///AMG
Well-Known Member
True....that can't be a very big community
Anyone have U2 time? :)
- Thread starter derg
- Start date
True....that can't be a very big community
cmsuav8r
Well-Known Member
One of buddies was the crew chief on the Tomcat that is at the aviation museum at Dulles.
ChasenSFO
hen teaser
I would think most pilots who were assigned to the U2 easily flew 1,000 hours in it given the mission lengths. But the fact that once they have applicants that meet that requirement, they want them to be typed in the DC8, 747, Gulfstream...or all 3. Wow, what does that narrow it down to? 3 people who may or may not be living?
HVYMETALDRVR
Well-Known Member
This is a civilian government job? I thought NASA just recruits directly from the other branches of the military?
Orange Anchor
New Member
One of the FSI guys at KSAT was a U-2 driver and he said as soon as he got it off the ground he was thinking about how he was going to get it BACK on the ground. And one of the guys with the Global Hawk program at Farnborough spoke about how tough some missions could be.. 10-12 hrs having crapped your pants and facing some tough gusting crosswinds. He said although he enjoyed his tour, it was not as 'glamorous' as most people thought.
Long time ago, my first encounter with the machine was when there was one flying out of Bien Hoa, east of Saigon. And then again at U-Tapao in Thailand. I got to know the guys flying them and the Lockheed tech-rep. We went out and climbed in the cockpit before the pilot showed up for the sortie. I remarked how spacious the cockpit seemed. My incorrect impression became evident when the pilot waddled out in his pressure suit with helmet and gloves. Spacious wearing the suit it was NOT.
Good photo of their ER-2 with flaps and boards out. It is considered a tailwheel airplane according to the guys I talked with.
Long time ago, my first encounter with the machine was when there was one flying out of Bien Hoa, east of Saigon. And then again at U-Tapao in Thailand. I got to know the guys flying them and the Lockheed tech-rep. We went out and climbed in the cockpit before the pilot showed up for the sortie. I remarked how spacious the cockpit seemed. My incorrect impression became evident when the pilot waddled out in his pressure suit with helmet and gloves. Spacious wearing the suit it was NOT.
Good photo of their ER-2 with flaps and boards out. It is considered a tailwheel airplane according to the guys I talked with.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
While they do hire a large majority of ex-mil types, they do in fact have some research pilots (as well as others) that have no previous military background. The chief pilot during the F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire program was a civilian only. No idea how he found himself in such an awesome gig, but it can happen.
HVYMETALDRVR
Well-Known Member
thx... yeah that would be pretty sweet
scooter2525
Very well Member
Psh. 100K for 1k flight time in the U2? all those PFJ that are undercutting this industry! Outta control...
Haha......mil comp taildragger signoff.
I've always wondered about the space suit. It appears that it takes some assistance to get into and out of. If the U-2 guy went down over enemy territory, how the heck would he E&E with that gold/bronze colored space suit? Would seem like a pain in the ass, unless there's some quick-doffing mechanism on it.
Orange Anchor
New Member
Haha......mil comp taildragger signoff.
I've always wondered about the space suit. It appears that it takes some assistance to get into and out of. If the U-2 guy went down over enemy territory, how the heck would he E&E with that gold/bronze colored space suit? Would seem like a pain in the ass, unless there's some quick-doffing mechanism on it.
Not in bad-guy land but near.
...so there they were in the jungle, in their spacesuits and trying to find a ride to Korat.
Haha......mil comp taildragger signoff.
I've always wondered about the space suit. It appears that it takes some assistance to get into and out of. If the U-2 guy went down over enemy territory, how the heck would he E&E with that gold/bronze colored space suit? Would seem like a pain in the ass, unless there's some quick-doffing mechanism on it.
1960 incident...
Because of the U-2's extreme operating altitude, Soviet attempts to intercept the plane using fighter aircraft failed. The U-2's course was out of range of several of the nearest SAM sites, and one SAM site even failed to engage the aircraft since it was not on duty that day. The U-2 was eventually brought down near Degtyarsk, Ural Region, by the first of three SA-2 Guideline (S-75 Dvina) surface-to-air missiles fired by a battery commanded by Mikhail Voronov. The plane's pilot, Francis Gary Powers, successfully bailed out and parachuted to safety. Powers carried with him a modified silver dollar which contained a lethal, shellfish-derived saxitoxin-tipped needle, but did not use it. In bailing out, he neglected to disconnect his oxygen hose and struggled with it until it broke, enabling him to separate from the aircraft. He was captured soon after parachuting down onto Russian soil.
The SAM command center was unaware that the plane was destroyed for more than 30 minutes. One of the Soviet MiG-19 fighters pursuing Powers, piloted by Sergei Safronov, was also destroyed in the missile salvo. The MiGs' IFF transponders were not yet switched to the new May codes because of the May 1st holiday.
A close study of Powers' account of the flight shows that one of the last targets he had overflown was the Chelyabinsk-65 plutonium production facility.[8] From photographs of the facility, the heat rejection capacity of the reactors' cooling systems could have been estimated, thus allowing a calculation of the power output of the reactors.
Familiar with that incident. What Im talking about is actually E&Eing post-landing, not getting captured right after landing in enemy hands practically.
Orange Anchor
New Member
Keep the gold faceplace down. Walk even more stiffly than normal in the suit and say,"Earthlings.. we come in peace. Take me to your...ummm.. take me to ... America!"
AviatorDave
Well-Known Member
Let me just make a quick little adjustment in my logbook here... There we go, 1000 hours U2 time. Now where do I sign up?
hook_dupin
Well-Known Member
Its a Federal Job. They can't "just recruit from the military" even though that's what really ends up happening. Federal job postings can go either internal (to current Federal employees only) or external (out to the world). Since there likely isn't a U-2 pilot currently on the Fed's payroll who isn't already flying the ER-2, it makes sense that this one go out. By law, all external hirings must be published to the general public.
Important Federal job hunting tip: in most cases, you are allowed to take internal transfers after only 90 days as a Government employee. If you want a certain job, it may be wise to take any appropriate job then wait untill the one you want comes open.
