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Knew a dude who operated a bulldozer on contract for the army in the early 60s. He'd get on a bus in Nevada and get taken to "don't ask where." He was given a b
by h2odragon 3y ago
Knew a dude who operated a bulldozer on contract for the army in the early 60s. He'd get on a bus in Nevada and get taken to "don't ask where." He was given a big bulldozer; which he would use to pile up triangle shaped piles of dirt beside a long, long runway. Then a few days later he'd be back, doing the same thing, the piles he'd made last week mysteriously gone.
Later he found that he was building sound baffles for incoming U2 flights; and the turbulence blew his work away after only a couple landings. Said it was good money and helped him get started. He was eventually one of the bigger military surplus dealers in the USA.
- scheme271 3y agoThat seems off. The U-2 used the same engine as the Boeing 707 and then later the B52 back then. And I can't imagine that the engine are really all that powered up on landings since the U-2 acted a lot like a glider when landing.
- graupel 3y agoWell, every U2 that lands needs to take off again, so maybe it was related to takeoff more than landing...
- scheme271 3y agoSure but B52s have 8 of those engines and they don't need baffles and/or aren't destroying them on a weekly basis. That story could be true but it seems unlikely that it would be U2 planes that are causing enough turbulence to destroy piled up mounds of dirt by the runways.
- h2odragon 3y agoI dunno if the individual was correct; he may have guessed or been told; or may have made the entire story up for all i know. But i doubt that last. I figured it was landing turbulence; them things come in hot.