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RE: Ten minute U-2 ride....

brad kaste

brad kaste

Charter Member
RE: Ten minute U-2 ride....

This one runs about ten minutes.... http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/

Ride a spy plane. See the world at 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 and finally at 70,000 feet. From 70,000 feet you look down 35,000 feet at a jetliner passing below at its normal cruising altitude of 35,000 ft. Turn up your sound and expand your picture. Only the International Space Station is higher.
your seat belt for a fantastic ride.

This video is a once in a lifetime experience of a British civilian getting a flight at over 70,000 ft. in a U-2 spy plane. Please note at the
take-off the assist wheels on the outer edges of the wings which drop off upon take-off. The wings are so long that they need temporary support until lift-off. What is not shown is at the landing the plane actually slows to a small enough speed that two guys are actually able to grab the wing tips and put those assist wheels back on.

The civilian getting the ride is the host of the car show Top Gear on BBC shown through Europe at 9:00 pm Sunday night in Belgium . The views are spectacular as the U-2 flies at altitudes which constitute "SPACE."

Use your full screen and sound as this is a high-quality film clip, 10 minutes.
 
James May has to be my favorite person in the world. His programs are always entertaining, and always informative! :applause:
 
Amazing! What was the term.... Gob-smacked? That would be the ride of all rides for me. Sign me up! :d
 
Captain Slow is my favorite of those guys.
I still watch the segment where James drove the Veyron over 250mph in Germany from time to time.
I'm glad he got to experience that as well. :applause:

Beautiful find, thanks for sharing that tonight.
 
Fly Past magazine (UK publication), has a special on the U2 this month (on the last 4-5 pages). It's a very good read...

-feng
 
When they showed the views through the windows at 70,000 feet, I was wondering how an atmospheric engine could still work that high, even by compressing air...
 
Deckard said:
When they showed the views through the windows at 70,000 feet, I was wondering how an atmospheric engine could still work that high, even by compressing air...
Click to expand...

I the U2 uses the "dual spool" concept for it's engine. Check here.... http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Evolution_of_Technology/jet_engines/Tech24.htm They don't say much about it so it much still be highly classified. Even tho the U2 is basically retired. ;)

The X-15 used a true a rocket engine and had to be dropped at a specific altitude.
 
And if I remember correctly, the difference between Cruise speed and Stall speed is only about 10kts at that altitude... :eek:
 
GT182 said:
I the U2 uses the "dual spool" concept for it's engine. Check here.... http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Evolution_of_Technology/jet_engines/Tech24.htm They don't say much about it so it much still be highly classified. Even tho the U2 is basically retired. ;)

The X-15 used a true a rocket engine and had to be dropped at a specific altitude.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link :)

Since then, I saw that the world altitude record for an air-breathing engine propelled aircraft was:

- in horizontal flight: 85,069 ft (25,929 meters) by a SR-71A on the 28th July 1976. Although this is not quite clear, because on the site of the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale), this record is in the same class as the E-266M record below ( http://records.fai.org/general_aviation/history.asp?id1=441&id2=1&id3=6#data );
- at top of climb, i.e. absolute altitude record: 123,524 ft (37,650 meters) (!!! :isadizzy:), by an E-266M (special variant of the MiG-25) on the 31st August 1977.
 
Deckard said:
Thanks for the link :)

Since then, I saw that the world altitude record for an air-breathing engine propelled aircraft was:

- in horizontal flight: 85,069 ft (25,929 meters) by a SR-71A on the 28th July 1976. Although this is not quite clear, because on the site of the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale), this record is in the same class as the E-266M record below ( http://records.fai.org/general_aviation/history.asp?id1=441&id2=1&id3=6#data );
- at top of climb, i.e. absolute altitude record: 123,524 ft (37,650 meters) (!!! :isadizzy:), by an E-266M (special variant of the MiG-25) on the 31st August 1977.
Click to expand...

I think you are looking at sustained flight versus zoom climb. We could get the F-4 to zoom over 50,000 feet. However, it couldn't sustain flight at that altitude.
 
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