Reason: The bulky pressure suit that one must wear during flight. USAF pilot Jethro (front) and Forbes writer Jim Clash breathing 100% oxygen before boarding a U-2 ... [+] for their edge-of-space ...

Suiting up to fly in the Lockheed U-2 is about as close as a pilot can come to suiting up for a mission to space. But a suit that keeps you alive at zero pressure — and allows men and women ...

The U-2 can reach altitudes in excess of 70,000 feet, twice as high as commercial jetliners fly. “The cockpit of the U-2 is pressurized to 29,000 feet, so the pilot has to wear a suit that’s similar ...

Working with liquid oxygen is vital for U-2 pilots and the mission. "Pilots rely on us to make sure they can breathe while wearing their suit," said ... (ABO), it's a pilot's main source of ...