U2 pilots rely on special flight suit

Published July 22, 2012
By Tech. Sgt. Amanda Savannah
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- As the pilot steps to his aircraft, someone watching him from a distance might mistake him for an astronaut.

Except for the yellow color and a few other small details, his suit is similar in appearance - a one-piece, zip-up suit with air pressure valve, special boots and gloves, and a ring around the neck for the helmet to lock on to.

However, this pilot is not an astronaut. He's a U-2S pilot in the U. S. Air Force.

Home based at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., U-2 pilots and support personnel are often rotated to operational detachments worldwide. Capt. Peter, U-2 pilot, and Staff Sgt. Jason Aldeguer, physiological support detachment supervisor, are currently assigned to the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron here.

The U-2 supports the 99th ERS's mission by providing imagery, surveillance and reconnaissance, said Aldeguer, a native of Anchorage, Alaska. To do this, the aircraft routinely flies at altitudes in excess of 70,000 feet, which requires the pilot to wear a full-pressure suit similar to those worn by astronauts.

"From what I'm told, it's an identical suit to what astronauts wear when they are going up or coming down, because it fulfills the same purpose," said Peter. "It gives them a safety net to protect them in case something goes wrong."

Typically, the U-2 cabin is pressurized to 29,000 feet, Peter said. Though this is roughly equivalent to the top of Mount Everest, a safe pressurization altitude.

The pilots are also put on 100-percent oxygen approximately an hour before launch, Aldeguer said.

"The purpose in having the pilot on 100-percent oxygen is to decrease the amount of nitrogen in his body so we can reduce the effects of DCS (decompression sickness)," Aldeguer said. "In decompression sickness, nitrogen bubbles begin to form in the blood. Those bubbles can travel to your joints or even worse your central nervous system, i.e. the brain or the spinal cord."

Should something cause the cabin to depressurize, at 70,000 feet the nitrogen would boil the pilot's blood, causing death, Peter said.

"The suit is a backup to prevent that from happening," he said. "If the aircraft depressurizes then the suit will inflate and keep us at a safe pressurization altitude."

The full-pressure suits are maintained by the PSD.

"The suit gets pre-flighted at least four times," Aldeguer said. "We check for anything (including) rips, tears, holes in the suit. We've never lost a pilot due to a malfunction of the suit."

The full-pressure suit has been around since the U-2's inception in 1955.

Because the suits are very delicate and expensive, it also takes three PSD members - two technicians and a supervisor - to help the pilot don the suit.

"The suit is worth up to $250,000," Aldeguer said. "The suit is also very delicate. We need the two technicians to dress a pilot to make sure that he can get in and out safely and without tearing or damaging the suit."

Suiting a pilot usually takes no more than five minutes, Aldeguer said.

Peter added once the pilot is in the suit, the technicians run a few checks to ensure the suit is working properly.

"Then we'll head out to the aircraft to get integrated into the jet and go fly the mission," he said.

Peter said that while he knows he's putting himself in a hazardous situation, the reward he receives from flying the U-2 and the security he feels from those supporting him on the ground is well worth it.

"You couldn't ask for more," he said. "It definitely gives us that good feeling (knowing) that when we go, if anything bad does happen, we have a nice solid, secure safety blanket that will protect us."

Aldeguer loves his part in the mission here.

"Some people don't get to actually ... know what their impact is on the mission," he said. "I love the satisfaction in knowing I had a part in making sure (the pilot is) safe."