Flight of the Dragon Lady

What is it like to wrestle with a Dragon or dance with a Lady? This is the challenge all U-2 pilots must face when flying the Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady. When first seeing the aircraft, the plane resembles an awkward albatross bird from a prehistoric age. The Dragon Lady is always the most unique aircraft on any military ramp. She has 104 feet of wing span across her tiny fuselage. Two wheels make up her landing gear. Like a bicycle, one wheel is in the front and the other near the rear. Usually, the first question at airshows is, "How can the airplane stay upright on the runway?" Our only reply is, "You have to keep the wings level on landing, otherwise the Dragon will come alive." The U-2 may not be pretty on terra firma, but she was never born to stay on the ground. In the air, the Dragon Lady has a whole new personality. She will climb to the heavens with no stops in between. A little over 1,000 pilots have soared to the upper limits of our atmosphere alone in the U-2. All pilots have to make a reckoning with the Dragon, sooner or later. Hopefully, with experience, her occupants get to dance with the Lady more often than having to battle the Dragon. This book describes our missions and what it is like to fly the most challenging aircraft in the United States Air Force. Grab your spacesuit and let's head out for an adventure of a lifetime.

Major Don Pickinpaugh was a Lockheed U-2S Instructor Pilot at Beale Air Force Base in California. He was the Assistant Director of Operations for the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron. Major Pickinpaugh also served as a T-37 Instructor Pilot for four years at Reese Air Force Base, Texas. He has over 2,300 flying hours in U-2s, T-38s, and T-37s. Don logged 36 combat hours during Desert Storm. He is married to the former Sherri Juall of East Lansing, Michigan.