Lockheed Earth Resources 2 (ER-2)

By Htam

@ General William J. Fox Airfield, Lancaster, CA

March 2017

A highlight of the LA County Airshow was a flyby by this unique NASA aircraft, a derivative of the classic U-2 spyplane known as the ER-2 (Earth Resources 2), based at the Dryden Flight Research Center (now Armstrong Flight Research Center) and used for high-altitude civilian research.  Note the bicycle configuration landing gear with a forward set of main wheels located just behind the cockpit, and a rear set of main wheels located behind the engine. The rear wheels are coupled to the rudder to provide steering during taxiing.  Nikon D500 w/Tamron 150-600mm, edited with Aperture.