Many great breakthroughs have been made during the previous decade and many engineers had the peak moment of their careers, but the man who designed the U-2 Spy Plane made a huge mistake which give great headaches to the pilot who fly with it.
At first look, this glorious plane looks absolutely futuristic and is massive compared to other planes. Its wing span is huge and the U-2 Spy Plane is capable of reaching heights as much as 70,000 feet. But it is very risky to land with it. Why is it so? It has temporary wheels, which are called the “pogos”, help the plane when it takes off and they are left behind as soon as the plane leaves the runway. But this marvel of a plane has ONLY two sets of wheels!
They are lined up in the middle of the plane, just like on a bicycle and when the plane is supposed to land, the pilots need huge experience as well as perfect weather conditions to land safely. It wiggles and shakes hence it loses balance due to the alignment of the wheels. There are also extra pilots which sit in a car at the end of the runway. The car is supposed to be super fast as it needs to keep close to the plane as it lands. When it does so, one of the huge wings touches the ground. They are equipped with titanium skid plates at the end thus protecting the wing from getting destroyed. What an awesome plane this is!
Finally, check out this amazing Plane vs. Car race!
