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Difficult to get it back on the ground without killing yourself too - to the point that the backup pilot drives behind at ~140mph, calling out helpful information [1].

Saw a U-2 at an airshow and somehow I expected more. It had really badly damaged paint and just looked like some neglected museum exhibit that had been left outside too long.

1: https://jalopnik.com/the-140-mph-chase-cars-of-the-u-s-air-f...



I saw a U-2 at an airshow (California Capitol Airshow at Mather) and it also looked beat up. I asked about it and they said that it's a working airplane, not some show piece. Basically it just had a lot of hours on it since it was last repainted.


The trainer versions go in and out of Mather fairly often. I assume they're based at Beale AFB and just use Mather for short training hops.


The U2 I saw at Mather was based a Beale (as were the Air Force folks exhibiting it). They said the U2s get rotated in and out of service/training and that this unit had been all over the world.


Mather AFB has been closed since 1993.


At which point it became Sacramento Mather Airport, where the trainers fly in and out of from time to time.


I've seen a U-2 up-close in-person (it was actually one of NASA's versions). It looked pretty decent. It's pretty basic and bare-bones though: every pound saved off of it equals one foot higher that it can climb.


They should get a lighter pilot.




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