I remember watching these things come and go out of Osan ROK. They had a hellacious deck-angle when they left the ground.




When I was flying C-5s, one of the guys in my squadron used to fly these. He didn't talk about it much, but I'm sure he had some stories to tell, nonetheless.


In truth, as I recall, these guys were like vampires. Take-off at dusk and back on the ground well before sun-up.




Just for comparison, a U-2A, the type which made Gary Powers famous back in the day. She looks slender and graceful, like a ballerina. In contrast, the current moniker "Dragon Lady" seems to fit just fine.


U-2R and U-2A by Kazunori Ito

Excellent set. Really enjoyed them.


Rich

Well done...very nice...

I've been seeing this bird fly everyday for the past six months and damn are they loud when they take off. I'm actually surprised they were still flying when I got to my deployed location. One of 5 aircraft still in service with their original operator after more than 50 years.

Thanks everybody. It's an interesting bird with a fascinating history. And the politics behind it are at least as interesting as the technical specs. Mix up Lockheed, the White House, the CIA and DoD, and you've got a story rivaling anything out of Hollywierd.    Or maybe a Tom Clancy novel.

@ mfaulisi - I don't know how accurate Kazu's flight model is, but I suspect it's fairly close. On take-off I was seeing climb rates in excess of 6000 fpm at full throttle and 180 kts (VSI was pegged. I didn't time it to see what the actual rate was.), and still had nearly 1000 fpm through FL550. Above FL650 I was getting into the Coffin Corner (MMo converging with VSo). The performance stats I've seen say that the aircraft can take-off after a 500ft roll, climbing at 160 kts and 8,000 fpm. Climb to normal operating altitude of FL750 takes about 30 minutes. At over FL700, fuel flow is around 910 lbs/hr, less than at idle on the ground. In cruise the aircraft typically operates 3 kts below MMo (maximum mach) and 5 kts above VSo (stall speed). Pretty narrow window to hit.

@ USAF_Firefighter - The engine is a non-afterburning version of the F110, found in the late, great F-14D and the F-16C/D, and which is itself a derivative of the F101 powering the Bone. The F101 was also the starting point for the CFM56. The U-2, like the Buffasaurus, is expected to soldier on for many more years, as the airframes have reached only about 1/3 of their expected service life and nothing else, UAV or manned, can handle the size and range of sensor packages that can be fitted to the Dragon Lady.