Gearing Up for High Flight

(CBS)  "Early Show" weather anchor and features reporter Dave Price is spending the week at Beale Air Force Base in Northern California, training to fly in the legendary U-2 spy plane in the "Edge of the Earth" series. He'll float above everyone else but the astronauts on the space station when he takes to the skies. As Dave trains for his journey and takes us along, he's also giving us a glimpse at the tools the Air Force uses in intelligence gathering around the globe.

On "The Early Show" Wednesday, Dave showed viewers how he will survive the trip.

Price, a licensed pilot, has flown in areas around the world, but he hasn't done anything like this. Dave needed training before he could even step into the spy plane -- even to ride in the back seat.

At the Air Force base, Dave learned how to function in a full-pressure suit, similar to what NASA astronauts wear. He was also instructed on how to survive in high-altitude environments.

Dave's U-2 "Space Suit"
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Maj. Luke Lokowich, a U-2 pilot, told Dave, "The suit protects the human body from the effects of altitude, should the cabin depressurize."

As part of his training, Dave learned the ins and outs of the suit, including the effects of the altitude, such as mental confusion and poor judgment, should his suit malfunction. "That is going to be tough to spot in me," Dave joked, "because that's the norm."

After he grew confident with the space suit, Dave was on to the main event: an altitude chamber that would mimic the effects of altitude and the pressure it places on the body. Dave even felt what it would be like if his helmet were to leak at 65,000 feet.

And when Dave ascended to the pressure of 75,000 feet -- an altitude where blood boils -- he said the suit was a "true wonder."

"It literally provides the boundary between life and death," he said.

In the chamber, Dave was also taught to identify the signs of oxygen starvation -- marked by euphoric or what Dave called "loopy" behavior -- which results in a oxygen-deprived condition called hypoxia.

However, at the end of his training, Dave said he learned how to be comfortable and save in his U-2 pressure suit.

Dave said, "I've got the clearance to fly, so Thursday, here we come!"

[Kilika20]

That WAS NOT! A Pontiac GTO in today's show! That was a G8!!! not sure if it was a GT or GXP as the lighting was too dim on the front fascia to tell if the fog light well was square or round... 2009 Pontiac G8 GT owner

[billg_mn]

Way to go Luke!
And yes, I know how to spell your name! (from Simon Ave)