I think I saw a U-2 fly over my house today

I live in Northern California, north of Beale AFB, so it would make sense if it were a U-2. But are U-2 engines loud? The plane that flew over head was lower than a passenger jet, and was moving fast and loud, and resembled a U-2 with the long thin wings, and body shape, but I have never actually seen one in person, and actually thought that they were 'retired' All I can say is I was a bit freaked out, because i had just finish posting here at ATS and a loud sound started rumbling outside. I ran out saw it, freaked out, ran in side to grab my digital, ran to the back yard and it was behind a tree, so I ran to the front, cutting my foot, and then took seven shots, only two show anything, and even then, it had gotten so far so fast that I you can't make out anything but a diamond shaped 'ufo'

So anyway, are U-2s loud? Or is there some other Jet that looks just like it, and is loud?

Thanks for your time?
DocMoreau

If you think you saw a U-2, chances are you saw a U-2.



If you mistook something else for that, you need to go to an optometrist.

Mod Edit: Image Hotlinking – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 2/8/2007 by Mirthful Me]

You probably saw a TR-1 based out of Beale. They used to practice touch and go's at the Chico airport about 50 miles north of Beale and are presumably being replaced by Global Hawks and Raptors as battlefield recon platforms. I believe they are also flown by NASA, though I doubt that you would NASA planes in that area. Hope that helps. Oh, they are quite loud as well. Not a true "stealth" aircraft.




[edit on 2-8-2007 by clay2 baraka]

[edit on 2-8-2007 by clay2 baraka]

[edit on 2-8-2007 by clay2 baraka]

Pfft. Not much difference between the U-2 and TR-1, expect that the 'U' in U-2 actually stands for Utility, a ruse to put to Soviets off in the 50's, when it was designed. Oh, plus those pods.
The U-2 was never designed with stealth in mind. I think the first aircraft to come out of the Skunk Works with a design bias towards stealth was the A-12.

Thank you for the input. It did indeed look like the U-2, but since I am in the Chico area, I guess it could be a TR-1. It did seem low enough, that it had recently taken off, and my location is almost directly between the Chico Airport and Beale, so that helps solve part of the issue.

I couldn't believe how loud it was compared to the Coast Guard planes that normally fly overhead near here. Or compared to any jet I have seen over head. It didn't look fast because of the wings, but man was it hard to photograph.

It may have had the 'pods' as well.

Thanks again,
Doc Moreau

PS... I thought Chico was a municipal airport, why would the Air Force use it to practice takeoffs with a spy plane?

The EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, WI just wrapped up this weekend. One of the highlights was U-2 'Spyplane' Makes Public Arrival at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2007. It was scheduled to land Thursday, July 26th at 2:30. I'm not sure when it took off. But, according to the EAA...

Pilot Maj. Jon “Huggy” Huggins, EAA 562929, is scheduled to fly the U-2 to EAA AirVenture. The aircraft, one of just 33 that exist - including five two-seat trainers and two ER-2 models operated by NASA - is based at Beale Air Force Base in California.

So perhaps you saw it on it's return flight?

I didn't attend the show but talked about it with a co-worker who went and he said the U-2 was the highlight of the show. He said he was amazed at how the plane lands... it lands on only two in-line wheels, front and back (no wing mounted gear to save weight). After touches ground, two chase cars take off after it, wait till it slows down enough (about 10-15 mph), and then, while it's still rolling, a guy jumps onto the wings and hangs there to keep it balanced while the supporting gear is attached. (sorry if this isn't totally accurate... I got it second hand but thought it was interesting).

Hope this helps... mecheng.

EDIT: Here's a video from EAA '07 (WITH LANDING)!!!

EDIT: Here's a better video of how the U-2 takes off and lands!

EDIT: Here's a discription of landing... maybe my friend meant the guys jump on the wings after the plane stops Wikipedia

Skids made of titanium are located on the bottom of each wing tip to protect the "heavy" or downed wing, which occurs because without the pogos in place (which are left behind on the ground when the aircraft lifts-off) the aircraft tips to one side once it has slowed down sufficiently during landing. The ground crew installs a pogo in the "light" or up wing first while the other crew members use their weight to pull down the light side. Then two of the crew push up the heavy wing, allowing a third crew member to install a pogo on the other side

[edit on 2-8-2007 by mecheng]

Originally posted by DocMoreau
PS... I thought Chico was a municipal airport, why would the Air Force use it to practice takeoffs with a spy plane?

I believe Chico airport is/was an Air Force auxiliary airport. Not sure any more.
A-10s warthogs used to train there fifteen years back.

There are no planes designated TR-1, they are all U-2 variants now. I wouldnt be surprised at all if they practiced approaches at other airports.

U-2s were not designed with stealth, but the paint they use probably has some additives, and there was the "Dirty Bird" project.

If you live anywhere in the vicinity of Beale then you can be sure it was a U-2. I live just outside of Beale AFB and the U-2's conduct sorties daily. Their touch and go pattern takes them down over Wheatland and Lincoln, back up over Marysville on to just about Oroville and back to Beale. They overfly the Chico area all the time.

And to answer your question, the U-2 is surprisingly loud. Typically you know it is a U-2 when you hear a kind of howling noise followed by a very loud roar that abruptly stops to initiate the glide. The takeoff is also incredibly loud for a plane that looks like it should be quiet. I remember when the SR-71 was based here and although the HABU was louder, the U-2 could definitely hold its own in the decibel department.

The U-2 is extremely loud. When flying, it has a distinctive and persistent loud roar. I heard one climbing out from Palmdale today.

Thanks, firepilot for clarifying the designation issue. The TR-1 designation was replaced with U-2R. After the engines were upgraded, the aircraft was redesignated U-2S. NASA operates the ER-2 version.

Some parts of the aircraft are coated with radar absorbent material (RAM). There is also a RAM paint, but I'm not sure how extensively it is used.

The U-2S is a vastly different aircraft than the original U-2. Much more capable and a lot more power.

But even as the original one had less power, it was smaller and lighter. In the late 50s at Ellsworth AFB (then Rapid City AFB), my grandfather who was an RB-36 and B-52 pilot, was working the RSU box (runway supervisory unit), and a U-2 took off, reaching almost 30,000 ft by the time it hit the edge of the base.

Thats what a 45 degree climb angle can do for it. At that time, it was not a black aircraft per se (although it was earlier), but was not all that well known. A model company wanted to make a plastic model of it to sell, and the USAF pressured them not to

I believe the point of the TR-1 designation was for a new build of U-2s that were going to be based in the UK, and so by calling it TR-1, didnt have the baggage of the U-2 designation, and would be easier on the UK government

Probably that whole TR-1 designation, along with that Tier-3 UAV program, is what lead to all that TR-3 ongoing sillyness.


[edit on 3-8-2007 by firepilot]

Thanks for all the input.

What an amazing aircraft. I wish that I had not even bothered trying to get photos, so I could have just watched it. I guess since they fly in this area I might see it again...

Another question, while talking about seeing the U-2, a friend said that they recently saw over the Chico Area a "Lear Jet that went up and down like a Harrier" and was a little disturbed. I didn't see it, but my friend is pretty certain it looked like a Lear Jet, but was doing some VTOL type maneuvers. Their father was a crop duster/some sort of pilot in Vietnam, and was telling my friend no way. Either it was a harrier, or it wasn't. From what I understand, the plane was able to go up/down, hover, and then sort of 'peel out' at a high rate of speed.

Seem like Chico has some interesting aircraft flying over head.

Doc Moreau

I can't say what type of jet it was, but there are several V/STOL aircraft out there today, including some business jet experimental prototypes. Your friend could have seen one of these. And it would move very fast once out of hover due to the large thrust required to lift the aircraft. It would be like putting a drag car engine in a Chevy Sprint.

U-2's are very loud. Once they take off they climb relatively quickly and go high enough that you'd normally never hear them, but they'll put quite a dent in your ears if you hear them at low altitude. They only have a single engine but it's not baffled at all so you hear the full brunt of it. They used to wake me up regularly overseas where as I could sleep quite soundly through F-16 takeoffs.

Dire,
Do you have links to photos of some of those V/Stol crafts? I would love to do a 'line up' with my friend to see if they could identify it. Thanks in advance.

DocMoreau