Chapter 5
My first ride in the airplane happened on a beautiful September morning in 1977. Beale AFB sits in the Sierra Nevada foothills northeast of Sacramento. The countryside around the airport is stunningly beautiful. The airport has a single 10,000-foot runway. We taxied out to the runway using the taxiway that led us to the center of the runway. This left 5,000 feet available for takeoff. The instructor said he would demo the first takeoff. I was grateful because I had never seen anything remotely like this before. He released the brakes and pushed the throttle to full power. The airplane quickly accelerated, and just as quickly the wings flexed up and the pogos fell out. We accelerated a bit more and the nose started to rise, quickly. A normal airplane’s nose will rise to about 10 to 15 degrees above the horizon on takeoff. This one was at 20 degrees, and continuing to 25 degrees, 30 degrees, 35 degrees, 40 degrees, and 45 degrees. This was ridiculous. It finally settled at 45 degrees and stayed there as the runway fell away below us. By the end of the runway (5000 feet), our altimeter was reading 10,000 feet. I had to double-check it but there it was, 10,000 feet and climbing.
We continued our climb to 20,000 feet and leveled off to do some air work. I needed to get a feel for the airplane throughout its speed range. Since there are no hydraulics aiding the flight controls, the airplane felt very different at high speed versus low speed. The airplane responded quickly and easily at high speed. When we slowed down to traffic pattern speed, the effort to move the flight controls dramatically increased. This big Cadillac with wings and no power steering would take some getting used to.
The key to flying any airplane precisely is proper trim control. Trim tabs are small, moveable control surfaces on the wings, rudder and elevator. Controls in the cockpit allow the pilot to move the trim tabs keeping the airplane in balance throughout its speed range. The pilot’s goal is to fly the airplane in a certain attitude and speed through proper trim. Ideally, you want to trim for that certain speed, and be able to take your hands off the controls while the airplane remains where you put it.
Cruising along at 250 knots, neutralizing the controls would take some nose down trim. As the airplane slows down to traffic pattern speeds, nose up trim is required. If you leave the airplane trimmed for high speed and then slow down, the nose pitches down trying to maintain the speed it was trimmed for. Proper trimming was especially vital in the U-2. If the airplane was out of trim for a desired speed, you were constantly fighting to keep the airplane where you wanted it.
My instructor took control of the airplane to show me what a typical landing pattern looked like. The first thing required prior to landing was to balance the fuel. The U-2 had three fuel tanks: a center tank and a tank in each wing. Each wing had a five-gallon per minute transfer pump that ported fuel out of the wing into the center tank. The only fuel gauge in the cockpit was a totalizer that showed the total gallons of fuel used. The pilot had no easy way to tell where his fuel was; but you did have to balance it before landing.
In order to determine the balance, the pilot stalled the aircraft. Prior to reaching his destination, the pilot had to slow the airplane down, and then stall it. When the airplane stalled, you noticed which wing fell first. This was the heavier wing since it held more fuel. The next step was to turn on the transfer pump for that wing and balance the fuel. You could tell a seasoned U-2 pilot by looking at his airplane after he landed and cleared the runway. If he had balanced properly, the airplane would sit upright with both wingtips off the ground. An unbalanced airplane would be sitting with one wingtip touching the ground and the other in the air.
Before returning to the Beale airport, my instructor led me through a simulated traffic pattern and landing. At 20,000 feet, the instructor slowed down, the airplane shuttered and stalled with the wings level. Our fuel was balanced. He then accelerated, trimmed the airplane for 90 knots, and rolled into a 45-degree bank to the left. On the simulated downwind, he configured with gear and flaps, holding the 90 knots. From here we started our simulated final turn. We had decided that our imaginary runway was at 18,500 feet. When we reached that altitude, the power came back, the nose came up, and we slowed but held the altitude. Soon the aircraft shook and dropped; definitely NOT your normal landing. I tried this maneuver a couple of times. Now it was time to return to Beale and try some actual landings.
The normal U-2 traffic pattern was an overhead, racetrack pattern. From three miles out, we’d line up on the runway at 1500 feet above the ground doing 90 knots. Once over the runway, the pilot initiated a 45-degree banked turn and then configured with gear and flaps (still at 90 knots). At the appropriate spot on the downwind leg, the final turn was initiated with the goal being able to arrive over the end of the runway with the main gear six to ten feet in the air still doing 90 knots and aligned with the center of the runway.
Another U-2 pilot in a chase car (known as a Mobile) monitored every U-2 landing. The chase car, an El Camino, sat on the side of the runway entrance waiting for the airplane. As the airplane came over the end of the runway, the chase car accelerated to match the airplane’s speed. The chase car pilot called out the main gear altitudes starting at ten feet through touchdown. In addition to the chase car, at Beale, all landings were videotaped and reviewed by the pilots and the operations staff at the end of the day. When you became a pilot in this squadron, you checked your ego at the door. Everybody looked at the tapes and everyone could, and usually did, criticize a poor landing. It was a humbling experience even for the most seasoned pilots. We learned from it and it did improve performance.
The first landing attempt was an instructor demo. Just like we had done out in the area, he brought the airplane down over the runway and then we heard the chase car start his countdown: 10 feet, 8 feet, 4 feet, 2 feet; then a shudder and the airplane settled onto the runway. It was an impressive first landing and two aspects of it struck me. First, the nose was way up in the air. I expected nose high but not this high. I couldn’t see anything in front of the airplane. Like the man told me, I had to look from side to side to stay aligned with the runway until touchdown when the nose settled. Second, I had to consciously fight my instincts. Everything I had learned previously about landing airplanes told me to lower the nose and let the airplane land. On this airplane, if I did that before it was ready, it would just bounce and take off again.
Now it was my turn. I took over after takeoff and we flew around the pattern. The airplane seemed like it had a mind of its own, I wanted it to go one way but it had other ideas. “Trim, trim, trim” the instructor said, and I did. Once I had it properly trimmed for 90 knots, things came easier. I brought it around the final turn and lined up on the centerline. The wind was light that day so I didn’t have to worry about a crosswind. We came across the threshold and the countdown started: “10 feet, 6 feet, 4 feet” called the chase car. “Don’t let it touch” my instructor said, so I held it off. “Two feet” said the chase car. Then it shuttered, sank, and we hit the runway.