Sam breathing heavily mysterious music Right now, I’m flying in a U 2 spy plane 70 000 feet high at the edge of space. If you look outside, you can actually see the curvature of the Earth So to all the flat earthers out there.

I hate to burst your bubble, but take a look at that mysterious music, dramatic, music, Welcome to Beale Air Force Base Dating back to the 1960s.

This base has been known for one main thing: flying spy planes.

What began with the legendary SR 71 Blackbird now continues with the? U 2 an aircraft developed in secrecy within Area 51 to fly espionage missions over the Soviet Union during the Cold War, But despite over half a century of advancements in technology, the iconic? U 2 known by its nickname the Dragon Lady continues to fly, taking Air Force, pilots equipped with spacesuits up to altitudes exceeding 70 000 feet.

Today, I’ll be taking you along for an experience.

I never thought would be possible a flight inside the? U 2 to the edge of space, mysterious music engine roaring, dramatic music! So the? U 2 is not only one of the hardest aircraft to fly, but one of the hardest aircraft to land.

Because of the? U 2’s 105 foot wingspan.

She produces so much lift down low that you have to stall the aircraft to get her to land.

Six.

Four, three, two one, Because we don’t have traditional landing gear. We get a safety observer in the mobile vehicle.

The mobile officer is there to help safely land the airplane, dramatic music, For the run in phase we’ll set ourselves up with a nice turn: geometry Accelerate, as we’re joining to where we get onto the runway behind the aircraft anywhere from 100 to 140 miles an hour based upon the aircraft configuration dramatic music Once the aircraft comes to a stop, the ground crew put what we call pogos under the aircraft wings to level it.

The bicycle landing gear, not very stable.

You end up with a 105 foot teeter totter.

Once the aircraft runs out of airspeed.

Eventually it will settle onto one of its wing tips, which is why we have a titanium skid plate.

The pogos are unpinned for takeoff and re pinned on the ground after landing.

So that it can taxi back to parking like a normal airplane, dramatic music.

Well, there you go If you want to be a race car driver, an astronaut and a pilot.

I think these, U 2, guys are just about the closest thing to it. The! U.

2 is a product of the 1950s when espionage played a pivotal role during the early Cold War years.

Announcer Weight was the critical factor in the After realizing that pretty much every Air Force aircraft was able to be intercepted by Soviet air defenses.

The United States government realized they needed a new, more capable spy plane to keep tabs on the Soviet Union.

The idea was that if they could design an aircraft that could fly at altitudes exceeding 70 000 feet, they would be beyond the reach of Soviet fighters missiles and radar and could do their spying undetected.

Announcer.

It has the world’s.

Most efficient lift drag ratio for powered aircraft.

Not everyone knows that the CIA and not the Air Force were the first ones to fly the? U 2, and the reason for that is twofold.

The Air Force actually rejected the design initially because it was single engine unarmed and it didn’t meet military specifications for airworthiness. The other one is that it’s less provocative to have a civilian pilot overflying another nation rather than a military pilot Beginning in 1956, President Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overfly the Soviet Union with the U 2 and he was really conflicted about whether to do So, each time because he knew he was risking starting another war and we had just got outta World War II, But it was very important to get that intelligence on the Soviet nuclear program and their delivery vehicles.

The bombers and their missile program.

Announcer Center camera is mounted perfectly, The others are 37 degrees from the verticals And it really was a gamble each time he sent the U 2 over, because the intelligence at the time said that 70 000 feet was the limit of Soviet radar detection, but we weren’t a hundred percent confident Well, it turns out they could detect us On July 10th, 1956.

The US embassy in Moscow received a note that said that the Soviets were aware of the over flights on July 4th and July 5th, and they wanted us to stop.

Obviously, The ability to track us was really poor and they couldn’t shoot us down.

So there was no public acknowledgement of the US: U 2 over flights in the Soviet Union because they did not want to admit that to the rest of the world.

One of the most famous stories in the U 2 community is that of Air Force Pilot Francis Gary Powers In 1960, while flying the U 2.

As part of the CIA 30 year, old Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union by a surface to air missile.

Flying at 70 000 feet At the time.

No one believed a crash at that high of an altitude was survivable, but miraculously Powers ejected and lived After being captured by the Soviet Union. Powers was put on trial and sentenced to three years in prison and seven years of hard labor.

The event made headlines worldwide escalating the already red hot tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, bringing the two countries even closer to the brink of war.

Solemn music, Now, as you look at these photos of the incredible story of Francis Gary Powers, what goes through your head? Well, Francis Gary Powers that’s a story that everyone in the? U 2 knows right And I’m just honored to be a part of the legacy of men like him that had the guts and the bravery to actually overfly the Soviet Union, And you know after he got shot down.

He showed so much perseverance to stay.

A year and a half in a Soviet prison and then return with honor, So it’s just an honor to be a part of an aircraft with such a rich heritage.

You know to get ready for this video.

I actually re watched Tom Hanks’Bridge of Spies movie, which, as you know, talks about the Gary Powers incident and the prisoner exchange that sent him back to the United States.

I also love seeing that some of that movie was filmed right here at Beale Air Force Base right.

We actually have some maintainers and pilots here that were extras in that film, So we all thought that it was a pretty cool movie with the U 2 featured Now one more photo.

I want to show you This right here, as you know, is probably one of the coolest selfies, I think ever taken of the Chinese surveillance balloon last year, where they sent a U 2 up to kind of see what was going on. I guess, in my mind, like the: U: 2 is probably the perfect platform for that right To be able to fly that high and you know check out what the heck this thing was: Yeah that’s right Again, we are flexible and responsive and versatile right.

So we’re here ready to answer the call suspenseful music.

Now one of the most accurate descriptions I’ve heard about what it’s like to fly.

The! U 2 is imagine you’re riding a bicycle, except that bicycle weighs 40 000 pounds and has a wingspan of about 105 feet.

Its incredibly unique design is what makes the U 2 so difficult to fly, but at the same time is what gives it such a remarkable performance.

So the wings are designed to produce as much lift as possible, while they’re getting rid of as much weight as possible, so it can get higher and higher and higher It’s been said that every pound of weight they get rid of.

They go a foot higher and they’re aiming to go 70 000 feet and above So we already mentioned it’s called the Dragon.

Lady Is that why’Cause it’s kind of fierce at lower altitudes and then flies like a lady up high The flight characteristics up high once you get into the area that it does its mission, it behaves like a lady.

She flies beautifully, but down low it’s a little more challenging, So you got ta wrestle the dragon to the ground, dramatic music, Alright.

So this is a speed brake Really, the only time we use it is when we are done with the mission. It’s, time to come home and land so time to come down.

She likes being high.

So the first thing in the descent checklist is putting the gear down and bring the boards out, which is pretty unique, being up at 60, 70.

000 feet.

First thing you do to descent, is put the gear down and then bring the speed brake out to start producing enough drag to get back to earth dramatic music.

So I read that this is the same engine.

The B 2 actually flies with.

I guess that’s, a fun fact – Is that true Yeah, that’s right It’s the same basic engine that the B 2 has So some unique things about that 17 000 pounds of thrust.

So when the airplane’s almost empty, around 20 000 pounds for as short, we do around here, we get a pretty high deck angle, climbing away from the runway.

Up to 30 40 degrees notice, high, dramatic music. Alright lot’s changed over the years.

In the U 2 cockpit, We used to have a physical periscope with a view sight right here in the center replaced with MFDs to check the status of all kinds of different things in the jet engine instruments.

Primary flight display status of different systems on the jet navigation Flight controls.

You got the yoke the rudders throttle on the left side, Pretty typical speed, brake control, spoiler control and the mirror up here to check your contrails.

You can see right now.

I’m just wearing a flight suit that we wear on every day, But if you can imagine putting the full pressure suit on there,’s gon na be even less room to move around the cockpit So that’s its own challenge to deal with Dramatic music Now over the years, obviously, technology has increased.

We have satellites now, but the? U 2’s still flying and it’s still doing a job.

It’s done for a long time.

Why is that? What does this aircraft still bring to the fight, So we’re in the business of high altitude ISR ISR is intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

We could be persistent stay in an area for a long time. We could be flexible, So I could put a U 2 anywhere in the world on short notice and then turn around 10 minutes later and go right back.

Every different kind of player on the team brings unique strengths to the flight, dramatic music.

So, Sam, what do you think You ready for a high flight in the U 2 and go dance with the lady? I think I’m ready.

I’m nervous.

I won’t lie.

This was, I think, the one aircraft I thought.

I’d.

Never have the opportunity to fly in So I think that will sink in in just a little bit, But, most importantly, I’m excited for all of you to come with me on this flight.

It’s as much for you as it is for me.

Let’s do it upbeat music To disconnect? I’m just gon na disconnect here It’s. Gon na be everything’s clunky, You’re gon na.

Have this giant space glove on Anytime.

You have the opportunity to fly in a military aircraft, whether it’s a fighter or a heavy.

There’s training.

You have to be put through upbeat music, Where’s your canopy handle Left shoulder, get the beans.

They wan na make sure that, in the event of an emergency you don’t get yourself killed, Oh Well, at least.

If you can prevent it.

Sam laughs, I lost the glove.

There was the flight physical to make sure I was physically fit to fly.

Academics, to give me a basic understanding of how the U 2 works, egress training, how to successfully eject and bail out, should we experience a malfunction and even basics in parachute navigation, so that I could safely steer myself to the ground Okay sitting upright. So we’re gon na lean forward and stand up.

What have I just stood up into Um About a 100 plus knots of wind? Oh, Like that, you might just have to pass it Yeah yeah yeah And you’ll slowly go If they’re brand new, though you’ll go through the full lesson.

Well, there you go Most of my initial training is now complete, So now onto the part I’m.

Probably the most nervous for Behind these doors is where I’m gon na be fitted for my spacesuit dramatic music.

Now, one of the biggest concerns I had when preparing for this flight was how I was going to film it.

I needed a camera that could fit inside of the U 2 and, most importantly, can handle the extreme altitudes and temperatures up at 70 000 feet After researching the different options.

The Insta360 X4 was the camera that checked the most boxes.

So after reaching out to the Insta360 team, they agreed to sponsor this video, helping me capture the shots you’re about to see.

So what we’ve got here is two of the new Insta360 X4 cameras.

One in the front, one off to the side can allow us to capture some incredible footage from up at 70 000 feet. The X4 camera records up to 8K resolution in full 360, meaning you can film multiple angles with just one camera That gives you the flexibility to reframe your shots after the fact, including using their free Insta360 mobile app that has built in editing tools that makes reframing Your shots that much easier.

The X4 also has best in class stabilization and 360 horizon lock, which is great for both general action footage and especially using around aircraft.

And lastly, one of my favorite features is that when you pair the camera with their extended selfie, stick it automatically erases the stick from your shot, which lets you essentially capture fake drone shots, And if you use it like a regular selfie, stick it’s like Having a camera man following you around, If you’re interested in purchasing the X4 for yourself or learning more about its capabilities, you can scan the QR code on screen or click the link I’ve left down in the description below And the first 50 People who use that link will also get a free, extended selfie stick with purchase of their X4 suspenseful music.

So why do you? U? 2 pilots, wear spacesuits! Well put simply if you flew to 70 000 feet without one and lost pressurization.

That flight would be your last flight.

There’s a scientific term known as Armstrong’s line, which is an altitude at roughly 60 000 feet where the atmospheric pressure is so low that water boils at the normal temperature of the human body.

That means that if U 2 pilots, didn’t have these special suits and a decompression occurred, while at altitude their blood would instantly boil and lungs would be ripped apart.

Due to the lack of pressure I’m gon na.

Have you dive in Keep your elbows locked, So, as you can imagine, these space suits are custom, fit for every pilot, but in case you didn’t know I’m not actually a U 2 pilot myself, So what they did is they? Let me borrow a suit from a pilot who’s about the same kind of size and weight as I am Now there’s a certain level of adjustments that the team here is able to make, but other than that we just got ta hope for A good fit You’re having your thumbs through these tabs here Now when I say these are space suits that’s because they have actually been to orbit Prior to the first shuttle mission in 1981, NASA detected a defect in the batch of suits.

They were making for their astronauts. It was determined that the suits couldn’t be fixed in time to make the scheduled launch.

So what did NASA do? They made a phone call right here to Beale Air Force base and asked if there were any spare spacesuits that they could use, And I guess the rest is history, And that’s.

Why? If you look back at the photos from the crew of that? Very first shuttle launch they’re wearing the, U 2 iconic yellow suits instead of the NASA whites Make a fist Being in the spacesuit is slightly confining.

So one of the things that we actually look for when we’re doing interview sorties is we do a claustrophobia check on folks? How are you feeling, sir Feeling, okay Yeah, feeling good What’d you do So why a claustrophobia check When we’re? Looking to hire new, U 2 pilots, we wan na make sure that they’re comfortable in the spacesuit comfortable by themselves in that environment at all times.

So what that entails? Is we put them in the suit in a helmet, in an injection seat? Faced in a corner and leave’em alone for one to two hours to see how they will react, Not everybody does so well, but we wan na make sure before we spend the money to train them, that they know how to handle themselves.

This feels insane.

For me, one of the weirdest sensations in the suit was actually the breathing For one.

It’s super loud, so you’re hearing every single breath you take in and every single breath you let out And also at the same time it’s sort of a conscious effort because there’s a little bit of resistance.

Every time you exhale, you have to think about it right, It’s completely unnatural to what we’re used to in our everyday lives.

So what does it feel like wearing the suit? I’d say it’s: equal parts, badass and equal parts, terrifying On one hand, it feels like Neil Armstrong and Darth Vader And then, on the other hand, it makes you think, just how vulnerable we are as humans and how the second we leave Earth. You’re reliant on this technology here to keep us alive, mysterious music.

As soon as you have the suit on every movement, every task becomes about 10 times harder, As I was practicing, the different emergency procedures, turning dials moving switches even reaching down to actually pull the pins to arm my ejection seat handle it was tough.

I mean there is no like higher level of trust that goes into us, preparing your equipment, making sure that you’re ready to go And then all those checks we do.

The pilot is completely dependent on that outside crew Yeah Because they can’t do any of it.

Even the person who checks their aircraft who pre flight their aircraft that’s gon na, be their mobile driver, But tomorrow it’s all based on feel and what you think is what should be best realistically.

So what you’re gon na do now.

Is you’re gon na locate that food port for me as best as possible? Remember you can use the baler bar and find it with one hand and then just kind of guide it with the other hand, until you can get it in that hole Right here.

Yes, sir Yep, Maybe here It’s tricky It’s tricky.

It takes a while: Are you getting any food, Nice Awesome Trainer And then, before you finish, take your time.

I’m not rushing you, but before you finish, lick the outside of that straw before you take it out of the helmet completely Okay Trainer So eat. As much as you want, We’re on your time.

Oh wow, That was fun.

My training was complete My suit adjusted as best as possible, giving me a proper seal all around Meaning.

At this point, it was finally time to fly Shadows in the sky Footsteps.

In the night behind me, I don’t even have to do anything.

They do it all for me, Wolves hiding nearby, Whispering, do or die Around me.

Not one single cry Can save this soul of mine from drowning Dripping from my eyes Seeing red tonight.

As I wait to say my last Goodbye Air Traffic Controller Departure crew maintain flight, one niner zero Rolling one, five Charlie Wind 2007 cleared for takeoff Safe departure have a safe flight.

Emergency 02 lanyard Installed O2 QD Pushed in Crew Member Two chinstraps pressure and main airflow.

I got one two: three four and a ball Have a safe flight, dramatic music, Mongo, Pins panels, tools Cleared off chief, See you in a bit Crew Chief Copy that Have a safe flight. The! U 2 may look like a giant glider, but in her core she’s a fighter jet.

She takes off like a rocket every time.

So Mongo, I heard U: 2 pilots don’t call it a takeoff.

You call it a launch.

Is that true Mongo? It is, It takes a bunch of people to make this bird take off and we appreciate all of’em Maintenance, PSD everybody Thank them for everything they do to make the mission happen, And then it’s a blast off.

Huh Mongo, You’re about to see Ready.

I’m ready Mongo Tower Pinon 09 number one Charlie ready Here we go dramatic music, intense music Chase Car, Raise your right, Pogo free, pogo free.

Here we go Whoa That is fast: Sam laughs, Woo, Wow, mysterious music.

That is incredible.

Mongo We ain’t done yet So right now we’re about 0 3 miles from the field, and the spiral climb That was literally a rocket ship Makes sense. You wear the spacesuits Mongo: Oh yeah, engine roaring, NORCAL, Pinon, 09, Passing 200 for 230 Request, higher Air Traffic Controller, Pinon 09 Oakland Center climb and maintain at or above flight level 600 report reaching Mongo At or above 600 Pinon 09 Wilco It’s.

Funny.

I was gon na ask: is it normal Like right after you put your suit on you, just get like an itch on your nose Mongo It can And it’s.

Like can’t do much for the next couple hours Mongo Yep? Well, there’s 45, 000 Sam.

What’s the highest you’ve ever been.

So I did hit 50 000 once in an F 15, which was incredible, but we only did it for a few seconds.

So this is gon na be a lot more legit, I’d say Mongo Yeah, we won’t have any problem shattering that one today bright music Now crossing 50 000 feet is a bit of a milestone.

This is the altitude where Earth’s, atmosphere ends and the stratosphere begins And historically was once considered space, or at least what’s known as the space equivalent zone Mongo.

Now Sam there goes 50.

Your old altitude is now old, mysterious, music. It’s.

All new territory from here And you can see she still wants to climb At altitudes above 50 000 feet.

A person will become quickly hypoxic.

Why Simply put there’s not enough air pressure to allow your lungs to absorb the limited amount of oxygen? That’s in the atmosphere.

So if you’re going to be flying at these altitudes, you need to be wearing a full pressure suit.

Hence why we call it the space equivalent zone.

So if you notice here, if you kinda, look slightly above the horizon, you can see a gradation of blue into a dark blue Yeah Mongo.

If you could look directly above you, it would go even darker.

So as we continue to climb here, if you kind of maybe out the right side versus towards the sun there – and you can start to make out the gentle gentle curve As the numbers on the altimeter continued to climb higher and higher and as we quickly approached The 70 000 foot milestone the views to my left and right were something straight out of a sci fi movie Other than the astronauts in the International Space Station.

The two of us sitting in this aircraft are the highest human beings in the world And, as my pilot Mongo reminded me, because the rear cockpit in the two seat, version of the U 2 sits a few feet higher than the pilot in the front that meant, I was actually the highest human on earth – dramatic, music. You really are on top of the world here, Mongo.

Well, you more than me right now, bright, music Yeah.

That is true, And I guess I’m what Two feet higher than you laughs, Mongo Yeah.

A couple feet higher bright music Up until this point for my entire life.

Every time I’ve ever looked up during the day I’ve seen blue sky or clouds, But at this point it’s 70 000 feet for the very first time.

The atmosphere is now below us.

So when you look up, you see the dark black vastness of space, dramatic music Yeah.

I feel like I know the answer to this question, but does the view ever get old Mongo I don’t think it ever will.

Now there’s a term in aviation known as coffin corner.

It refers to the region of flight where even the slightest changes in airspeed or altitude can result in well. I think you get the point Something else.

You’ll notice on the speed tape on the left side of the screen, the red bar at the bottom, as we climb it,’ll start creeping up towards our indicated air speed.

As we start climbing into coffin corner The higher we climb, the closer we are to both over speed and stall up at altitude, putting us at a razor’s edge, flying margin at any given time Go too slow and you’ll stall.

The jet Go too fast and you’ll exceed your critical mach number Mongo.

You see how easy the roll there is.

Sam Yeah, dramatic, music Mongo.

She’s pretty pitch sensitive about altitude.

There’s, not a lot of air molecules.

The air over your wings will go supersonic, You,’ll pitch down, the aircraft will accelerate and the wings will fall off Mongo.

So here we go Watch your left wing, dramatic, music Wow. So it’s only been a little over.

You know an hour hour and a half for me, but what’s the longest flight you’ve ever had Mongo My longest one in the? U 2 was 12 8 hours moving iron between here and downrange.

So what are you doing to pass the time on? You know something that long Mongo, A lot of folks will read, or you know, keep themselves busy do puzzles and that kind of thing keep themselves mentally alert.

Was the rear end a little sore once you finally got out Mongo? Surprisingly? No, I mean I keep my lap belt, so I have enough space to kind of lift my butt off the seat and kind of flex my legs, so I don’t you know get too sedentary That’s smart Mongo.

We have some room, not a ton of room, So it’s.

You know we work with our sports therapist to kind of come up with the little things we can do in the sky, to kind of prevent.

You know, blood clots and things like that.

All right, well, I think now,’s a good time as any to pop open.

My lunch Never thought I’d be eating an apple pie at 70 000 feet, but here we go Mongo First time for everything Enjoy Will do Honestly.

This apple pie actually tastes pretty good. You can actually taste the crust Mongo.

Oh yeah, There’s, not many bad ones.

What are your favorites Mongo? I really liked the chicken tortilla soup for the longest time They changed the straw structure and now it’s hard to get the chicken through the straw.

Oh, no And not everyone knows they actually have heaters in the single seat variants of these.

So you can heat up your food Mongo Yeah.

It’s a little induction, heater kind of down by your left hip, So electric conduction heat it up for about 10 to 15 minutes and get a nice warm meal.

I love how the food bag says.

Dragon Food Mongo: Oh yeah, there’s all different ones that say things: Sam laughs, Air Traffic Controller, Pinon, zero, niner, air traffic, maintain 240 Mongo, 240 Pinon, zero, nine light, music Right Sam, so coming up, will be our descent check and first thing we do.

Is we lower our gear, get drag out there and help the jet start descending, So gears then down from 70 000 all the way till we land Mongo Yep And there’s no speed limit for the gear, unlike other airplanes, dramatic music.

So this one we’ll bug 90 knots. Once we’re lower and slower, we’ll go ahead and get configured Simulate the drag profile.

We want with 20 degrees of flaps and idle power.

Okay, can’t wait: Mongo, Pinon, 09 high key practice.

Precautionary Air Traffic Controller Pinon 09 report low key.

If I had to sum up that experience, I just had I’m, not sure you can really put it into words: Truly magnificent, dramatic music Air Traffic Controller Pinon 09 runway 15, Wind 180 at five cleared to land Announcer For more than 50 years.

The! U 2 has played a vital role in American strategic intelligence News Reporter From the Gary Powers incident on May 1st 1960 Announcer.

U 2 continues to be a valuable asset to the US Air Force and will likely remain so for years to come: Air Traffic Controller.

Six.

Four three: two To left rudder Welcome back nice job Back on mother Earth Made it back safely, dramatic, music.

Ah, Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m ever going to be able to top that experience. But I wan na sign off by saying thank you.

Did it Woo First off to the team here at Beale Air Force Base allowing me to do a project like this? Second, to my team manning the cameras and helping me tell stories the way I want to dramatic music And last but not least, to you watching Your support.

Lets me do videos like this, and it means more than you will ever know So that’s it from the mighty? U 2 Dragon.

Lady Don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already And in the meantime I think I’m gon na go, get outta this suit, dramatic music, intense music, .

As found on YouTube

Animal Kingdom Anarchy