Posted on 06/21/2005 9:40:49 PM PDT by kristinn
WASHINGTON, June 21 - A U-2 spy plane crashed Tuesday night in Southwest Asia, the Defense Department announced, specifying an area where American aircraft support missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The crash is the first of a U-2 in that region. Military officials who have been briefed on the crash said early indications were that the plane crashed on landing at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, its home base. The were no indications of hostile fire, they said.
The cause of the crash and status of the pilot are not known, the Pentagon said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I think it's up at Edwards.
Sled driver Brian Shul has a great book out on the SR-71.
SR-71's to my knowledge were "unretired" do to the fact that no plane has been developed to replace them.
I thought thats what the Aurora was for? The USAF made no opposition towards the SR-71's retirement, and congressional attempts to revive the program were discouraged. Never in the history of the USAF had a program been closed without opposition. Aurora is the missing factor to the silent closure of the SR-71 program.
You better tell the air force.
"The U.S. Air Force retired its fleet of SR-71s on January 26, 1990, because of a decreasing defense budget and high costs of operation. The USAF returned the SR-71 to the active Air Force inventory in 1995 and began flying operational missions in January 1997. The aircraft was retired again in 1998." http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b5/b5-68.htm
Recently on a commercial flight, I sat beside an Air Force pilot who flew the F15 in the first Gulf War, and the U2 in the current conflict. Far from some tough, warrior type personality, he was exceptionally professional, thoughtful, careful, deliberate, and thorough. He gave the impression as being someone always in perfect balance, not given to recklessness or passion.
blackbirds are deprecated.
assume something else is being used...
Gotta like a fast woman!
"blackbirds are deprecated.
assume something else is being used..."
I have it on very good authority that the platform is based on 'circus cannon' technology. The relative radar cross section of a guy in a red jumpsuit and white motorcycle helmet is nearly nonexistent.
We retired the SR-71 so I can say on threads like this "BYE, BYE, BLACKBIRD".
exactly.
Thanks for the ping.
“…the plane crashed on landing…”
They have a long narrow wing, like a sailplane (glider). They may have been upgraded, but in 1969, they had only in-line landing gear. On take off, two small wheels/tires were attached to the end of each wing. Upon leaving the ground, these would drop off, to reduce drag.
For landing, they used someone standing in the back of an El Camino, one on each side. They would speed down the active, match speed with the landing aircraft, and catch the ends of the wings.
So, everything has to go right. If any one of five (or more) people makes even a small error, one wingtip will hit the ground, probably causing a groundloop.
They are also said to be tricky to fly, at altitude. Not being (then) supersonic, they had to fly slower than Mach1. The higher one flies, the thinner the air.
This has two contradictory effects: it lowers the actual airspeed of Mach 1; and it raises the stall speed.
At the extreme altitudes the U 2 uses, the speed of sound and the stall speed get very close together. When the two speeds are the same, you either break up due to buffeting, or stall the wing. They call this the “coffin corner.”
DG
Dont forget the US Air FOrce Museum in Dayton Ohio...walk right up and put ur hands on SR-71, F-22 Etc...Been there 7 times and can return year after year...Last special presentation were all the past AF-1's that you could walk thru....seen guys leaving there in tears.....planes are displayed in original flight colors and many Old Timers come apart when they see the old war birds they flew in like new condition.
Dont Miss it....Daytom Hamvention weekend :-)
just glad Bono wasn't hurt :)
Actually, no. The aircraft is still called the U-2 in the Air Force inventory, as all TR-1s were redesignated U-2R's back in 1992. Here is a link to the official Air Force Website that lists it as the U-2.
SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Capt. Jeffrey Wright exits a U-2 Dragon Lady after a flight Feb. 5. The U-2 is a high-altitude, multi-intelligence reconnaissance aircraft that can fly above 70,000 feet. The jet provides near-real-time imagery and signals intelligence to warfighters and national authorities. Captain Wright is a U-2 pilot with the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron and is deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Brandi Branch)
They do, but they would have to kill anyone who viewed it.
There is one on display in Huntsville, AL too.
Will they be ale to get the plane recovered and back in service in time for live8?
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