Today I’m answering one of the most common airshow questions a U-2 pilot ever gets. Several of you, including @vasiliybaraniuk asked: “Why are U2s still in use if we have satellites? Note: the following is entirely my opinion/viewpoint/soapbox/rant. The easy answers are something about multi-layered approaches to intelligence, from satellites to […]
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For #askextremeross today, I’m answering @lo_muller who asked “Do you have solar radiation issues at that altitude?” While rarely affecting missions, space radiation, and particularly solar radiation, are something that we have to pay attention to. At the altitudes we’re at, 90% of the atmospheric mass is below us. It’s still a […]
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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 […]
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For today’s #askextremeross, I’m taking the question from @impaktech : What is the science between the skinny long wings and the ability to fly at high altitude. This picture shows a pretty good silhouette of the wing taken from the back seat of a 2-seater above 60,000 feet (sun is directly […]
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For a little Friday fun, here’s my contribution to #flatearthfriday. Thanks to my cousin @benmorganinwv, @mattmarriottphoto and @combat_learjet for the idea. For #askextremeross Ben asked me how hard it is to Photoshop in the curve of the earth (don’t worry, Ben’s been trolling for fun since before most of the […]
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im_johnnyp asked “Whats the “hump” above in the middle for and why do some U-2s have it and others don’t?” I’ve had a lot of people ask this before. I assume you’re talking about the hump in the picture. This is part of a data link relay system. Part of […]
Read Morereece_wallace asked “Do you get any weather up there, or smooth sailing? Great question! While it is extremely rare to have any kind of actual weather (a thunderstorm in the tropics can climb into the 60’s and 70’s) what we do have on occasion is high altitude turbulence. Small changes […]
Read Morekrobbler and dangerdane asked “Have you exceeded 70,000 feet and how does it handle at those altitudes?” and “What’s the highest altitude you’ve been to?” I’m going to start answering some of the questions posed in #askextremeross. There were quite a few so be patient as I answer each one. […]
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