Top Gear - U2 Spy Plane
May 1, 2017 11:56:57 #
I remember the U-2 incident and Francis Gary Powers, the pilot who ejected after being hit with a missile. After Powers bailed out, the U-2 glided to earth thus enhancing the Soviet's propaganda efforts. Frank Powers was a friend and I spent many hours with him after he was repatriated. My boss Colonel P. Economy was Powers logistical support officer in Peshawar when he launched his mission. The CIA did much to discredit Powers after he was shot down. Powers wrote a book "Operation Oversight", circa 1960-70, out of print now. A great read. Powers was a true American hero. He died flying a helicopter for a radio station in LA - alleged the helicopter "ran out of gas".
The U-2 mission was entirely different than the SR-71 both then and now (U-2 is now called the "TR-__" aircraft. SR-71 was retired circa 1999.
The U-2 mission was entirely different than the SR-71 both then and now (U-2 is now called the "TR-__" aircraft. SR-71 was retired circa 1999.
May 1, 2017 23:31:23 #
rehess wrote:
Amazing that the U-2, like the B-52, has been in service for over 50 years - a real tribute to those who designed those two aircrafts.
May 1, 2017 23:31:53 #
richosob wrote:
I'm not a big fan of flying but that would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and is worth the risk in my book.
Rich
Rich
May 1, 2017 23:32:16 #
May 1, 2017 23:32:51 #
May 1, 2017 23:38:22 #
toma1940 wrote:
I remember the U-2 incident and Francis Gary Power... (show quote)
Thanks for that interesting bit of history. I always remembered him as Gary Powers and I was living in California when he got killed back in 1977.
May 5, 2017 02:27:21 #
toma1940 wrote:
I remember the U-2 incident and Francis Gary Power... (show quote)
TR = Tactical Reconnaissance, SR = Strategic Reconnaissance, U = Utility
Two of my favorite airplanes, which as an aerospace engineer I have a deep appreciation for. BTW, on its retirement flight from Los Angeles California to Washington DC, the SR-71 broke the transcontinental record and was then put in the Smithsonian Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Museum at Dulles Airport. The flight covered 2,299.67 miles in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 20 seconds, for an average speed of 2,145MPH. A remarkable airplane from the genius of Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works.
May 5, 2017 15:33:44 #
rehess wrote:
Amazing that the U-2, like the B-52, has been in service for over 50 years - a real tribute to those who designed those two aircrafts.
The U2 and the SR71 were designed by the Lockheed Skunkworks the B-52 was a Boeing aircraft. The bBlackbird was designed in 1964 and still holds many speed records.
May 5, 2017 15:49:37 #
May 5, 2017 16:42:42 #
The camera was a 30-inch optical bar camera by by ITEK. The company went out of business in the in the 1970s when "digital" came along.
May 5, 2017 17:02:05 #
CeeJay wrote:
And today it's the republican party that is infiltrated by the communists.
I didn't know the Republican Party was being infiltrated by Democrats.
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