Got your heart on a angelical used ’ 59U-2 spy planeyou see on Craigslist ? Would you go onwards and take the dip if you just , you love , knew how to fly it ? Then boy , are you in luck .
That ’s because a couple days ago an total flight of steps manual for the U-2 from 1959 was declassified and released by the CIA . you may separate it ’s declassify because on each page where the word “ secret ” come along , someone has carefully draw a descent through it . We ’ve got a copy here for you .
The U-2 is , of course , one of the most legendary and well - known aircraft of all clip . It was one of the first dependable purpose - built undercover agent planes , created at the height of the Cold War to fly over the Soviets and click exposure at high enough altitudes to prevent them from finding out or shooting it down . Of course , the U-2 may best be get laid for the metre that both thefinding out and shooting down part actually happenedin 1960 over the Soviet Union .

Even after the Powers incident , the U-2 kept extend , undaunted , and is still in active service to this day . I ’m going to go out on a limb and assume that today ’s version is so wildly updated and advanced from the former ’ 50s model described in this guide , and that ’s one of the reasons this manual was declassify . Still , it ’s fascinating reading even if it likely wo n’t help much if you find yourself in the cockpit of a sword - novel U2 .
You ’ll alsoneed a Camaro help you put down , but if you ’ve sourced a U-2 then we ’re going to take over you ’re resourceful enough to find a brawniness gondola .
The U-2 itself is , by all accounts , a very tricky aeroplane to fly . To attain the 70,000 + feet of ALT it flies at , the plane must be very very light . It ’s designed , in many way , like a large glider that just happen to have a huge turbojet engine at heart . Luckily for you , this manual has all of the warnings , particular , diagram , and function you ’ll want to play along to the varsity letter to check that you get the most out of your U-2 purchase .

For me , the most surprising affair in this manual is the amount of New Yorker - ish cartoon involving a very flexible , anthrpomorphizedU-2 woodworking plane . They ’re somewhat capital , and I love that in project this very no - nonsense flight manual for a top - hush-hush , wildly expensive aeroplane , some government official made the decision that some little animated cartoon would really pick up this thing up , and had a cartoonist hired , and possibly given security measure clearance .
Even if you ’re not just about to purchase a U-2 planing machine , this still makes for a fascinating read , and is full of great diagram . Plus , all sorts of engaging details are unwrap , like how archetype should n’t really worry about smoke in the cockpit so much and the mention of a “ relief canister ” which I think I may put through at my desk for less embarrassing desk - urinating .
There ’s detailed instructions about how to land the very tricky U-2 , which was so clean and had such a large extension area it could become into a sort ofground - effectplane when set down , hovering above the rails on a cushion of strain .

Oh , and I should name this : apparently , all acrobatic maneuvers are forbid . Sorry .
delight .
Utility Flight Hb 1 Mar 1959

( Thanks , Karsten ! )
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