Hobby Master HA6905 | Lockheed ER-2 "High Altitude Research Aircraft" 809, NASA, 1999

The Lockheed U-2 first flew in 1955 with the last being delivered in 1989 for a total of 32. NASA has two U-2s that were converted for scientific purposes to perform a variety of high-altitude missions around the world. The first ER-2 #806 was acquired by NASA in 1981 and a second aircraft #809 in 1989 and are now located at the Dryden Flight Research Centre. At one point there were 3 ER-2s but one was returned to the USAF.

The Lockheed U-2 first flew in 1955 with the last being delivered in 1989 for a total of 32. NASA has two U-2s that were converted for scientific purposes to perform a variety of high-altitude missions around the world. The first ER-2 was acquired by NASA in 1981 and a second aircraft in 1989 and are now located at the Dryden Flight Research Centre. At one point in time there were 3 ER-2s but one was returned to the USAF. The two remaining aircraft tail numbers are 809 and 806.

ER-2 Owner/Operator - NASA Armstrong (Dryden) Flight Research Center
Aircraft Type – High Altitude Research
Crew – 1
Duration - 12 hours depending on payload and weather
Payload - 2,900 lbs
Gross Take-off Weight - 40,000 lbs
Maximum Altitude - 70,000 ft
Air Speed - 410 knots
Range - 5,000 Nmi
Power - 30 kVA, (115 VAC at 400 Hz) 10kVA (28 VDC)