Gary Powers U2 mission 1960

[421dog]

Wilco. I’m asking them out to dinner this weekend, and I’ll Endeavour to obtain the requisite information.

[aircraftfan]

Originally Posted by megan

The flight manual says that it was normal to use the autopilot, but if not available due unservicability the aircraft could be hand flown without difficulty, just a normal instrument flight exercise.The manual I have is a 1959 edition.

C-823/AIC-10 Interphone control
AN/ARC-34 UHF transceiver
ARC TYPE 12 VHF transceiver
KWM-1 HF fitted to select aircraft
AN/ARA-26 Keyer fitted to select aircraft (automatic transmission of distress via KWM-1)
AN/ARN-6 Radio compass
AN/ARN-44 Radio compass alternative to ARN-6

It was a possible setup on the early U-2.

But what exactly was on-board Powers' U-2? The Soviets captured the remains of an ARC-34 and it's already widely known. I am also pretty sure that an ARN-6 (or ARN-44) ADF was also installed. Whether the HF and VHF radios were on-board, it's still unattested. Actually, more was revealed by the Soviets about the avionics of Powers' U-2 than by the US. Obviously.

[longer ron]

Originally Posted by megan

The flight manual says that it was normal to use the autopilot, but if not available due unservicability the aircraft could be hand flown without difficulty, just a normal instrument flight exercise.The manual I have is a 1959 edition.

Perhaps with the proviso that (as already mentioned) that at high altitude the difference between stall speed and Mcrit could be as low as 5 kt (from memory) and that during even a gentle turn - the L and R wing would (in effect) be at different speeds due to the high Aspect Ratio of the wings v the radius of turn.
I have not had enough coffee this morning to go looking for accurate figures but without the autopilot - manually flying an early model U2 at high altitude would have been hard work.

[Less Hair]

How would it behave in manual flight at extreme altitude? With a lot of rudder input needed and long time to react?
I had a chance to test fly the Perlan II simulator in simulated high altitude air density conditions for some short moment and the lag was impressive.

[longer ron]

I believe that one of the U2 manoevering (turning) limitations at high altitude was due to the fact that one wingtip (outer) could be nibbling mach buffet and the (inner) wingtip could be nibbling stall buffet even during a gentle turn - so the rate of turn would be limited by this.Again from memory,as I am just dipping in and out of this thread whilst doing other stuff .

[Visitation]

There's nothing secret about the RB-45 missions flown by RAF crews out of RAF Sculthorpe over Eastern Europe and the USSR or the fact that two RAF pilots, Robbie Robinson and John MacArthur, flew two missions in U-2s over the USSR. Although there have been rumors regarding Mosquito PR-34 and Canberra overflights of the USSR, no details have ever been released by the MOD and these just remain speculation. More details can be found at www.spyflight.co.uk

[NRU74]

I did one sortie in 1964 as part of a 543 Valiant crew over Russia. We flew from Kinloss and got the Valiant up to 53,000 feet and we were looking for a nuclear sub.We were east of the Kola Peninsula and were on task over the White Sea for an hour and three quarters. The 'source' said that it was being readied and was due to leave. We were working with a USN P2V operating out of Bodø.
I wasn't able to vote in the '64 Election as I was 20 years old but was able to fly over the USSR

[megan]

Handling, from the manual.