Dave Price: My Trip to the Edge
Dave Price spent the week at Beale Air Force Base in Northern California, training to fly in the legendary U-2 spy plane. He floated above everyone but the astronauts on the space station when he took to the skies. As Dave trained for his journey and took us along, he also gave us a glimpse at the tools the Air Force uses in intelligence-gathering around the globe.
FRIDAY, Nov. 20, 2009
You know, as we get older and experience more, one of the negative consequences is that we sometimes wonder less. There's simply less to wonder about.
But there's still plenty -- and I suppose finding those things has become my passion. It's why I scuba dive -- to swim next to fish twice my size and wonder about life under the ocean. It's why I travel -- to meet someone in a remote part of the Amazon and wonder about how his life is different than my own. And it's why I fly -- to head to sky and wonder about all that's going on below as I float over it.
Yesterday, my wonderment followed my eyes above the canopy of the U-2 I was in and toward the deep blue above me. I thought about how little we all seem beneath the infinite darkness, and how miniscule we must be in contrast to the endless space above us.
But it also reminded me of how important each of us can be right here on Earth's surface. As meaningless as we may be in the endless reaches of space is how meaningFUL we can be to each other and our fragile planet.
Earth from 70,000 feet was physically breathtaking, but it was even more beautiful to me when I landed. I cherished the solitude of high-altitude flight because it also reminded me to cherish all that surrounds me right here on the ground.
That's what I wondered about yesterday.
WEDNESDAY, Thursday, Nov. 18, 19, 2009
I've been at Beale Air Force for three days now, taking in "all things U-2." From its colorful history to its current capabilities, the "Dragon Lady" (as she is called) is an imposing figure. Thursday morning, I'll go from learning about this remarkable airplane to experiencing it first-hand. My mind is racing, my heart is jumping, and there's a genuine sense of child-like excitement. I spent the late-afternoon Wednesday on the flight-line -- just watching the U-2s roar down the runway and disappear into the sky. And today, it's my turn.
I'll admit, after Wednesday's emergency training, I'm trying to erase the images of ejecting from the plane or suffering some sort of mechanical or structural failure. But it's hard -- especially since I've had to commit the egress procedures to memory. The pilots joke about it, but focus, safety, and the very serious business of flying are foremost on their minds.
Maj. Luke Lokowich is taking me up Thursday morning. He personifies everything you hope our military pilots are all about. In a phrase, he's out of central casting: Confident and amusing -- but detail-oriented and prepared. He told me what most excites him about our high-altitude flight Thursday is that he gets to share this experience -- this SINGULAR experience -- with someone else. I feel the same way -- because I'm sharing this flight with you. It's time to close the canopy.
Fasten your seatbelt and let's go!
TUESDAY, Nov. 17, 2009
Tuesday was a grueling day that once again gave creed to the slogan, "Nothing is as glamorous as it looks."
After doing the show from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. (Pacific time) -- so it could be live on the East Coast -- I spent time with the 940th Wing, which handles Global Hawk Operations.
From mission briefers, to weather officers, to maintenance crew members and pilots, these men and women operate some of the most technologically advanced equipment in the military. They do so with remarkably choreographed precision and cross-disciplinary coordination. In 2009, we have pilots operating jet aircraft flying over war zones -- who are in secured rooms thousands of miles away. Simply stunning. It makes you wonder how much "Gee Whiz" technology we have that we don't even know about. The men and women who make up this group are largely reservists, which enables this unit to remain efficient and agile, even in times of mass deployment. Next time you see a reservist -- ask them about what they do -- you'll be impressed AND thankful.
The afternoon was spent in a series of tests to make sure I am fit for high-altitude flight. Put in my altitude suit (read that: space suit!), I entered a pressure chamber and watched as the atmospheric conditions changed to simulate flight at 70,000 feet. Water boiled, balloons inflated, and I had gas pains (a physiological effect of too much soda before a rapid assent). Remember that next time you take the space shuttle. It can make for an awkward ride into orbit!
Late in the day, I went to out to the airstrip to watch the U-2 pilots practice "touch-and-go's," in which the pilot touches down and immediately goes full throttle, adjusts the surface controls of the aircraft, and takes off again. Because of the design of the cockpit and the restrictive clothing, U-2 pilots have a very poor sense of peripheral sight, so "spotter cars" race down the track at 135 mph or so, letting them know altitude just prior to touchdown. Wild, huh? That's how tricky it is to land the Dragon Lady.
The evening was all about bomb education and bomb building. I had a fascinating time with the men and woman of AFCOMAC (Air Force Combat Ammunition Center). The information and education they spread through the Air Force ensures that, where intelligence calls for a significant ordinance to eliminate a threat, the expertise will be there to assemble it.
So many people -- 3,000 on this base alone -- who do work on behalf of you and me in humble anonymity. Over and above flying in a U-2, this week, I've been privileged to meet some of them in person.
MONDAY, Nov. 16, 2009
Since childhood, I have been fascinated by the sky. The first time I flew was on a helicopter ride for five minutes at the Dutchess County Fair. I was eight years-old. I begged my parents to let me go up so I could tell my friends I did something amazing over the summer.
I ran out of the cockpit of that Vietnam-era Bell 47 like I had just returned from the moon. I never knew that ride extravagance was an expense my parents struggled to accommodate, and they never knew until years later -- the profound impact that few minutes at 800 feet had on me.
Fast forward 35 years. I travel -- quite literally hundred-of-thousands of miles-a-year by air for work. But no matter how often I'm on the road, or how frustrating it can be to get to and from airports, I still get a thrill as my plane lifts off. Thousands of pounds, hundreds of passengers -- and that behemoth of a machine glides down the runway and lifts us all up -- just to set us down hours later somewhere far away. It's a mind-boggling concept, even though I understand the science of it.
I've become a pilot myself now -- and I know the attention to detail and the preparation it takes to be a skilled aviator -- which makes this week's adventure all the more meaningful to me. Our military pilots are the best in the world, and the machinery and missions they fly are jaw-dropping. I'm heading to Beale Air Force Base to begin a week of training to fly in a U-2 Spy Plane at the edge of the earth's atmosphere. To CBS, it's an interesting story that will grip your attention -- to me, it's the fulfillment of a childhood dream. I hope you enjoy the week ahead as much as I will. I am going to reach for the stars and come the closest I've ever been to touching them.