U-2 Landings, First Landing in U-2 and crash landings

(Sorry "Mobil" should be Mobile ) The first three landings are my first during my initial interview check ride. The following landings are from a tape they give you after you take your interview check ride to enter the program. First is a T-38 at Beale flown by two U-2 pilots, gear up and the rest are various U-2 landings from past years.

[@M-HK-]

I was a firefighter at Beale AFB in the eighties and was on the T-38 emergency as well as the U-2 (TR-1) landing with no main gear. I remember watching the front seater in the T-38 open the canopy while the aircraft was going really fast and then running away the moment the plane stopped. On the T-38 the pilots oxygen mask was still connected on one side of his helmet and the oxygen hose was connected to the parachute . I remember this pilot running from the plane and then deciding to rid himself of the weight of the parachute without disconnecting the oxygen mask. As he threw the parachute off his shoulders you can see it ripped the helmet off his head in a rather uncomfortable fashion. In the U-2 crash landing, the main gear wouldn't come down. This pilot spent over an hour doing these crazy dives and then pulling up dramatically to use the G forces to try to get the gear to come down. I have never seen the wings on any aircraft bend as far as those wings did every time he pulled up. When the aircraft stopped our P-15 fire truck shot water on the bottom of the plane to cool it off. The crew member in the chase car ran towards the cockpit to help the pilot egress the aircraft and was knocked over by that powerful stream of water. I was in the rescue truck that came right after the P-15 and got to the aircraft just after the pilot pulled the scramble handle and exited the aircraft. I asked the pilot if he needed any medical assistance and his reply was "no, but I need a beer and a new pair of underwear." The main longeron (spine of the aircraft) was broken in the landing so the aircraft had to be scrapped. Also on this emergency, our assistant Fire Chief got out of his truck without putting it in park, applying the parking brake or chocking the wheels which caused his now driver-less truck to drive away on its own and then it crashed into one of the crash recovery vehicles. When I first got to Beale the chase cars were Chevy El Caminos with the 454 engine and soon after they transitioned to the high performance mustangs.

[@matthayward7889]

M-107 HK -73 awesome story!

[@dibaldgyfm9933]

Very informative, THANKS! - the video now has more realistic meaning.

[@williamthomas5780]

Wow AGAIN. Imagine that. So you were in the vehicle that came up behind the U2... It's really good to be in a time in which we can so easily see these things and hear from those of you who were there in the flesh.

[@robertstrickland2121]

M-107 HK -73 I remember the el caminos at moffet, always wanted one!

[@M-HK-]

@@williamthomas5780 Yes, I was in the 6 pack rescue truck. In my few years at Beale we had more plane crashes than most Air Force firefighters see in an entire career. I responded on the major crashes (aircraft totally destroyed) of a U-2, a KC-135, and a Marine Corps A-6 during my time there. The only crash with fatalities was the KC-135 which resulted in the loss of the entire air crew. Somebody had a camera at just the right moment (no cell phones in those days) and took a picture of the KC-135 pointed straight down about one second before impact. That pic was printed in the Marysville Appeal-Democrat newspaper and is probably still in their archives.

[@faithfamilyandcountry7452]

I lived at Beale AFB from 87-91 my step dad was a jet engine mechanic. I use to watch T-38 U2 and SR-71 all the time.

[@dragonmeddler2152]

Love how the T-38 front-seater pulls a 100-yard dash before his rear-seater has a chance to unbuckle. Aim high!

[@dillanaddington7022]

Hal VanSlyck yea at least assist the rear seater, dang!

[@servico100]

@@dillanaddington7022 "If you hear me say "Eject" don't ask "what?" "I'll be gone"

[@jamespaul4351]

We had the first 8KCAB Decathlon in Az. in 1972. The FBO I worked at was located at Ryan field west of Tucson and at that time Davis-Monthan AFB had a U-2 training wing there. After one of their IP’s flew the Decathlon he said it did a three point landing just like the U-2 landed normally. So he talked the wing commander into having every pilot going through training at that time get an hour or so of touch and go’s in the Decathlon. Had a lot of fun flying with them and they really enjoyed getting time in the 8KCAB. Tried to talk them into allowing me a chance to do a few T&G’s in their bird but the hourly rate was a little steep!

[@barrygrant2907]

Used to watch the U-2s take off every morning at U-Tapao, Thailand, back in '72. Wonderful aircraft. Much more interesting to watch than an SR-71. The 396 El Camino the ground crew used to chase it down the runway wasn't half bad either.

[@Bbarfo]

I was stationed at Beale AFB from 1980 to 1983 and used to see these landings all the time. Never heard the communications before. Thank you. I believe in 1982 or 83 I watched a T-38 land successfully without the landing gear. I always thought it was unintentional. No injures and a fire truck immediately responded and doused the plane with foam.

[@chucklaneChuckylane]

It was a treat watching these all day while doing the T-drain (across the front of hangar) about 15 yrs. ago at Beal AFB. I could not believe how fast they climbed after a short takeoff, straight up! Awesome pilots.

Kudos to the pilot that landed without a tail wheel. Landing one of those gooney birds looks hard enough without having to do it on a unicycle.

[@ronplucksstrings7112]

I second that! I was expecting the result of that landing to be a lot more "expensive"!

[@ma9x795]

Brings back memories from my days 25+ years ago in Air Traffic Control with the RAF. Used to take the Dragon Ladies out from the nearby USAF base on a regular basis and watch them climbing on radar like homesick angels.

[@williamthomas5780]

Wow. THAT is impressive. Few people can say that they've been there and done THAT. Thanks for sharing this.

[@daveadams7179]

Love those B models! I worked them (primarily 64 and 65, but occasionally 91) from '85 - '89. Most crew chiefs hated the B models because they had two cockpits to take care of, but not me. I loved having multiple sorties every day and turn and burns made the day go by.

[@RustysClips]

@modelleg He said "Buff Guy". He was giving me a hard time about fly B-52's at one point. But flying the B-52 was a great time!

[@63stratoman]

I worked for Lockheed on the U-2 program during a major electrical upgrade back in the late 90s/early 00s. Memorable times and I do remember those high performance 5.0 Mustangs and Camaros giving chase. If my memory serves me correctly, I think I remember a U-2 coming in with some damage from a landing. If this was the one, we patched it up and sent it right back out which is good because there are (or were) only like 36 of these in the USAF inventory! Someone mentioned the engine and yes, it fits but barely! It was a real challenge at times installing the wiring harness and other engine bay items correctly to ensure nothing was in the way of the engine as it went in.

[@jcnme27]

U2R to U2S.

[@esracoon]

oh man. the rear-wheel-missing landing was just badass!

[@mustangmuseumofamerica3846]

It's amazing watching those U-2's land. We have the last known Mustang U-2 chase car to exist, and located at Mustang Museum Of America. I can't help but wonder if that is our car in the video.

[@kshorns]

"Not bad for a BUFF guy, huh?" Way cool.

[@williamspurgeon8705]

I was a member of the 100th SRW in the late 60's and early 70's. These birds were beautiful to watch.

[@johnstoffel5885]

I was with the 100th AMMS there from 72-75

[@konradstark3110]

Impressed by the PIO-groundloop recovery! (Minemal damage on the U-2 with no tail gear.)

[@johnbowman7555]

That was not PIO, if you cannot land tail gear first the bird bounces up off the main gear, no way around it.

[@indyjons321]

I can hear my glider instructor yelling at me "WINGS LEVEL!!!!!" while I watch this! HAHA!

[@leifvejby8023]

And "Use the RUDDER!"

[@markogrba1]

All perfect landings. Thanks for the footage.

[@repairdroid77]

I can just hear the folks in the A&P shop, Oh goodie, more work for us. Glad they all made it home.

[@cmchop]

I worked on the U2-R at Lockheed. Thanks for the video.

[@ropermtjl]

I was stationed at Beale from 1994-1998 as a firefighter. Had the utmost respect for our U-2 pilots. They liked having our department there i know that and were always cool when we needed them and their aircraft for egress drills. Throttles, Bottles, Seat, Pilot. lol Great video. Love the DragonLady and still have some draponlady scarves that were given to me by U-2 pilots.

[@travelbugse2829]

Great story by PC last year. I bet those who have worked with U-2s have a ton of them. Why are people rude about the aircraft? It was a minimalist design, practically a glider that needed high aspect ratio wings to fly in the rarified upper atmosphere. The later model with the cockpit masked by that extended nose must be a challenge to land. Maybe modern minicams fitted around the fuselage would help. Otherwise, it's too quirky (and successful!) to change. An incredible aeroplane.

[@M-HK-]

You are correct about the design. They actually started the idea with a modified F-104 fuselage with a glider type wing. Obviously they didn't use the F-104 engine or the wings would be shed rather quickly. I talked to many U-2 and SR-71 pilots during my time at Beale and they all agreed that the U-2 was much harder to fly and land than the SR-71 was.

[@kentkelly5301]

While stationed at Kirtland AFB, NM in the late 60's, early 70's we were a designated emergency base for U2's and SR71's. Had a few come in. Maybe 5 or 6 U2's and 3 SR71's. Enjoyed talking with U2 pilots, but SR71 pilots were not willing to chat! lol U2 guys all said how much a pain in the ass they were to land as the landing speed and stall speed were only a knot or two different! Amazing aircraft! I think only one of the U2's was the Dragon Lady, the others were the short wing silver birds.

[@CocoaBeachLiving]

You guys have way too much fun!

[@semco72057]

I never saw the U-2's at U-tapao land with problems like that, and the El Camino was always jolly on the spot to make sure the landing gear was put on correctly. That is the first T-38 I saw crash land like that also and glad the crew got out safely.

[@orangejoe204]

Jesus Christ. It's literally landing a glider on bicycle wheels. I'd shit myself.

[@BeechSportBill]

I was a AFROTC Cadet visiting Edwards and saw a takeoff - and NEAR VERTICAL climb - 1968 or so.

[@FLJuJitsu]

I remember seeing these things all the time when I was in Korea. It was always cool seeing them flying around.

[@alexjackson658]

Last one is also part of the initial test.. they fake the rear landing gear failing and ask you to bring the plane to a stop balancing on the forward gear. 😆😂 Props for this upload!

[@Peppermint1]

Driver in the chase car is also a U-2 pilot, they are doing this in alternance one flight/one chasing car

[@Iproductions0]

4:37 "i'ma take a nap. I'ma take a nap right here"

[@fcgHenden]

Good grief kid. That's sand right there! 🤣

[@fatihinan2422]

Henden G y’all know name of the song?

[@DS8587]

those last two landings were GREAT!

[@dannz2603]

Wow, look at that thing climb out, awesome!

[@StellarBlue1]

What amazing skill and courage it takes to fly a U-2. Dynamic conditions require a dynamic pilot. U-2 pilots are among the best.

[@servico100]

Ask F.G. Powers

[@candycabngfl]

Very cool ! Thanks for uploading :-)

[@demef758]

Must be one helluva thrill when you pull back that throttle and take off at a 45 degree angle. You da man, Rusty! Incidentally, that music is great, it fits the footage, despite the seriousness of the "goofs."

[@Ralph2]

All excellent landings in their own way :)

[@adegsx11]

That catch at 5.50 is awsome ..... great save ..hats off to the pilot !!

[@johncone9516]

The last U2 operations in the UK were out of Mildenhall 10 miles from where i'm sitting now, impressive landings to watch.

[@undrwtrbsktwvn1110]

U2s are there now and have been for a while

[@Tacticaviator7]

@@undrwtrbsktwvn1110 They indeed seem to still be used, recent incident involving a chinese balloon shows that.

[@RalphDratman]

The U2 is beautiful in its own strange way.

[@TheophilusPWildbeest]

Like my wife.

[@slobama]

I think it's just about the ugliest plane I've ever seen.

[@slobama]

I think it's the ugliest plane I've ever seen.

[@heyimgayalso6129]

Michael you must know very few planes if that’s the ugliest

[@SaddlebagPreacher]

Chase car 5.0 Mustang police package??

[@koitorob]

Just listened to the Fighter Pilot Podcast interview with Col. Michael 'Lips' Phillips and he suggested searching for 'U2 bad landings'. Is there any reason why all three 'difficult' landings resulted in the U2 veering to the right? Crosswinds or something else?

[@Wheelabarraback]

That must have been fun !!

[@BRABAZON49]

Regarding the U2 that landed minus its main undercarriage, was it really necessary for the fire crew to hose down the entirety of the aircraft with the canopy open? I would have thought a more precise direction of water/foam under the fuselage would have been more appropriate rather than also soaking the cockpit interior which, no doubt, added hugely to the cost of repairing an otherwise under-fuselage damaged aircraft!

[@TheNetkrot]

just curious about one thing: if the plane has no wheels to support the wings in the landing then what prevents the wings from touching the ground when landing?

[@barstatar4246]

Last pilot must be cyborg of something! No words, just wow!

[@MrSmitos]

SA-2 Guideline loved this plane

[@RustysClips]

@gamestunts I have a feeling there might have been a linkage failure. But it was a trainer model and things happen. Also the rear wheel is very small, not much to steer with and once you start in one direction…the plane tends to have a mind of its own.

[@klausbmj]

Could someone pls tell me, why Kelly J. didn't spare 2 lbs of weight and built a radar altimeter into the U2?

[@tonerotonero1375]

Beautiful bird. Lots of respect to the pilots.

[@pascalchauvet4230]

Fantastic footage of the world's biggest mass-produced glider (when landing)

[@mikebaugus2881]

Look ma no wheels??? No weight but no wheels neither!

[@Meownold]

Why don't they just have a laser distance finder on the belly of the plane?

[@XRinger]

Rusty, you were one Mean Stick! Great work! That No Main Gear landing was a riot.. The crash crews was at the ready.. A tiny bit of smoke coming out when the canopy opened was all they needed.. I wonder of the fuselage got bent? Did that one ever fly again? I used to watch those big birds when I was a kid in Del Rio back in early 1960s. I saw a lot of U2s coming in with a little helper plane flying right above them.. The reason, because when you sit in a U2, you can't see the ground, anywhere near you.. At least that's what the AF brats told me.. :) I once saw a U2 engine sitting on a big cart (Armed Forces Day). It was so dam massive, I couldn't see how it would possibly fit inside the fuselage. I remember thinking, 'It's no wonder these things can take off like rockets"!!

[@BrendanW0214]

Seeing those notchback mustang chase cars in action was pretty cool.

[@mindciller]

They had Camaro around 98. I repaired them and made them faster because they couldn't survive the young guys driving them

[@AthanImmortal]

@RustysClips Thanks for the reply :) I was wondering what steered the plane, so good info thank you :)

[@efoxxok7478]

Interesting comments here, some right some very wrong. First of all the U2 first flew in 1955. That's a large part of why it looks the way it does. 1950's aerodynamics. The plane was built in a hurry as these things go as a much needed replacement for the British built Canberra. The design concept was to get above soviet middle technology at the time. That was disproved when Gary Powers was shot down, and pushed the SR71 program. It is pressurized, but pilots of all aircraft that routinely fly at those altitudes wear pressure suits for two reasons. One is safety, the other is comfort because they aren't pressurized to the standard 8k ft or below of commercial aircraft. No pressurization would make the suit very stiff and difficult to move like being in space. The reason it's hard to land is poor visibility in the landing attitude. Pilot cannot see the runway so a chase plane has to direct him in. Attitude is necessary because every successful landing is either tail wheel first or simultaneously with the main. Any other way results in a bounce. Why the gear arrangement? Weight, minimum cross section, weight, aerodynamics, weight. Yes it's hard to taxi, requires ground crew, those out riggers and a certain amount of cursing and raw luck.

[@MikeKobb]

Nice landings on your checkride! I assume that the landing missing the main gear was a mechanical issue and not some kind of pilot error? Thanks for posting!

[@kenspencer597]

Wow, stunning landings, your first three! Especially after seeing the ones that went badly. I am curious how you avoid losing directional control while landing. Is the trick to stay on the rudders absolutely every second, to keep the aircraft straight? Or are there some other factors at work here - like crosswinds?

[@scarecrow6741]

Sweet video, thanks!

[@jacuzzibusguy]

What make/model are the chase cars?

[@MrTheblackopsdude]

4:37 Oh look a penny!

[@user-qr7ex4rt1b]

последняя в этом ролике посадка красивая, и ещё понравилась ,,на брюхо,,

[@trechan]

Great landings buddy, funny crashes.

[@beebee766]

I reckon Open Class (26m span) glider pilots would be good at landing these beasts. Notice at 3:55 onwards he doesn't use enough rudder to stop the yaw which results in the inevitable ground loop. He seems to use left aileron to counteract some roll, which creates adverse yaw to the right, hence the little perambulation into the bushes.

[@RuiPlaneSpotter]

Nice video my friend!

[@makman96]

whoever designed these airplanes must get a Darwin award

[@nunogirao]

Is it me, or the belly landing was the most beautifull of all?

[@66Wilies]

oh those were the days glade to see the old fire dogs spraying water.I remember the IFE's and the fire dogs spraying everything in the area especially crew chiefs ha ha.

[@M-HK-]

You speak the truth. I was an Air Force firefighter and spent the majority of my career on the rescue truck. Often times my crew and I would get covered with foam as well as the crew chiefs and anybody else nearby. Our folks shooting the foam usually managed to get some of it on the fire too. Ah, good times.

[@DualDesertEagle]

That belly landing's gotta have been an expensive one!

[@smoothkaos2]

I was reminiscing about the old days working on these girls as a maintainer and had to find some vidz of them. I went everywhere they went except Korea and left blood, sweat, & years of each one and each one has its own unique charm. A little thing to notice when trying to figure out when a vid was taken...take a look at the chase car. They get updated frequently. We brought in the late 90's Camaros right after the 5.0's and then got the GTO's and then the G8. Sometimes you'll see a foreign car and those vidz are overseas ;)

[@smoothkaos2]

*tears but years is true too haha

[@justforever96]

@vontornm I don't understand; isn't having the pogos stay in their sockets a bad thing? Are the pins you are talking about like control locks that have to be removed before flight, and they double pinned them and someone forgot to remove one of the pins? Is that what you're saying?

[@sonnyburnett8725]

When they flew U-2’s at Davis -Monthan AFB in Tucson one of their pilots checked out in our aerobatic Decathlon taildragger and discovered it landed very much like the U-2 and had the Air Force contract with our flight school to have all the guys get an hour in the Decathlon to help adapt them to the attitude needed for landing. But they mostly wanted to do aerobatics. I jokingly suggested I could do more if I had a couple of hours in the machine. Incredibly, it seemed a possibility for a “very short while” in the two seater, then went nowhere. I’m certain it would have never happened but it was the early seventies. While flying with one guy, a funnel cloud came out of the sky on downwind. For Arizona, weird.

[@aderynmawr]

4:30 🎶 “one wheel on my wagon...” 🎵

[@BeechSportBill]

You took a fine time to leave me Loose Wheel!

[@aderynmawr]

Bill Howard very good!! 😄👏🏻

[@AthanImmortal]

@RustysClips thanks for sharing your video and the mishaps. The U2 crash at 3:33 . Is it not possible to recover the stability once one of the wings touches the ground? The turn to the right just seemed to get worse and worse until it dug in.

[@nickbaker666]

lmao the first dude just took off like seeee yaaaaaaaa

[@blessedheavyelements8544]

Good job on last landing.

[@TeemarkConvair]

might that last be the only "ground loop" by a jet?

[@RellyOhBoy]

I never knew a U-2 could do a 180 on the ground........nice!!!

[@JIMJAMSC]

During my career I stumbled across a B2 stealth before it was public around the Shaw AFB MOA, 2 F117s down in Fla and F22s W of ATL. Never did see any Sr-71s and U2s which are on my bucket list even if I have to settle on static display.

[@flybyairplane3528]

JIMJAMSC I was born, 7 lived in Jamaica BWI, checking out a serious pair of binoculars, on a tripod, I saw this weird aircraft, had no idea what it was, but in USA when Gary Powers was shot down, then It was obvious that , that was what I saw back then .

[@RustysClips]

@bcherbs Not sure what a I-Also is?

[@edp2260]

They look so graceful in the air. In reality, tricky to fly, and by the looks of this video, the same to land! I never thought about it: how do you keep it straight on the runway? When the airspeed slows after touchdown the only thing to steer with is the single main landing gear wheel. It is clear from this video that if the limits of that main wheel to steer are exceeded you go right off the runway!

[@davidhoffman1278]

There is a small tail wheel to help control the aircraft.

[@TexMex421]

Great video. Was the T-38 no gear landing an accident? Whoops I forgot the gear, or it would not deploy? Hilarious to see the pilot run like a girl and leave the co-pilot to his own fate.

[@M-HK-]

The T-38 wheels up landing was a problem with the aircraft (I responded to this emergency). Not long after this I transferred to Patrick AFB and responded to a wheels up landing of a U-2 that happened because the pilot failed to deploy the landing gear. Crazy thing is, the pilot in the chase car talked him all the way down and never noticed the gear wasn't down!

[@TheRoShamBo2328]

Were the gear up landings malfunctions or pilot error?

[@wertbe1718]

I don't know if you'll see this Rusty, but did you end up as a full blown U-2 pilot? Would you say it's the most competitive program there is for Air Force pilots? Why did you decide to pursue it and did you enjoy doing it? I'm currently in AFROTC and aspire to fly for the Air Force. While I still need to really dig into the different missions of different aircraft, I think the U-2 is the bird I want to take to the skies in eventually. If I understand the pipeline correctly, I'll probably start in more conventional aircraft like the C-130, C-17, or other similarly missioned planes, and work my way up from there. Attack and Fighter jets are cool I suppose, but I don't think I want to be the one behind a gun, and flying at 70k feet, basically in space, sounds so surreal and awesome. Sure I'd be alone for hours, but that's not really much different from how I live day to day.

[@82FLIEGER]

GREAT SONG!

[@fredtedstedman]

I had read that the early aircraft were so "bouyant" that they had to be stalled just above the ground to get them to touchdown , any comments ?? Wales UK

[@fergusb7868]

Every plane lands like that

[@Enzoxvx]

yup standard u2 procedure

[@fredtedstedman]

@@Enzoxvx Hi , thanks for info , my comment has been ridiculed in the past ! I find it amazing that this aircraft has so much lift it doesn't want to land .

[@GenAnaesthetic77]

Fergus B Not true. Only light planes tend to be stalled onto the runway. Larger ones are generally flown on.

[@fredtedstedman]

@@GenAnaesthetic77 what do you do when your plane refuses to land ?? ?? ?? it is like a huge hi-performance sailplane . Ground effect must be enormous . I have only seen them land on KZbin , never got close to one , I have only flown r/c slope soarer .

[@spins321]

Ah cool, you flew Buffs before? Do you find some of that ground effect to be similar between the two aircraft on landing? Seems she wants to float quite a bit.

[@fredtedstedman]

I had read the early ones had to be stalled , just above the ground , to get touchdown ?? A lot of bouyancy there . Wales UK.

[@sirbader1]

So are the T-38s out of Beale always flown by U-2 pilots? I live in Sacramento and they fly over almost everyday, sometimes doing touch and goes at the former Mather AFB. I saw one about 20 minutes ago actually. They are painted all black now.

[@clearingbaffles]

they are called Black Dragons, they supposedly can be made to fly like the U-2

[@darnitalltohell]

Wow, my hat's off to you, U-2 sure looks like a needy mistress on the landing. Looks like she can climb pretty good though. That last crash land was handled nicely.

[@geegeedash]

Is there steering control in the nose wheel?

[@richardhancock9272]

what is the music called please .

[@rickdavis3593]

We could use a Kelly Johnson again about now.

[@gordonanderson3111]

I am such a man - better really since all my planes run on HOPE water exhausting engines and could go into space! This must be why the gov. is trying to kill me!

[@justforever96]

Seems strange that the plane would slew to the right after touching to left wingtip. You'd think it would be the other way, the drag from the wing would pull the plane to left. Or is it that the plane started to turn to the right, and so it rolled to the left and touched its wingtip? And how did both pogos get stuck? Aren't they just stuck in holes, and held by the weight of the wing? I wouldn't have expected him to crash. Is it that much harder to land with them on?

[@BigMuff75]

So I am totally not familiar with aviation or what not. But would some "proper" landing gear have had such an impact on the whole design in terms of weight, balance and fuel consumption of that plane that they actually went with the actual design?

[@EliteGeeks]

Last landing was near perfect for a crash... saved the plane nice

[@twinstu50]

At 2:33, "Not bad for a Buff guy huh". Nice. Buff - Big Ugly Fat Fucker...B-52. I believe.

[@anonymous3227]

Good call! I didn't know about that nickname for the B-52.

[@jamespruitt3159]

This bird can really take off in a hurry!

[@mtlassen1992]

@4:45 the Sutter Buttes in the distance. The only volcano in the Sacramento Valley. Good thing its dormant!