Thanks to @murrayscaifephoto who asked Extreme Ross
“Do you have to modulate your climbs/descents in some form due to the extreme altitudes you get to (like a deep sea diver) ?? Thanks”
Good question. There will be a whole separate story that will go into everything the U-2 pilot has to do to prepare for a mission, but because we would pre-breathe 100% for an hour prior to takeoff, there was no need to slow our ascent. Unless there were ATC or mission constraints, we were full power from takeoff until we started our descent at the end of the mission. The fear that a deep sea diver has is that their blood is highly saturated with nitrogen and, if they’re not careful, a quick ascent will let loose all that excess nitrogen, causing the bends. U-2 pilots have gotten the bends at a low rate (me included) but due to the pre-breathe and some cockpit re-engineering, that is almost a thing of the past.
Many people who watched a U-2 land would say, “oh, it’s like a big glider, and oh it’s so quiet”. Those people had never watched one takeoff obviously. So watching the video with sound will give you an idea of the raw power of the engine and lifting capabilities of the wing. Having an initial climb rate of over 10,000 feet per minute was common with training jets. Again, follow and share this to keep Extreme Ross rolling. 3000 new followers last week. Thank you to everyone.
The video below is a 360 VR training video I made for the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron with commentary. Watch on Youtube and move the camera around.