Jon Engle, U–2 pilot

“They are both surprisingly stick-and-rudder airplanes,” he said. “The U–2 is just a huge sailplane with a jet engine. And they both need you to focus on the landing. Believe it or not, the U–2 approach speed is 70 knots.”

The son of an Air Force veteran, Engle joined up after attending the University of Kansas. He always knew he wanted to fly, and during his remarkable career he flew everything from F–16s to F/A–18s and the U–2. Engle distinguished himself during Operation Desert Storm, finding himself in a combat situation while flying the OA–10. “I was hit by ground fire a couple of times over enemy territory and thanks to the toughness of the A–10 construction, managed to make it back,” he said. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor. He likens flying the U–2 to deep-sea diving and running a marathon. He volunteered for the program, which demands pilots fly long-range reconnaissance flights as high as 70,000 feet.

Engle retired in 2010 and now runs his own aerial photography company, concentrating on conservation. “I fly my Piper Cub—still the same one from 42 years ago—and a Cessna 172, [for my company] called Green Eyes Aero. One really gets to see America in a different way flying so low and slow. And the people you meet at the airports are so wonderfully friendly.”

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