Spend a few years as a pilot and aircraft checkouts become second nature, those hours spent with an instructor to learn the ins and outs of a new machine so you can head off toward that next dramatic destination on your own. Every once in a while though the act itself of checking out becomes the adventure as a recent story from The Star and Stripes explained about some young USAF pilots.
Becoming a U-2 Pilot
Key Takeaways:
- The U-2 "Dragon Lady" spy plane, a critical high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance asset, requires highly specialized and demanding pilot training, including extended solo flights at extreme altitudes.
- Facing a significant pilot shortage across the service, the U.S. Air Force is modifying its traditional pipeline for U-2 pilots.
- Instead of exclusively recruiting senior, experienced pilots, the Air Force will begin an experimental program to allow younger pilots to enter the U-2 assignment track directly out of undergraduate pilot training, starting with an instructor role.
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