What there's a ball? I just used the LAR method and a bit a of braking stop nozzle position when necessary. That always seemed to work for me.

 

Are you the guy in the back row center of a group shot? The one with the helmet goggles and scarf ?

 

No. That was Col. Wolfe our Squadron Commander. I'm second from left in back row with intake "dome" behind my head. (flat top haircut)

 

Ftropppilot,
When I was a Lieutenant-booger-eatin'-FAIP in Del Rio, Vic Milam and Dick Callahan came to our Daedalians meetings each month. Did you know them from -57 days?

 

Did not know them personally. Milam was a RB57D pilot (see list). There are three different pictures of him on the second link below. Callahan I could not find. Those guys flew interesting missions lots of "nuclear sampling."

Three of them were over Vladivostock on December 11, 1956. As far as I know the RB57D is the ONLY USAF High Altitude aircraft flown by USAF pilots that has ever overflown the USSSR. No USAF RB57F, U-2 or SR-71 has ever done so. No RB57F, U-2, or SR71 and three as spare's.
The Russianll pleased with this intrusion into their airspace.

RB-57D CREW NAMES

4025th SRS

4025th SRS TDYs'

 

I thought Francis Gary Powers was shot down in a U-2 over the USSR? Here's what Wikipedia says:

But wait!! Then I realized that my understanding was inaccurate. Power's was flying for the CIA at the time, having already been discharged from the USAF. Did you know? He went into the CIA at GS-12.

Also...as an aside...I never knew about the Kyshtym disaster, "the third most serious nuclear accident ever recorded."

Once again I learn some new things thanks to your post(s).

 

Powers, like other CIA U-2 pilots was "sheep dipped." ( HowStuffWorks "11 Terms Used by Spies" ). If CIA pilots returned to USAF active duty they lost no time in grade for promotion or years credited toward retirement.

The first CIA U-2 USSR overflight was flown by Hervey Stockman. He was a WWII P-51 pilot, CIA U-2 Pilot, and USAF F-4 pilot who was shot down and lived in the Hanoi Hilton for years. The Vietnamese and their USSR sponsors never knew they had the first U-2 overflight pilot in the "palm of their hands." He retired as a Col.

R.I.P. Hervey Stockman, First Pilot to Fly a Spy Plane Over Soviet Territory

There were 24 CIA U-2 USSR overflights between July 4, 1956 and May 1, 1960. Twenty two of them were flown by CIA pilots. Two were flown by ACTIVE DUTY ROYAL AIR FORCE PILOTS.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-1285189.html

 

Back in the old days (1960s) we had DCI (bends) incidents. They were rarely documented unless they were near incapacitating. Recently there have been near fatal incidents involving U-2 pilots. Pressure suit flying has its hazards. Killer at 70,000 Feet | Military Aviation | Air & Space Magazine

U-2 Tweaks Aim to Avert Pilot Bends:
　
Technicians at Beale AFB, Calif., are modifying U-2 reconnaissance aircraft to nearly double the airplanes' cockpit pressure, thereby lessening Dragon Lady pilots' risk of decompression sickness when descending from extreme altitude, according to base officials."What we're doing is beefing up the structure and pressure equipment" including cockpit bulkheads, explained Lockheed Martin field representative James Barnes in Beale's Feb. 15 release. The Cockpit Altitude Reduction Effort retrofits will boost ambient pressure from 3.88 pounds per square inch to 7.65 psi, states the release.Even wearing a pressure suit at 70,000 feet altitude, U-2 pilots experience the physiological effects of nearly 29,000 feet altitude—equivalent to standing on Mount Everest, according to the release.The modifications will halve the perceived altitude to a more manageable 15,000 feet, said base officials. Members of the 9th Maintenance Squadron undertake the CARE tear-down and Lockheed Martin technicians complete the mods during phase maintenance at Beale, they said. The mods take roughly 23 days per airframe.

 

High altitude physiology is fascinating and a bit scary. I've heard civil airplanes check in at 510, and I've often wondered if they truly understand the dangers.

Even 50,000' will bend you, let alone the 3 second TOC being extremely dangerous if they are not wearing O2. I was an F-15 guy back in the day, and we were prohibited in peace time from flying above 50,000'.

 

And yet you flew to 50,000.....Why?.....Because you could! I did too. Good thing we wore our masks eh?