Celebration planned as spy plane turns 50

Published: Oct 14, 2005
Source: www2.dailynews.com



PALMDALE - Former and current U-2 pilots will attend a 50th anniversary celebration of the first flight of the U-2 spy plane.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Blackbird Airpark, which has on display a U-2D aircraft, a special test version modified with a second seat to hold a systems operator during flight tests of reconnaissance sensors.

"It's a very unusual airplane. There were only two of them built. They were both flown here at Edwards Air Force Base," Air Force Flight Test Center Museum Director Doug Nelson said.

Among those scheduled to appear are two of the earliest U-2 pilots, Hank Meierdierck and Louis Setter. Joining Meierdierck and Setter will be current NASA pilot Dee Porter and former U-2 pilots Dave Ferguson, Jon Guertin and Bob Riedenauer. A number of other pilots might attend during the day also. continue..