CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
A U2 spy plane was parked at Hickam Air Force Base yesterday during a rare one-day layover. Pilots require pressurized suits to survive at the usual flying altitude of 70,000 feet.
There is always a U2 spy plane airborne somewhere providing wartime planners with the latest intelligence. U2 spy plane takes
pit stop at Hickam
By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comYesterday one of them made a rare one-day layover at Hickam Air Force Base on its way home to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, Calif. The last time one visited Hickam was in August.
Maj. Brad Berry, who flew U2s for eight years before becoming chief of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance at Hickam, said the 63-foot aircraft had just completed a mission in South Korea.
Berry, who flew C-130 transports before moving into the U2, said the single-seat, single-engine aircraft is "a very difficult plane to fly."
Berry likened it to "trying to ride a bicycle while balancing a 20-foot-long two-by-four plank on your back."
By both military and Federal Aviation Agency standards, Berry said, the U2s are difficult to land. "You have to stall it to land," he said.
The Air Force maintains a fleet of 31 single-seat U2s and four two-seat trainers. Two others are operated by NASA.
To qualify to fly the high-altitude surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, a military pilot needs at least 2,000 hours of flying time before he can apply.
Since most missions occur at least 70,000 feet, the pilots have to wear pressurized suits, costing $250,000 each, similar to those used by astronauts.
"Everything is critically controlled," Berry added, pointing out that blood boils at 60,000 feet. "You may have to spend at least 14 hours in that suit on any mission."
When the U2s became operational in 1958, it was because President Dwight Eisenhower wanted "just a platform to carry a camera," Berry said.
In the war in Kosovo, Berry said, U2s were used to find targets.
The most celebrated U2 incident occurred in 1960 when the one flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down. Powers was held by the Soviet Union for nearly two years until he was exchanged for a Soviet spy being held by the United States.
On Oct. 14, 1962, a U2 photographed the Soviets installing missiles on Cuba.
But Berry said U2s also can provide peacetime reconnaissance in supporting disaster relief efforts during floods, earthquakes and forest fires.
The Air Force said its fleet of U2s are being upgraded to replace the cockpit's round dial gauges with new equipment, including three 6-by-8-inch multifunctional displays.
