European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 5, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse By Dave Diehl . Bureaus Ecret that May Well be the word most used when talking about Tho it Mai stove Randla Vilics the Long thin Black dragonfly looking air plane seems to lit the part. And it s had some bad press Ever since its predecessor a u2 mown by Francis Gary Powers was shot Down Over the soviet Union in i960 things Are it Ferent today said Randle. A 15-year air Force Pilot with the 95lh reconnaissance so at Raf Alconbury the popular press commonly refers to it As a spy the 41-Ycar-Oici ran Flie complained he said he Way the tr-1 gathers information and the camera and pictures in takes Are secret but the lad that the air planes Are doing this is not the word spy connotes Covert he said that s nol the Case in our operation Randle said it s no secret that they re listening in on the Warsaw pact Thursy k now we re up there he said but up there does l mean Over any Warsaw pact countries none of the Raf Alconbury tr-1s Fly Over unfriendly territory. Randle a former f-t06 and t-33 Pilot lies High when he flies High enough to have to Wear a space Suil the same used by the gemini. Apo to and some shuttle astronauts. The air Force does t say How High the tr-1 can or does Fly except that it can and does go above 70.000 feet about 14 Miles and Aboul twice As High As the airlines. Randle said the to is act like satellites. They Fly High specifically to be in the line of sight of radio and electronic signals those signals Are relayed to a receiving station in Germany the tr-1s at Alconbury work along Wilh the base s Rf-4s to gather reconnaissance data for commanders staff sgt Bob Roux left demonstrates How tr-1 Polo Solo lights. At right. Roux tests a Pilot s pressure Suil used in the tint missions of tits space stuff of a. I it s the most demanding flying i be Ever flying Hie the demands i in Europe Randle said data collected through the to 1s alien goes to the Nal anal level including the president. The glider like shape that enables the Piane to Fly so High and so Long also makes it difficult to handle. Handle who s clocked some 3,100 hours in air planes said he still has trouble he said thai in other air planes like lighters it s the Mission nol the Hying that
