Breathtaking Spy Plane Footage

This is some of the most amazing footage I think I have ever seen...would love to see this in HD on an IMAX screen! Think about this for a second while watching this. This plane was introduced in 1957!....Just let your mind think of what we have now and what our capabilities are....mind boggling.Enjoy.

A UFO at 5:44 comes from top left of screen...then the film cuts away. Or maybe just a reflection. Pretty views up there.

[edit on 7-8-2009 by ExPostFacto]

wow
so beautiful

wordwordwordwordwordword word word word

Oh why did they send that guy up there?

But man that's an impressive bird - funny to think they lifted the fuselage straight from an F-104 star fighter, you know the one with the ridiculously small wings and the high accident rate... I want a go!

I am glad many like this. This video gave me a lot more respect for the old U2.
She is certainly very impressive I must say. I am amazed at how little atmosphere is needed for it to continue flying. I suppose that is due to the wing span.

No UFOS guys

That is James May presenter of the UK car show Top Gear - he said its was a great moment on Jonathan Ross a few weeks back - you can get his programme on the BBC I player if your in the UK.

Oh for the record James is a private licensed pilot - and is known in the UK as Captain Slow for his driving ability. The lead presenter on the show Jeremy Clarkson threw up in an F-16 ...........

He admitted to having cried when he saw the atmosphere as the thin layer above the earth and was truly moved by the experience.

Great video of a U2 flight....crazy how high they were. I guarantee we have things that do much more that the old U2 by now...The sad thing is we won't know about it until 50 years from now.

I think James May is one of luckiest people in the whole of the UK, when I saw this show I was glued to the TV.

BTW the show was called James May at the edge of space, it followed him through the training and preparation for the flight absolutely amazing show.

There was a show on the week before in which he visited the American space program and interviewed an Apollo Astronaut at home, he even tracked down the original car given to the Apollo Astronauts, a gold car so they could take a spin, at the end of that episode was the run up to the show with the flight in the U2.
He's a very talented engineer, who has just built a two story house out of Lego, and intends to live in it for several days for a new show, very lucky man indeed I want his job.

Originally posted by CaptGizmo
I am amazed at how little atmosphere is needed for it to continue flying. I suppose that is due to the wing span.

Yhea I heard the U2 was quite a difficult aircraft to fly up at that altitude due to the fact that the ideal speed was only a few knots above the stall speed and a few knots below over speed... So the pilot was constantly on the ball for hours and hours... That probably got easier and the systems on board got more and more modern.

And they are single seat aircraft be and large, so you would be up there on your own... Imagine that, all on your own just looking down, back before there was a permanent presence in space you would of been the highest human in the world! - eating baby food through a straw

That was absolutely remarkable!! Very breath taking indeed! Only a very few have seen the earth from that altitude. We have a very beautiful world here don't we? Thanks for sharing the video. To be that close to space must have been a very sobering experience for any man?

Simply Amazing Liked James last profound comment ;
" If we all were able to do that once;
It would completely change the face of global Politics, Religion, Education and everything "

wow! breath taking is the best way to describe that...i would love to go for a ride like that and see earth from that perspective, it must be an awesome feeling.


SnF

It reaffirms to me when watching this that we need to take better care of our home. She is all we have and we should be more careful when we casually do things such as deciding to drill for oil in certain places or what trash we decide to put in a landfill. I think to many of us on this world take it for granted.

that was one of the best 10 mintues ever spent of my life!
thanks!

BUMP

This topic is important now, because of course as since the 50's the USA needs to risk loosing its "Spy Planes/Drones" and the following was an accident nearly 60 years later:

So you can "see" the spin as much as they can see without even endangering any craft:

Iran Decoding Recovered US Spy Drone

Kind Regards,

Elf

Video no longer available.

reply to post by angeldoll


Lol Soz:



Elf

James May you are one hell of a lucky guy , i envy you.