Chase Car and Ground Support Equipment

A U-2 does not fly alone. A chase car (the "mobile") follows you on takeoff and landing, a runway crew pulls the pogo pins, a pogo crew fits the pogos after landing, and carts on your stand give ground power, starting air and oxygen.

Note

Keep the chase car on. EFB Settings tab, section Chase car and ground crew: Chase car turns the vehicles and crews on or off; Radio calls turns only the calls on or off. Both are on by default. The vehicles for each variant are listed under Variants.

Who Comes Out

Why a mobile: the U-2 pilot sits low in a long nose, in a pressure suit and helmet, and cannot see the runway well in the last few feet. At a real U-2 base another U-2 pilot in a fast car follows every takeoff and landing and talks the pilot onto the ground. Yours drives by itself.

Vehicle or crew	When	What it does
Chase car (the mobile)	Takeoff and landing	Waits behind you on the stand, follows you to the runway, checks the runway, chases the takeoff and the landing and gives the radio calls
Runway crew pickup	Before takeoff	Brings two technicians, one to each pogo, to pull the pogo pins. After takeoff it collects the pogos from the runway
Pogo pickup	After landing	Brings the crew that fits the pogos again
Stand equipment	Parked	Ground power, starting air, oxygen, stairs and the crew van: see Ground Equipment on Your Stand below

Departure

1On the standOn the stand, work the carts from the EFB Ground tab.

2Engine runningStill stopped, with the engine running, the mobile calls "mobile's up". When all the carts and the stairs are disconnected it calls "mobile taxis clear".

3TaxiRelease the parking brake: the chase car backs out and follows you to the runway.

4On the runwayLine up on the centreline and stop. Hold still for at least 1 minute. The runway crew pickup brings two technicians, one to each pogo. They pull the pogo pins (and the emergency-start safety pin). Wait for "ground crew clear".If you move earlyThe technicians leave. The pins they have not pulled stay in, and those pogos do not fall on the takeoff roll.

5TakeoffThe chase car follows you down the runway. The pogos fall on the takeoff roll, and after you are airborne the pickup collects them from the runway.

Landing

1ApproachDescend below 3,000 ft above the ground towards a runway: the chase car and the pogo pickup come out. With the gear down, the flaps out and below 1,500 ft, the mobile calls "mobile's up".

2FlareThe mobile calls your height from 10 ft down to 1 ft. If you are more than 1.5 m (5 ft) off the centreline above 5 kt it calls "left rudder" or "right rudder". Trust the calls: the height is hard to judge from the cockpit.

3RolloutA touchdown call, then "stop on the runway" and "slow down" as the speed decreases. Keep the wings level with the aileron until you stop.

4Pogos back onStop (3 kt or less), on the runway or wherever you have rolled to, and hold the brakes. The pogo pickup brings the crew. They fit the pogo under the raised wing, level the aircraft and fit the other one. The mobile calls "pogos on", then "mobile taxis clear".If you taxi offThe crew stops, and starts again when you next stop.

5Back on the standTaxi in and shut down. With the engine stopped and the aircraft secured, the chase car parks on your stand.

With the Chase Car Off

No vehicles, no crews and no calls.
The pogo pins come out by themselves as soon as you are on a runway.
After landing the pogos are back on at touchdown.
The stand equipment on the EFB Ground tab still works.

Ground Equipment on Your Stand

The carts and vehicles are worked from the EFB Ground tab, only while you are parked: on the ground, stopped, off the runway and with the parking brake set.

Equipment	EFB name	What it does
A/M32A-86 ground power unit	GPU	External power. Connect, then EXTERNAL POWER ON in the cockpit
Air-start unit	ASU	Starting air for the engine: the only way to start it on the ground
Oxygen servicing cart	LOX	Fills both liquid-oxygen converters, engine stopped
Boarding stairs, open or covered	STAIRS	Access to the cockpit; Position at cockpit puts them there
Crew transport van	CREW	The crew van on the stand

Hidden / Auto / Shown for each vehicle. On a parking start the GPU, the air-start unit and the oxygen cart come out by themselves. Connect or Attach also brings out a hidden cart.
Servicing: a connected cart first drives to its service point and connects its cable or hose; the line under the service shows the progress. Disconnect all clears the carts and the stairs before you taxi.
Moving a vehicle: drag it on the stand map, or move and rotate it in steps. Each one can go up to 40 m from its default spot, and never into the aircraft's clearance.
What breaks a connection: releasing the parking brake, hiding the cart, or (for the starting air) rolling faster than 3 kt. Route blocked means a vehicle is in the way: disconnect, clear the path and try again.
The EFB Set up aircraft presets need no carts: Ready for taxi and Ready for takeoff put the engine straight at ground idle.

Every Ground tab control is under Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), Ground tab.

If Something Does Not Come

Problem	Check
No runway crew	Is the chase car on? Are you on the runway itself, and still for at least 1 minute? They leave when you move and come back when you stop again.
No calls	Radio calls on the EFB Settings tab.
A cart does not connect	You must be parked off the runway with the parking brake set (chocks fitted with the EFB option Cockpit handle on Stall strip).
Pogos stayed on after takeoff	The pins were still in: see Takeoff with Pogos Still Attached.