phil@hpcilzb.HP.COM (Phil Ritchey) (03/24/89)
While we are on a related subject, I have a question about the U2. I have heard from several sources, that the older U2 spy planes used to eject the two wing wheels on take-off. The prefered method to land, was to put these wheels back on, although it could land without them. The way this was done, was for a couple of guys in a jeep to chase the plane down the runway and reattach the wing wheels, while it made a very low altitude, very low speed pass. The story I heard, was the the newer ones, had retractable wing wheels. We have a U2 go very low over our plant almost every day, on it's landing approach to Mofett field. It has two wheels down, one in the nose, and one on the tail, but no visable wing wheels. Anyone know the true story? Phil
gwaterfi@Intrepid.ece.ukans.edu (Glenn A. Waterfield) (03/25/89)
In article <2070004@hpcilzb.HP.COM>, phil@hpcilzb.HP.COM (Phil Ritchey) writes: > While we are on a related subject, I have a question about the U2. > I have heard from several sources, that the older U2 spy planes > used to eject the two wing wheels on take-off. The prefered > method to land, was to put these wheels back on, although > it could land without them. The way this was done, was > for a couple of guys in a jeep to chase the plane down the > runway and reattach the wing wheels, while it made a very low altitude, > very low speed pass. The story I heard, was the the newer ones, > had retractable wing wheels. We have a U2 go very low over our > plant almost every day, on it's landing approach to Mofett field. > It has two wheels down, one in the nose, and one on the tail, but > no visable wing wheels. Anyone know the true story? > > Phil You heard it it right about the wing wheels being dropped and the guys in the chase vehicle. I've seen it several times in '75. You could say the U2 was flying *very* low, it is on the ground, rolling slowly. The guys jump out of the chase vehicle, run along side the U2, grab the wings and insert the wing wheels. All the time the pilot tries to keep the wing tips from dragging the ground. Kind of funny to watch, but it works. I'm not sure there would be enough room in the wings for retractable landing gear. -------- Glenn A. Waterfield Internet: gwaterfi@intrepid.ece.ukans.edu Electrical & Computer Eng. University of Kansas Voice: (913) 864-3177 Lawrence, Kansas 66045
steve@eos.UUCP (Steve Philipson) (03/25/89)
In article <2070004@hpcilzb.HP.COM> phil@hpcilzb.HP.COM (Phil Ritchey) writes: >I have heard from several sources, that the older U2 spy planes >used to eject the two wing wheels on take-off. The prefered >method to land, was to put these wheels back on, although >it could land without them. The way this was done, was >for a couple of guys in a jeep to chase the plane down the >runway and reattach the wing wheels, while it made a very low altitude, >very low speed pass. The story I heard, was the the newer ones, >had retractable wing wheels. We have a U2 go very low over our >plant almost every day, on it's landing approach to Mofett field. >It has two wheels down, one in the nose, and one on the tail, but >no visable wing wheels. Anyone know the true story? Both the U2 and TR-1 (updated, larger version, known as ER-2 in civilian duty) feature two inline main gear (one just ahead of the wing spar, and one a few feet ahead of the tail) and two out-rigger wheels on struts. The outriggers are colloquially referred to as "pogos". They are not ejected per se, but rather are simply released. To my knowledge, there are no aircraft in this series with retractable outriggers. The normal procedure here at Ames is to leave retaining pins in place as the aircraft taxi out to the runway. The pins have long, red, "REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT" flags attached to them, so they are very easy to see. The ground crew remove the pins just before the beginning of the takeoff run, and the pogos separate from the aircraft shortly after it leaves the ground. Landings are made on the in-line main gear only. Ground crew members take up position at about the midpoint of the runway and wait for the aircraft to roll up to them. The pilot controls the rollout so that the aircraft slowly rolls up to the ground crew, whereupon the ground personnel simply reach out and grab the wings, hold them off the ground and reattach the pogos and pins for the taxi back in to the ramp. U-2/ER-2 operations are considered critical and hazardous. Fire and ambulance crews take-up ready positions along the runway before each landing, "just in case". I've not heard of any accident here though. Landings are very interesting to watch, particularly when there is a significant crosswind. This puts some rather nasty turbulence across the runway in the wake of the dirigible hangar. The '2s have very large lifting surfaces which make them very susceptible to gusts. The precision of the pilots under such adverse conditions is impressive. -- Steve (the certified flying fanatic) steve@aurora.arc.nasa.gov