Brett;
This is just one of those rumors that never seems to die. In the F-14 community, we
use to routinely train against the U-2 as a high altitude target to practice Phoenix
missile launch parameters. The real adversary was the Mig-25 Foxbat, but they were
never available as a target. The U-2 would typically cruise at about 60-70K at a
speed of about .92 IMN. So, lets say that they operate at 14 miles of altitude.
Even with the 60-1 glider ratio of the Nimbus 4, that only gets them 840 miles.
Obviously the glider ratio of the U-2 is considerably less, probably on the order of
30-1, so 420 miles is probably closer to reality. Glide ratio's aren't real good no
matter what you're flying in the rarefied air above 40K. BTW, the best glide ratio
of any fighter I flew was the F-8 Crusader at 20-1. Even this was fairly impressive
as we could easily cover 100+ miles from 40K feet and still arrive at a high key
position for a dead stick approach. Of course, as soon as we deployed the RAT (Ram
Air Turbine) to generate electricity and hydraulic pressure, the glide ratio dropped
to 15-1 and with the gear down, it became 10-1.
BTW, the intercept profile was much more difficult when the target became the SR-71.
It's a whole different ball game to try and intercept the SR-71 at 85K and 2.8 IMN.
Fred
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