KerbalX

Description

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed Dragon Lady, is an American single-jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day and night, high-altitude (70,000 feet, 21,300 meters), all-weather intelligence gathering.

Lockheed Corporation originally proposed it in 1953, it was approved in 1954, and its first test flight was in 1955. It was flown during the Cold War over the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, and Cuba. In 1960, Gary Powers was shot down in a CIA U-2C over the Soviet Union by a surface-to-air missile (SAM). Major Rudolph Anderson Jr. was shot down in a U-2 during the Cuban MIssile Crisis in 1962.

U-2s have taken part in post-Cold War conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and supported several multinational NATO operations. The U-2 has also been used for electronic sensor research, satellite calibration, scientific research, and communications purposes. The U-2 is one of a handful of aircraft types to have served the USAF for over 50 years, along with the Boeing B-52, Boeing KC-135, and Lockheed C-130. The newest models (TR-1, U-2R, U-2S) entered service in the 1980s, and the latest model, the U-2S, had a technical upgrade in 2012.

This KSP recreation has incredible lift capabilities thanks to the large wings, and decent maneuverability. It can also fly as slow as 25-30 m/s before stalling. After reaching 25 m/s on takeoff, retract pogos with Action Group 5. Do not extend until after landing and the U-2 has slowed to a stop. Flaps (Action Group 3) increase lift, so land at a slight nose-down angle. This craft is capable of going supersonic, so try not to do so.

A derivative of the U-2, known as the ER-2 (Earth Resources 2), in NASA’s white livery, is based at the Dryden Flight Research Center (now Armstrong Flight Research Center) and is used for high-altitude civilian research including Earth resources, celestial observations, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, and oceanic processes. Programs using the aircraft include the Airborne Science Program, ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology), and Earth Science Enterprise.

This recreation of the ER-2 is armed to the teeth with science equipment and two cameras, one for observing Kerbin (at the base of the nose), and the other for observing the stars (in front of the span datalink antenna).

A mod aircraft called Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady (NASA ER-2). Built with 239 of the finest parts, its root part is Mark1Cockpit.

Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.5.1.

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: aircraft
• Part Count: 239
• Mods: 8
• KSP: 1.5.1

Mods

• Airplane Plus
• Infernal Robotics - Next
• NEBULA Decals Continued
• NEBULA EVA handrails pack.
• Procedural Parts
• RasterPropMonitor
• Squad (stock)
• TweakScale - Rescale Everything!