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U-2 Initial Takeoff

Experience the thrill of taking off in the U-2 Dragonlady

U-2 Precautionary

This is an instructor demonstration of how to fly a practice precautionary in the U-2. You would do a precautionary if you have a known or possible issue with the engine and you don’t know how much longer your engine will stay running (for example, you lose oil pressure). You […]

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Getting an aircraft whose only job is to fly high, back down to the ground takes a little effort. Unlike most any other aircraft with retractable gear, first step in the descent is to lower the landing gear. Even though there is only a main gear and small tail wheel, they provide some drag necessary to get you down. Then you extend the speed brakes that fan out on the aft part of the fuselage. Then the flaps are shifted up to a negative position. This unusual feature takes stress off the tail as you speed up through the thicker air down low. Next the spoilers are locked up and finally the throttle is brought to idle.

In the US, we have to get ATC clearance out of the Class E airspace above 60,000 feet, where we are VFR on top, and in to the Class A airspace that goes from 18,000 to 60,000.

Usually the throttle will stay in idle until you reach the traffic pattern or get leveled off by ATC. This particular descent ends in an Overhead pattern, a pattern used primarily by military aircraft where you arrive overhead the runway high speed and then "pitch out" to turn and land. Before the final turn, we will verify gear down, speed brakes out, and flaps at full (35 degrees). 90 knots in the final turn and then slow to T (threshold)-speed, determined from your weight (around 80 knots). Get it to 2 feet, on centerline, no crab, no drift, then hold it until it stalls and the tail touches first. Simple as that.

Here, this descent from 2011, happens in less than a minute. Enjoy and then head over to @runway25shop to grab your tickets for my upcoming UK talk.

#extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #aviationphotography #u2dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #stratosphere #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @eaa @aviationweek

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Getting an aircraft whose only job is to fly high, back down to the ground takes a little effort. Unlike most any other aircraft with retractable gear, first step in the descent is to lower the landing gear. Even though there is only a main gear and small tail wheel, they provide some drag necessary to get you down. Then you extend the speed brakes that fan out on the aft part of the fuselage. Then the flaps are shifted up to a negative position. This unusual feature takes stress off the tail as you speed up through the thicker air down low. Next the spoilers are locked up and finally the throttle is brought to idle. In the US, we have to get ATC clearance out of the Class E airspace above 60,000 feet, where we are VFR on top, and in to the Class A airspace that goes from 18,000 to 60,000. Usually the throttle will stay in idle until you reach the traffic pattern or get leveled off by ATC. This particular descent ends in an Overhead pattern, a pattern used primarily by military aircraft where you arrive overhead the runway high speed and then "pitch out" to turn and land. Before the final turn, we will verify gear down, speed brakes out, and flaps at full (35 degrees). 90 knots in the final turn and then slow to T (threshold)-speed, determined from your weight (around 80 knots). Get it to 2 feet, on centerline, no crab, no drift, then hold it until it stalls and the tail touches first. Simple as that. Here, this descent from 2011, happens in less than a minute. Enjoy and then head over to @runway25shop to grab your tickets for my upcoming UK talk. #extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #aviationphotography #u2dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #stratosphere #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @eaa @aviationweek

4 days ago

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1/12

🌅🌄⛅

Even though I now spend my time down among the mortals, shuttling self-loading cargo from city to city, that doesn't mean there can't still be times you just sit back and marvel at the magic of flight.

Just a routine flight, on a 737-900ER, going from Philadelphia to Denver, but capped at about 24,000 feet due to strong winds above. This had us leveling off right at the cloud tops, just after sunset.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years. Big things happening this year. Starting with my event at RAF Cosford Museum on April 8th. Check out @runway25shop for information. Can't wait!

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🌅🌄⛅ Even though I now spend my time down among the mortals, shuttling self-loading cargo from city to city, that doesn't mean there can't still be times you just sit back and marvel at the magic of flight. Just a routine flight, on a 737-900ER, going from Philadelphia to Denver, but capped at about 24,000 feet due to strong winds above. This had us leveling off right at the cloud tops, just after sunset. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years. Big things happening this year. Starting with my event at RAF Cosford Museum on April 8th. Check out @runway25shop for information. Can't wait!

1 week ago

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2/12

Putting the jet to bed after another successful day on the job.

Notice the ice on the underside of the wings. That pretty much shows exactly where the outboard fuel tank is. The inboard fuel tank holds most of the gas and is the first to empty before any of the outboard gas is used. This is controlled through gravity and float valves. This is how a standard mission will land, with inboards empty and outboards mostly full. It was designed to hold the last of the gas in the outboard section to improve the rigidity of the wings. That outboard gas is inside that thin part of the wing for hours exposed to -60 degree air (kind of like a lot of the country this past week). The fuel has extra anti-icing properties and still won't freeze. Any condensation that forms on that part of the wing will instantly freeze.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

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Putting the jet to bed after another successful day on the job. Notice the ice on the underside of the wings. That pretty much shows exactly where the outboard fuel tank is. The inboard fuel tank holds most of the gas and is the first to empty before any of the outboard gas is used. This is controlled through gravity and float valves. This is how a standard mission will land, with inboards empty and outboards mostly full. It was designed to hold the last of the gas in the outboard section to improve the rigidity of the wings. That outboard gas is inside that thin part of the wing for hours exposed to -60 degree air (kind of like a lot of the country this past week). The fuel has extra anti-icing properties and still won't freeze. Any condensation that forms on that part of the wing will instantly freeze. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

3 weeks ago

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3/12

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🌍❔❔ #WhereIsExtreme Guess the location and the aircraft (may have to guess from my history-I use to go here a lot in a past job) #extremeross #extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver #lockheed #avgeek #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter #space #spacex @combat_learjet @full_disc_aviation @pilotstuff #pilottraining @acepilotaviation #pilotseye #beautifulearth #beautifulplanet #awesomeearth #earthvisuals

1 month ago

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4/12

🎿 Looks like a great place to throw some skis on. Except...these peaks are pushing above 20,000 feet so you may be a little cold and not be bringing in big breaths of fresh air.

So why would U-2 pilots ever care about how high the mountains are underneath them? Well in the unlikely event that you suddenly need to eject (such as turbulence rips a wing off), you're going to find yourself falling through the air for several minutes. You are riding the seat until a little altimeter in the seat detects 15,000 feet and initiates a series of automations that kick you out of the seat and opens your parachute. This is a problem if said seat meets a 20,000 foot mountain.

Fortunately the brave pilot, who by this time is hyperventilating and long since soiled him/herself, has a little lever called the scramble handle. This allows you to disconnect from the seat, and fall out with just your parachute and survival kit. The brave hyperventilating pilot now will be the master of their fate with just a single parachute handle to pull manually at the right time. Oh and they are now disconnected from a battery that keeps their visor free of frost so expect a completely frozen visor.

So how does that pilot determine when to pull the manual parachute deployment handle. Well, the pressure differential between the suit should be zero when they reach 35,000 feet since that's the altitude the suit is designed to hold. Pull higher than that and you may be falling so fast due to the low air density that you shred the chute or break your pelvis with an incredible opening shock. Pull lower than that and...well...mountain might come up to meet your unlucky bum. Doing this at night? Yeah just say some hyperventilated prayers.

Glad such a situation never happened to me. But it was always on our mind, even if we were marveling at the view.

#extremerossphotography #aviationphotography #usairforce @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @pilotstuff @united @usairforce @eaa @aopa @drbuzzaldrin

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🎿 Looks like a great place to throw some skis on. Except...these peaks are pushing above 20,000 feet so you may be a little cold and not be bringing in big breaths of fresh air. So why would U-2 pilots ever care about how high the mountains are underneath them? Well in the unlikely event that you suddenly need to eject (such as turbulence rips a wing off), you're going to find yourself falling through the air for several minutes. You are riding the seat until a little altimeter in the seat detects 15,000 feet and initiates a series of automations that kick you out of the seat and opens your parachute. This is a problem if said seat meets a 20,000 foot mountain. Fortunately the brave pilot, who by this time is hyperventilating and long since soiled him/herself, has a little lever called the scramble handle. This allows you to disconnect from the seat, and fall out with just your parachute and survival kit. The brave hyperventilating pilot now will be the master of their fate with just a single parachute handle to pull manually at the right time. Oh and they are now disconnected from a battery that keeps their visor free of frost so expect a completely frozen visor. So how does that pilot determine when to pull the manual parachute deployment handle. Well, the pressure differential between the suit should be zero when they reach 35,000 feet since that's the altitude the suit is designed to hold. Pull higher than that and you may be falling so fast due to the low air density that you shred the chute or break your pelvis with an incredible opening shock. Pull lower than that and...well...mountain might come up to meet your unlucky bum. Doing this at night? Yeah just say some hyperventilated prayers. Glad such a situation never happened to me. But it was always on our mind, even if we were marveling at the view. #extremerossphotography #aviationphotography #usairforce @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @pilotstuff @united @usairforce @eaa @aopa @drbuzzaldrin

2 months ago

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5/12

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❔❔🌎 #WhereIsExtreme From a number of years back. Name the location and aircraft/variant #extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #aviationphotography #u2dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #stratosphere #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @pilotstuff pilot_pete @united @usairforce #space #spacex #blastoff @jessicaambats @mach5aviation @flyingmagazine @eaa @aopa

2 months ago

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6/12

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❔❔🌎 #WhereIsExtreme I haven't posted one of these in a while. Full credit, besides where, also name the significance of the waterfall. #extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #aviationphotography #u2dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #stratosphere #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @pilotstuff pilot_pete @united @usairforce #space #spacex #blastoff @jessicaambats @mach5aviation @flyingmagazine @eaa @aopa

2 months ago

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7/12

🚀✈️Intro to the 65th+2 Anniversary of the U-2 Dragon Lady

Recently over 450 men and women showed up in northern California for the 65th+2 anniversary of the U-2 (normally it's every 5 years and the 65th anniversary was in 2020 so, yeah, that didn't happen). I had the honor of doing the media for the events. This is a snippet of the intro video I did for the opening of the formal banquet. Gary Sinise is narrating at the end from a special he made about his flight in the U-2.

Head over to ExtremeRoss.com and go to the U-2 Video page (dropdown under Galleries) to check out the full video.

#extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #aviationphotography #u2dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #stratosphere #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @pilotstuff pilot_pete @united @usairforce #space #spacex #blastoff @jessicaambats @mach5aviation @flyingmagazine @eaa @aopa

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🚀✈️Intro to the 65th+2 Anniversary of the U-2 Dragon Lady Recently over 450 men and women showed up in northern California for the 65th+2 anniversary of the U-2 (normally it's every 5 years and the 65th anniversary was in 2020 so, yeah, that didn't happen). I had the honor of doing the media for the events. This is a snippet of the intro video I did for the opening of the formal banquet. Gary Sinise is narrating at the end from a special he made about his flight in the U-2. Head over to ExtremeRoss.com and go to the U-2 Video page (dropdown under Galleries) to check out the full video. #extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #aviationphotography #u2dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #stratosphere #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @pilotstuff pilot_pete @united @usairforce #space #spacex #blastoff @jessicaambats @mach5aviation @flyingmagazine @eaa @aopa

3 months ago

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8/12

❔❔🌎

#WhereIsExtreme

A little bit of crosswind pushing the tail out to the right. Time to get on that right rudder. Guess location and aircraft? (Wife can't participate, she took the photo)

#extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #aviationphotography #u2dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #stratosphere #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @pilotstuff @pilot_pete @united @usairforce #space #spacex #blastoff @jessicaambats @mach5aviation @flyingmagazine @eaa @aopa

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❔❔🌎 #WhereIsExtreme A little bit of crosswind pushing the tail out to the right. Time to get on that right rudder. Guess location and aircraft? (Wife can't participate, she took the photo) #extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #aviationphotography #u2dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #stratosphere #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @pilotstuff @pilot_pete @united @usairforce #space #spacex #blastoff @jessicaambats @mach5aviation @flyingmagazine @eaa @aopa

4 months ago

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9/12

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❔❔🌎 #WhereIsExtreme Here's something different. Guess the location and aircraft. #extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #aviationphotography #u2dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver @airandspacemuseum #extreme #extremeross #lockheed #stratosphere #avgeek #instaviation #planesofinstagram #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #u2spyplane @theaviationist #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter @pilotstuff @pilot_pete @united @usairforce #space #spacex #blastoff @jessicaambats @mach5aviation @flyingmagazine @eaa @aopa

5 months ago

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10/12

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❔❔🌎 #WhereIsExtreme Some more pretty water but in a vastly different location #unitedlife #united #extremeross #extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver #lockheed #avgeek #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter #space #spacex @combat_learjet @full_disc_aviation @pilotstuff #pilottraining @acepilotaviation #pilotseye #beautifulearth #beautifulplanet #awesomeearth #earthvisuals #737

5 months ago

View on Instagram |

11/12

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❔❔🌎 #WhereisExtreme Back with an easy one. At least everyone should be able to get the aircraft. #extremeross #extremerossphotography #thepilotnetwork #dragonlady #usairforce #u2driver #lockheed #avgeek #aviation_lovers #aviationdaily #instaaviationphotography #aviationlovers #niceview #niceviews #planespotter #space #spacex @combat_learjet @full_disc_aviation @pilotstuff #pilottraining @acepilotaviation #pilotseye #beautifulearth #beautifulplanet #awesomeearth #earthvisuals

5 months ago

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12/12

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Landing a U-2 (Normal Conditions)

U-2 Initial Takeoff

U-2 Precautionary

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