I turned eastward, looking down on the
spider’s web of airliner contrails nine
miles below as I headed for Oroville Dam, my
descent point back to Beale
The next day was much the same along
with a simulated flame-out and no-flap
patterns. ‘MG’ told me that they were very
pleased with my progression and that the
following night flight with ‘HoHo’ would be
my last in ‘the Goat’ until I became an IP in
the future. They were recommending that
I go directly to the U-2R to solo instead of
the U-2C, a surprise that brought with it
some trepidation.
The night flight with ‘HoHo’ was an
absolute joy. If anything, he was even
more mellow than ‘MG’ and suggested
that we bet beers on landings as we
alternated through the evening. As
would be expected, ‘HoHo’ cleaned up
on the wager but I wasn’t ashamed of my
efforts. During debrief he commented
that if I could fly the ‘Dragon’ as well
as I had that evening, I would have to
problem ‘dancing with the Lady’.First dance
Soloing in a new type is always stimulating
to any pilot but is usually met with some
confidence due to the instruction receivedwhile training in that aircraft. This was not
the case when transitioning into an aircraft
40 per cent larger and nearly twice the
weight of the U-2CT. I was to be entrusted
with a priceless asset in the ‘Dragon Lady’
and expected to accompany her into
the element in which she thrived, while
returning her safely to earth — in just
three days’ time.
New players were required to prepare
me for our rendezvous, starting with a
new IP — ‘Mac’ — who would shepherd
me through six mission qualification (MQ)
flights and a check ride before building
the 100 hours of experience required to fly
operational missions. Also required for my
solo were two standardization evaluation
IPs, ‘Swanee’ and ‘T’. They were the most
experienced U-2 pilots in the USAF and
would assess my worthiness before I
could dare step into the U-2R cockpit. I
would have to brief every mission I flew to
the squadron operations officer, reciting
flawlessly various in-flight emergencies
covering 52 memorized items while
answering his situational queries notcovered in the flight manual that required
quick action and sound judgment.
The U-2R can be described as majestic.
With a 105ft wingspan and black paint
it struck an imposing image. The cockpit
felt like a living room compared to the
C-model, but was just large enough to
accommodate the S-1030 full-pressure
suit. The analog flight instruments had
been updated with a digital clock and
triple display indicator, processed through
the on-board air data computer for
extremely accurate speed information.
Like her little sister, she had stowable
rudder pedals so that the pilot could
stretch out, with an electrically adjusted
ejection seat and even a small cylindrical
oven to heat tube-food on long flights.
After as much cockpit time as I could fit
in, including trips to the hangar after the
training day was through, flight manual
study and hours with ‘Mac’ in preparation,
the big day arrived. Having completed my
exterior inspection, PSD met me at the
bottom step of a rolling structure known
as the ‘howdah’ (pronounced how-dow)
that led up to the right-hand side of the
cockpit. There, they helped me into the
air-conditioned outer garment that fitted
over my flight suit and fitted the ‘spurs’
to my boots, which would be connected
to ball-and-cable retractors underneath
the zero-zero ejection seat that would
hopefully save my legs from beingA fabulous view
from inside the
mobile as a U-2
instructor at
Beale watches
a colleague
negotiate the final
seconds of flight.
Ashley Wallace
Left page,
top left to right:
A physiological
support division
(PSD) technician
accompanies the
pilot to the aircraft
carrying the
‘ventilator’, which
provides 100 per
cent oxygen and
air conditioning to
the pressure suit.
Rick Bishop
A U-2S on a high
flight from Beale
AFB, with airliner
contrails below.
USAF/SSgt Robert
M. Trujillo
Right: A fabulous
image of a U-2S
on a high flight
over the Sierra
Nevada. The shot
was taken from
an accompanying
TU-2S trainer —
note the ice build-
up on the canopy.
USAF/SSgt Robert
M. Trujillo94 September 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
‘SKUNK WORKS’ AT 75 // U-2 ‘DRAGON LADY’
90-97 U2 part2 C.indd 94 20/07/2018 11:39