Amazing spy plane footage from 70,000 feet up

[Graham_A_M]

http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/

^ Short of the antics of the two pilots that vid is just amazing.

Thats well over twice the height of Everest, in fact it almost makes it look like a molehill even a family could climb
:eek:

I had no clue any plane could fly that high, just incredible.
Anybody know what plane that is? or who makes it? :dunno:

[hampstor]

Pretty sure that's a lockheed U2. Crazy ass spy plane from the 50's. It has bicycle landing gear 1 in the front, 1 in the back. The ends of the wings I believe are titanium so they can skid on the ground during landing.

Apparently it's stall speed and max speed are only 10mph apart or so. Incredibly difficult plane to fly.. I think only 1 was ever shot down (francis gary powers) and it was only because he stalled it and it dropped down to an altitude that SAM's could hit it.

edit: my bad, looks like Cuba shot one down too. If you think that plane flys high and is bad ass, check out the SR-71. It flew at an even higher atltitude.

[capn_nobeard]

u2, i think its made by lockheed martin.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Whoa thats James May...

[LongCity]

haha that is James! That is actually incredible of what seems to be the horizon from up there! The music does wonders too, makes it seem epic.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

For those of you interested in the rest of the film, it's from James May at the Edge Of Space. (http://www.mininova.org/tor/2711629)

[Cos]

thanks for the FYI on this, I love this stuff.

[im2fst4u]

In a word.....WOW!

[WhippWhapp]

Originally posted by Cos
thanks for the FYI on this, I love this stuff.

Read up on the Aurora and TR-3B based out of Groom Lake sometime...

[revelations]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/

^ Short of the antics of the two pilots that vid is just amazing.

Thats well over twice the height of Everest, in fact it almost makes it look like a molehill even a family could climb
:eek:

I had no clue any plane could fly that high, just incredible.
Anybody know what plane that is? or who makes it? :dunno:

Ever heard of the SR-71?

An F-15C (Streak Eagle) climbed to 80,000ft once.
The British Lightning was also able to climb to this level.

[n1zm0]

it is a U-2, watch the video on the the SR-71 though, because the fuselage was designed for use around mach 3 and the seals/skin will tighten up via heating at high speed flight. the thing leaks like a sieve sitting on the ground and at low speeds.

[DJ Lazy]

Originally posted by revelations


Ever heard of the SR-71?

An F-15C (Streak Eagle) climbed to 80,000ft once.
The British Lightning was also able to climb to this level.

A F15C didn't climb to that altitude in 1950 though... which is what makes this plane that much more unique.

[BlueGoblin]

You can do edge-of-space tours in both Russia and South Africa these days.They aren't cheap ($30k+ not including your airfare to Moscow), but they look incredible:

This one you can book through the Canadian adventure travel company GAP:
http://www.gapadventures.com/trips/russia-space-adventure-the-edge-of-earth/TWRSA/2009/

They use MiG-25s and MiG-31s and the South Africans, if I recall, use rather old Electric Canberras or Lightnings or something similar that don't climb quite as high as the MiGs but are much cheaper.

K1GE_qKsZMs

[revelations]

Originally posted by DJ Lazy


A F15C didn't climb to that altitude in 1950 though... which is what makes this plane that much more unique.

True......but the BAE Lightning did go to 80,000ft+ in the 50's ....and successfully intercepted the U2 during an exercise.

[scat19]

Amazing

[YamahaV8]

Originally posted by revelations


Ever heard of the SR-71?

An F-15C (Streak Eagle) climbed to 80,000ft once.
The British Lightning was also able to climb to this level.

The strike eagle is an F-15E. But yes a modified eagle was developed to carry an anti satellite missile which the eagle carried to 80,000ft and launched vertically which is pretty crazy stuff.

[7thgenvic]

any more vids of these other planes you guys are talking about?

[YamahaV8]

Originally posted by 7thgenvic
any more vids of these other planes you guys are talking about?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV82gbriMc8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyjZ0besnYY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgpFjDzUldk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kONvXlWX5Q

[403Gemini]

LOVE this stuff!

Thanks for the link!!!

[revelations]

Originally posted by YamahaV8


The strike eagle is an F-15E. But yes a modified eagle was developed to carry an anti satellite missile which the eagle carried to 80,000ft and launched vertically which is pretty crazy stuff.

:drool:


"The museum's single-seat F15A, nicknamed "Streak Eagle," broke eight time-to-climb world records between Jan. 16 and Feb. 1, 1975. In setting the last of the eight records, it reached an altitude of 98,425 feet just 3 minutes, 27.8 seconds from brake release at takeoff and "coasted" to nearly 103,000 feet before descending. It was flown in its natural metal finish to reduce weight for the record-setting flights. To protect it from corrosion, McDonnell Douglas Corp. has since painted it in the gray color scheme of most operational F-15s. ":drool:

[Graham_A_M]

^ WOW. I had no idea about half the planes (and their feats) you guys speak of.
I knew of the SR-71 like most, but not about its incredible ceiling capability. Thanks, I have some researching to do.


(I'm in awe this plane was from the 1950's ...absolutely incredible)

[Nissan_Fanboy]

even just watching that gave me chills,
amazing, breathtaking.
I wonder what it was like actually up there

[sputnik]

Technically it is a Lockheed U-2 TR-1B