Synopsis
What is it like to wrestle with a Dragon or dance with a Lady? This is the challenge all U2 pilots must face when flying the Lockheed U2 Dragon Lady.
When first seeing the aircraft, you think this plane looks awkward, unsettling, and out of its league with the other pretty aircraft on the ramp. It resembles an albatross with its hundred and four feet of wing. It has only two wheels like a bicycle, one in the front and one in the back. How can it stay upright on the runway? Some may describe it as an ugly duckling on the ground, but she was a beautiful lady to me.
But in the air, the Dragon Lady has a whole new personality. It was born to climb to the heavens with no stops in between and no slowing down.
Only 1,000 pilots have soared the skies alone in the U2. At first, all pilots have to make a reckoning with that Dragon. Many flights later, they will get to dance with the lady.
This book tells the story of what it is like to fly the most challenging airplane in the United States Air Force’s inventory.