The U-2 spy plane has flown continuously for the intelligence community and U.S. military for 64 years.



As the times have changed and technology improves, the suits have gotten better at keeping pilots comfortable and alive.

One company, the David Clark Company, has been the sole manufacturer of the suits since the 1960s.

The U.S. Air Force is continuing to improve the pressurized flight suit used by U-2 spy plane pilots, 64 years after the airplane’s first flight. The service is using emerging tech, including 3D printing, to make the suits lighter, more comfortable, and most importantly, safer than ever before.

U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers with the flight suit he wore while shot down over the Soviet Union, 1960. Sovfoto Getty Images

The U-2 spy plane first flew on August 1st, 1955. The black jet’s ability to climb to extremely high altitudes and collect intelligence on adversaries and potential adversaries has kept it in Air Force service longer than any other aircraft. The airplane flies so high that pilots are required to wear a pressurized flight suit. Although the cockpit is normally pressurized, a sudden loss of pressurization could endanger a mission—and the pilot’s life—so pilots wear full body suits that resemble the astronaut suits.

Today’s pilots fly in a much better suit than their early predecessors. An article by Military.com profiles the David Clark Company, of Worcester, Massachusetts. The company has been the sole manufacturer of flight suits for U-2 pilots since the 1960s, and says that the level of innovation in the next generation of flight suits is similar to the rapid pace of development of the iPhone.

The company uses laser body scans and 3D anthropometric modeling to get the right measurements for pilots. The right fit is key—U-2 pilots typically fly for 10-12 hours Suits are built from molds, though in some cases the use of molds has been superseded by the use of 3D printing. Suit assembly from component parts is done by hand.

A U-2 flies over California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, 2016. Staff Sgt. Robert M. Trujillo/DVIDS

In addition to U-2 flight suits, David Clark Company is designing the suit for pilots flying the new Orion Multipurpose Crewed Vehicle . Orion pilots and crew may have to wear their pressurized suits for days on end, even longer than spy plane pilots. Work on the Orion Crew Survival System spacesuits could inspire further developments on the U-2 suits.

Meanwhile, the company is still thinking about how to improve suits for U-2 pilots, including improved suit materials and touchscreen-friendly gloves.

There are 26 U-2 aircraft worldwide, with home base for the aircraft fleet Beale Air Force Base in Northern California. The Air Force had originally scheduled to retire the planes in 2019, but those plans were nixed and the U-2 will fly for the foreseeable future.

Source: Military.com



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