Unexpected seat mates.

Teller1900

Teller1900

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I am a dad!
So my wife left early this morning to visit friends in DSM on her three day weekend. She called me about a half an hour ago to let me know she got there safely, and tell me about the guy she sat next to on the DTW-DSM leg.

Though he wasn't in uniform, she found out quickly that this gentleman is a NW Airlines Captain, with more than 20 years of seniority at the company. If that wasn't enough, she asked him how he got into airline flying. Like so many of that era, he was a military aviator; Air Force, to be exact.

"Ya, he flew something called the E-C-1-3-5." I could tell she was impressed she remember. I was too, but I was also pretty impressed that she had been talking to someone who probably had a pretty good seat while a lot of history was being made!

"And he also flew something else. Umm. A U...something. U2!"

Say what.

"Ya, I guess it was an interesting plane. He said it flew a lot higher than most other planes, or something like that."

And the Understatement-of-the-Year Award goes to: my wife! In her defense, she had never really heard of the U-2 before, but rest assured she will be educated when she comes home.

It just goes to show, you never know who you're sitting next to. What interesting characters have you had a chat with in unlikely places?
 
Whoa, that would have been an interesting conversation, but then he would have to kill you.
 
We watched U2 doing what he called touch-n-goes at Chico, CA about 2 years ago. Very nice birds. BTW, he never touched the tires to the ground, but came within inches. Guess there was a reason for that.
 
Matt,

They (the spouses) really shock us sometimes. Mary had a three day in Valdosta, GA this past week for work. When she called to let me know she was safely on the ground in jacksonville, FL, she went on and on about the pilot sitting next to her. Of course she asked loads of questions and shared some of our flight info with him. The guy flys a spam can out of KAVP Wilkes-Barre and was surprised to hear that my cousin is the director for the airport.

Imagine, my wife hangar flying during her flight.....God I love her...she always keeps me guessing.
 
When I had my plane based in SoCal for a few months I met a U2 pilot. He also was an instructor pilot for the F-15, F-16, and F-18. We became good friends.

As you may know I have been flying scenic tours in N AZ. I've had the pleasure to meet and speak with many Airbus and Boeing transport pilots, several Mirage pilots, and a WWII hero who flew Dakotas in Normandy.

One time I sat next to a bag pipe player who was also a private pilot in Scotland. But the real fun was he was part of a 100 man Scottish Band touring the world. Boy, that was fun all the way from HNL to LAX.

On a flight from MSP to DEN I sat amidst several airline crew deadheading. They were dull. I respected their want of quiet but there's always one in every crowd. This non-pilot left his seat and started to ask every question about how to learn how to fly.
 
That would be a conversation I'd love to have. Both U-2 and SR-71 pilots are of a very elite club. I read recently only 32 pilots have ever flown the SR-71. I doubt the number is much different for the U-2.
 
This is my favorite picture from Airventure's website. (Oh, and I saw the U2 land - they bounced the landing!)

p1653.jpg


It's pretty cool to touch your hero, isn't it?
 
Kenny, I think U-2 pilots are quite a few more than the SR-71. They have been around since the 50's and are still very active in the GWOT. hey continue to hire new pilots all the time.
 
AWACSEng said:
Kenny, I think U-2 pilots are quite a few more than the SR-71. They have been around since the 50's and are still very active in the GWOT. hey continue to hire new pilots all the time.
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I had seen that. According to Wikipedia, the U-2 has been in service since 1957 and there are still 35 in service. It looks like around a hundred were built in all but it's hard to tell with some unspecified as to how many and many of those having been converted to other versions through the years.

Even so, I'd think the number of pilots is relatively low.
 
Geico266 said:
Whoa, that would have been an interesting conversation, but then he would have to kill you.
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One of my good friends, who just died two years back, was a U2 pilot. He was an old timer. We met through work.

The whole story is, and this will get to the reason I posting this, that I had a guy who worked for me that was introduced to me as the 'General'. One day I ask the person who ran the other technology group that I inherited the guy from why. He told me he was a former Air Force General. I had been thinking why his name was so familiar and this last clue got me the key piece of info. He had been the deputy major commander for Air Force Systems Command. I had worked for him at one time!

We became good friends as a result of backgrounds. He then introduced me to this other guy who was also former Air Force. He was in his past life a U2 pilot. We too also had a common background based on who I had worked for in the service. One day he tells me a couple of war stories about his missions in the early sixties over Cuba. He was one of the guys photographing the Russian missiles that resulted in the Cuban missile crises.

Great stories! He was also friends with and served with Roger Chafee.
 
AuntPeggy said:
We watched U2 doing what he called touch-n-goes at Chico, CA about 2 years ago. Very nice birds. BTW, he never touched the tires to the ground, but came within inches. Guess there was a reason for that.
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From the Air Force Factseet on the U-2:

"The low-altitude handling characteristics of the aircraft and bicycle-type landing gear require precise control inputs during landing; forward visibility is also limited due to the extended aircraft nose and "taildragger" configuration. A second U-2 pilot normally "chases" each landing in a high-performance vehicle, assisting the pilot by providing radio inputs for altitude and runway alignment. These characteristics combine to earn the U-2 a widely accepted title as the most difficult aircraft in the world to fly."

He probably didn't want to go all the way to touchdown without his chase car. It wouldn't look good to prang one of those babies off-base on a proficiency or training mission.

KennyFlys said:
I read recently only 32 pilots have ever flown the SR-71.
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There were 32 SR-71 airframes. I'm thinking they had more than one pilot each.
 
AuntPeggy said:
We watched U2 doing what he called touch-n-goes at Chico, CA about 2 years ago. Very nice birds. BTW, he never touched the tires to the ground, but came within inches. Guess there was a reason for that.
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Maybe because the U2 only has one wheel so a wingtip drags on the ground when the wing stops holding it up. It may be a real "touch" brings the wing tips low enough to limit possbile bank adjustments for crosswind control so they only touch when landing.

(Edit: Like what Joe said above.)
 
GMascelli said:
Imagine, my wife hangar flying during her flight.....God I love her...she always keeps me guessing.
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That's excellent Gary! I'm slowly getting Junelle to that point. Every now and then she'll start talking in "airplane lingo." She'll catch herself mid sentence, stop, look at me and yell "you suck!" then right back to talking.

nddons said:
It's pretty cool to touch your hero, isn't it?
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That is an excellent photo!
 
Teller1900 said:
...
"And he also flew something else. Umm. A U...something. U2!"
...
And the Understatement-of-the-Year Award goes to: my wife! In her defense, she had never really heard of the U-2 before, but rest assured she will be educated when she comes home.
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The guy is probably glad she didn't ask him about Bono. :D
 
I didn't sit by him in a commercial airplane, but I did sit by him in my airplane. He has the nickname of: " The Berlin Candy Bomber". He is the gentleman that dropped candy to the young German kids during the Berlin Airlift.(1948-49) I flew he and his new wife into the back country of Idaho. Sulphur Creek for breakfast and Camberlin Basin for the rest of the day. One of my most memorable flights. Bob
 

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In his recent and aptly-named book Dream Aircraft, Barry Schiff recounts his ride in the back seat of a U-2, to above 70,000 feet. He says there have been 670 pilots who have soloed the U-2.
 
On my last airliner flight, I ended up sitting next to this guy who to be honest looked a little...rough. Once we were in the air, I pulled out one of my airplane books and started reading. That is the biggest conversation starter because you quickly find out who are pilots. He immediately asked, "are you a pilot?" "yep" "really? I have a husky, I do a lot of back country flying." The rest of the flight went pretty fast as we exchanged flying stories. So its neat to remember that all pilots don't wear airliner suits and if you want to start a conversation, pull out a book about airplanes.

As far as the U2 pilot, I've had a couple classes in college with an old U2 pilot, he's even ejected from one during a system malfunction. Lots of very interesting stories and experience to relate us to the subjects he teaches.
 
I don't remember it, but my mother tells me that on one of our flights to Indiana to visit my aunt and uncle when I was a child (I would have been about 8 or 9), we either met or were seated next to Buzz Aldrin (the story changes a bit each time she tells it). She claims he gave me his autograph on the "log book" that they gave to child passengers back then, which she claims she still has "somewhere."

Frankly, I doubt that the story's true.

My family was on vacation on July 20, 1969, in a ramshackle bungalow in the Catskills. My father had brought a TV antenna along on the trip, and then climbed on the roof to mount and point it (with me shouting instructions out the window) so we could watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon on the old black-and-white TV. That got me hooked on space travel.

By the time the flight my mother refers to would have happened, I had shelves upon shelves of books about space travel. My favorite was We Came In Peace. I also spent so much time at the Hayden Planetarium (often when I should have been in school) that one of the administrators, upon witnessing me counting pennies for the admission fee, gave me a volunteer pass so I wouldn't have to pay to get in any more. I was well aware of who Buzz Aldrin was, and I'm pretty sure I would have remembered meeting him on a 727 to Fort Wayne.

-Rich
 
I was at OSH last summer when the U2 came in... it was really neat/funny to me that at one point, the only two planes in the pattern were the U2 and the Breezy! :D
 
Flying Mag. just did a great spread on the U2. One of their staff was permitted a ride
and she writes about her adventures. FWIW
 
CT Arrow said:
Flying Mag. just did a great spread on the U2. One of their staff was permitted a ride
and she writes about her adventures. FWIW
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That wouldn't be Lane Wallace, would it? She gets some of the neatest assignments!
 
gprellwitz said:
That wouldn't be Lane Wallace, would it? She gets some of the neatest assignments!
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Indeed it is! I thought the piece was well written and gave a nice insight and a rare opportunity for the layperson to experience U2 training and an unforgettable ride.
 
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