The US Air Force U-2 is at the California Capital Airshow in Sacramento.
The U-2 has been gathering intelligence on all over the world for more than 60 years.
Only one active-duty pilot has flown more than 3000 hours in the Dragon Lady.
The pilot who did it gave us a breakdown of what it takes to hit that milestone.
The US Air Force has a pilot. "Jethro" was determined to get into the training program after learning about the U-2.
He told Insider that flying the vaunted "Dragon Lady" meant being alone and unafraid, many miles from your home base.
Lieutenant Colonel. "Jethro" went on to complete the training program and land his dream job as a pilot on the U-2. 1,079 people have earned this distinction.
The second pilot to reach 3,000 hours in the U-2 while on active duty was Lt. Col. Jethro.
The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron is responsible for training all U-2 pilots.
He completed the same rigorous program 15 years ago when he was training the newest group of U-2 pilots.
In September, Jethro became the second pilot in history to reach 3,000 hours piloting the U-2 and the first to do it while on active duty.
He told Insider about his 125 day flight on the U-2 and what it was like.
It never gets old.
A U-2 flies above California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.
The curve of the earth is offered by the view of the jet at about 70,000 feet.
He says that it's weird because his eyes are used to seeing the horizon being flat. It's beautiful. It never gets old.
Water boiling at body temperature and life being not sustainable, requires a pressurized cockpit and a bulky full-pressure suit similar to what astronauts use on shuttle missions.
It is close to being able to fly in the U-2 if you want to.
It's difficult to get into a suit that allows men and women pilots to urinate mid-flight. The U-2 pilots have dedicated technicians from the Physiological Support Squadron.
The 9th Physiological Support Squadron helped Lt. Col. Jethro into his pressure suit.
The flight suits are the same as the aircraft. It can be awkward and comical to watch new U-2 trainees work with the technicians to get into and out of the suit.
It's a dance, and the first time you do it, you don't know how it works.
Once he's dressed, he is moved to a big reclining chair and hooked up to oxygen and cooling air. It can be very hot in the inflated suit. U-2 pilots can't strap themselves into the cockpit while wearing the suit and need the technicians' help, so they have to walk up the ladder into the aircraft.
The technicians handle the pilots' food orders. They have in-flight meals that are easy to use and come in a metal tube.
"We do a high-protein, low-residue diet," she said. You don't want to be gassy up there. Gas expands when the pressure goes down, making you uncomfortable in the jet.
3,000 hours with the Dragon Lady.
The U-2 is in the air on September 29, 2021.
The U-2 has been used by the United States for intelligence-gathering missions over the Soviet Union, Vietnam, China, and Cuba for more than 50 years. In the last few years, it has conducted missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's designed to fly in all weather.
The basic cockpit of the U-2 hasn't changed much over the past 40 years.
The biggest change since the early days of Jethro was the advent of the iPad and navigation technology. He says that before the technical upgrade, you were lucky if you knew where you were.
The East Texas native joined ROTC in college to pursue his dream of being a pilot. He had his first solo flight in 2002 and was on track to fly a larger aircraft, like the C-135 Stratolifter.
He wasn't sure what he wanted to do when he graduated from pilot training. The U-2 was suggested by his squadron commander and mentor. The training and selection process for the U-2 pilot application began after a search on the internet.
The U-2 was at the base on September 29, 2021.
The training program is limited. The candidates who make it through the interview will be trained in a T-38 Talon supersonic jet trainer. Remaining candidates move onto training in an actual U-2 to learn to fly, land, and do emergency procedures.
The students' seventh flight is their first solo flight. The space suit is followed by high-altitude training.
The pilots go through an evaluation after 14 flights. He said that if you pass the U-2 exam, you'll be sent over to mission qual [ification] where you know how to defeat threats. You are a qualified pilot when you're done with that.
In 2007, as a newly qualified U-2 pilot, Jethro was deployed for the first time. He flew missions over Iraq and Afghanistan when he was stationed at the Al Dhafra Air Base.
Within three years, he had racked up 1,000 hours. Some of those missions involved talking to assets on the ground and making decisions while flying over unforgiving terrain far from home.
He remembers one mission in Afghanistan in August 2007, when two helicopters crashed 100 miles from each other. He joined the effort to pick up the downed pilots, coordinating with an F-15 to keep the enemy away.
A pilot and a team.
The U-2 is taking off at the Beale Air Force Base.
The U-2 is a difficult plane to fly. The plane's 105-foot wingspan makes it ideal for flying high but notgainly close to the ground.
The U-2 has been stripped down in order to fly at high altitudes for extended periods, with wing-mounted wheels that detach during takeoff. The pilot's position in the cockpit makes it harder to see the runway.
It takes a lot of physical effort from the pilot to land, as well as the coordination of an entire team to get the aircraft onto the ground.
A U-2 pilot in a chase car gives directions to another pilot who is returning to the runway. The plane tilts to one side once it stops.
The 3,000-hour patch was presented to Jethro by the US Air Force/Senior Airman.
He had hit 3,000 hours when he landed at Beale.
He would have preferred a low-key beer to celebrate. His squadron came out to his airplane and cheered. The base's wing commander and his wife were also there to congratulate him, as was his fellow U-2 instructor pilot.
They presented him with a bottle of champagne and told him to put the cork on to the top of the hangar while keeping one foot on the ground and the other on the ladder up to the cockpit.
He says he's awful at that part. I haven't arrived at the hangar yet.
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