Y'all U2 drivers have to wear space helmets?

[falcon20driver]

http://www.jetcrew.com/gallery/pics/fpic5-03.jpg

 

[Stepclimb]

Helmets

I guess those helmets and suits come in handy if they want to avoid the minor inconvience of having their bodily fluids boil during a cockpit decompression at FL650.....

 

[jknight8907]

Yeah...they wear space helmets because they're just about in space.

 

[SWA_Proud]

This is another way to save fuel......FL650.

 

[KC-10 Driver]

They need to put that pic on the wall down there in Grand Prairie, if it's not there already.

 

[skykid]

No mexican food before flight. I flew with a guy who used to fly U2s, and he did a stinky in his suit. Then he got to sit in it for several hours, and got a diarreaha rash.

 

[falcon20driver]

They need to put that pic on the wall down there in Grand Prairie, if it's not there already.

Yeah, I was checking out HPA's site last night, they just updated it and have a bunch of new pics on the site, that's where that pic is at, I'm sure it's hangin on the wall already in Dallas.

Can't be to many U2 pilots out there, thought Al might pop in and see his pic, wonder if he ever mistakenly reads back 650 to ATC when he's in an SWA cockpit, be good for a laugh.

 

[Herculeus]

That would be so cool to fly.Any chance of a reserve squadron?

 

[Floyd R. Turbo]

That would be so cool to fly.Any chance of a reserve squadron?

When I got out in '98, that idea had been kicked around, but discarded. Keeping someone current just to send them on one TDY a year just wasn't worth it. Someone more current than me might know if anything has changed, but I would be surprised if it has. Huggy?

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

No mexican food before flight. I flew with a guy who used to fly U2s, and he did a stinky in his suit. Then he got to sit in it for several hours, and got a diarreaha rash.

Reminds me of a 10-hour tactical flight out of Cubi Pt after a week of liberty....what a mess.

 

[Falconjet]

Wow: It looks like we're fuzzing out body parts on a picture of a fake coin?

Things have really gotten too PC around here.

FJ

 

[Herculeus]

What do you guys do inflight for 10 hrs?

 

[falcon20driver]

Wow: It looks like we're fuzzing out body parts on a picture of a fake coin?

Things have really gotten too PC around here.

FJ

Two different shots, here's what it should look like below, but I can't get it down to the 150x150 size limit for the avatar.

http://public.fotki.com/asdfafds/sdfg/image010.htmlhttp://images7.fotki.com/v133/free/26db2/6/615556/2180542/image010-vi.gif?432273

 

[Falconjet]

I noticed it earlier and it looked a lot better! She had it up for a while. Now its stuck down. Hmmmmmm.

I think something else happened.

FJ

 

[F16TJ]

They need to put that pic on the wall down there in Grand Prairie, if it's not there already.

It's there!

 

[EagleRJ]

That would be so cool to fly.Any chance of a reserve squadron?

NASA might still fly a few for research. They also operate one or two B-57s for high-altitude research. Pressure suits are worn for that too.

 

[Skeet Shooter]

answers from a driver

As a current deuce pilot, a can tell you that there are no serious plans for a reserve squadron. Sorry. It's been kicked around, but doesn't seem to ever gain traction. We have a small number of reservists, but they are past U-2 drivers and serve in a non-operating capacity.

BTW, the "strato-sh!tters" club has a very short and distingushed membership - a club one does not want to belong to, to be sure...

When above FL600 for > 9-10 hours, you have to use caution with your pre-flight meals. i.e. no kimchi, taco bell, gumbo, or whatever else gives you rumblies in your tummy. The cockpit is pressurized at @ 29,000 feet - so your body feels like you're sitting atop Mt. Everest for several hours. Expanding gasses? You bet!
And yes, HPA has multiple pics of U-2 pilots in space helmets, et. al. There is a great one with the $7200 cap (which doesn't quite fit around the $50,000 helmet).

 

[FL000]

I saw a U2 pilot at the grocery store. I guess he was on his way home from work, 'cuz he was wearing his full flight suit, helmet and all.

Would that go in the dorky pilot series (if it really happened)?

 

[walden]

That guy (Al) was in my HPA class back in Jan 04. Good fella and great picture! Congratulations on your new job Al!

 

[Captain Overs]

Yeah...they wear space helmets because they're just about in space.

Not even close. "Space" doesn't begin until around 330,000 feet. That's a long way from 65,000.