke. Florida stands with Russia.
Very cool clip.
From Bf 110s, to Kittyhawks all the way to the U2, the Shark Mouth still reigns.
Don't forget about all the WWI planes, with shark mouth motifs.
Looking more and more like the RPV reconnaissance platforms.
Awesome!
Just saying that is one crazy beautiful piece of military equipment
used to see these take off from Moffet air base in south bay area CA, it would go almost straight up until you could not see it
I wonder how much the dorsal dome and wing pods affect the stall speed of a very sensitive flight envelope?
Why don't you calculate it if you are trying to sound smart on you tube ?
*#This** aircraft is amazing👍🤝🙏*
That's some serious avionics on board
Impressionante!!!!
Love to watch the U2 shoot approaches at KCIC.
too kewl….thx!
To me it looks like the nose art on Professor Fates torpedo in The Great Race.
Spirit of the Flying Tigers lives on
*#Awesome**🇺🇲👍🤝🙏*
Love this aircraft
its insane to think how secret this once was, and here it is in HD for all to see
The Dragon Lady 😎
What's the 2 yellow objects that WERE attatched to the aircraft (on the under-carriage ) but dropped-off on take-off ??
They’re stabiliser wheels. The U2 only has a single main wheel and a trailing wheel as undercarriage to save space and weight - when it comes to a stop it tips onto one wing like if you stop riding a bicycle.
That’s designed to happen, but it obviously can’t taxi like that. Upon landing, a crew in a chase car will literally pick up the wing (it’s that light), and fit the stabilisers so it can taxi off the runway. When it takes off, they simply drop off as the wings gather lift.
Pogos. The U2 has a bicycle landing gear configuration with two main landing gear wheels and two tailwheels.
Reminds me of my days at Beale.
Some bored Crabfat with a sense of humor, a flair for art & a stick of chalk! 10/10.
Самолёт - легенда! 🔥🔥🔥
Remember watching these take off at Albrook A.F.B. Panama Canal Zone back in the 1960"s Man do they climb.
Bravo.perfect
When I see this mad plane, I always think for some reasons of the classic "Vulture Squadron" cartoon.
Impressive take-off. Does this thing refuel in flight and take off with empty tanks ?
Yes, light fuel load on take-off and nearly empty to land, a spectacular performing aircraft but very limited flight parameters... a very difficult job to fly.
@@WilhelmKarsten
Absolutely incorrect. The U2 does not have the capability to refuel in-flight. It takes off heavy and still climbs like this.
The ‘Jimmy Durante’ version
Must be running a mission over Ukraine. Wow...that cockpit looks tight and the step angle of attack on take off! Thanks for the brilliant content!
It’s a steep angle of climb. Not a steep angle of attack.
Unlikely... It wouldn't be filmed this easily if it were. Plus after Gary Powers if missions like this were needed, the US would likely use Global Hawk
@@Thinkflite they already are. U2 is a different tool with different capabilities
Not necessarily Ukraine there is plenty of other NATO airspace to loiter and see what’s developing given the current levels of Russian and Belorussian activity.
Global Hawk is being phased out. It has no where near the payload capacity of the U-2 which continues on.
Awsome
WOW!!!
This aircarft has a wheel as those on stroller for kid very small, have you notice
👌😍..many thanks for sharing your video !..I always enjoy watching this aircraft!..is this the one they call "Dragon Lady"?.....just out of curiosity. Love watching your videos, keep em coming mate!👌cheers 🍺📸😎
Yes, it is
@Baseloiter 👌😎..thanks for that mate. 👍....looking forward to seeing more of your videos soon!😎👍📸
The F104 Starfighter with huge wings stuck on..genius
The U2 has the Edge over everything
AWACS u2?
Wow.!
Are they still in action ..?
The most striking feature of this U-2S is what looks like a radome on its back, but probably isn't. One assumes its presence at RAF Fairford is connected to the Russia-Ukraine War. U-2s usually go where the trouble is.
Satellite datalinks
NIce to see at the end the boys ran out, "Hey dave stop, dave , dave , geez man you nearly forgot your packed lunch". "off you go now"
The pilot is in a space suit!
Lol, the nose looks like a cannon round from Mario.
I just watched the Super Mario Brothers movie a few days ago and you're right.
Like sailplane model...
is that thing still in service?
I like my aircraft kinda lumpy😊
Yes, it's incredible to see that airplane in action, but --
THAT GROUND CREW MEMBER RAN RIGHT NEXT TO THE INTAKE!!!!!
Looks like a new sensor package in the nose, providing the opportunity for some "nose art"....
Not uncommon for the ground crew to use chalk to put a personal touch on the “Dragon Lady” and also “Habu”.
Интересный агрегат.
It would look funny in full PSA livery.
Thats a weird ass airplane, but its kinda cool.
big power
"In God we trust, all others we monitor."
if the outboard wheels drop off on take off, how does she land without damaging the wings???????
I would love to get that high.😁
human race has landed on the Moon but we still have to defend our civilization against some nasty hordes from the east.
NASA has the best graphic artist
Really
@@secessionnow4133😅😅😅 no
Daaammmnn, with that nose, it probably has worse frontal visibility than a Ford F350!!!
when they land how do they keep them not banking onto a wing?
They have a tungsten carbide wing-skid under the tip. It will touch the ground when they come to a stop. The pogo crew replaces the pogos. for taxi.
Pilot input.
Just out for a glide around the planet.
Much better than some cheesy balloon…
What's that thing on the back of the airplane?
Satellite data link
Those ting wing wheels kill me. Every place this pkane goes has to have a set?
That is one mean looking machine.
I think the chap who brought that in to being must of sat on a valley cliff observing albatrosses gliding on the thermals.the spitfire was created in a similar fashion only the birds weren't albatrosses not in the uk 🤭the wings were maybe a bird of pray. curved at the tips for agility.
Looks like the bullets from Super Mario Bros.