Thank God the spotter had good vision because that Ford Bronco could not get close enough to be of any use
It looks like the Ford Bronco has failed its unofficial audition as a U-2 Spy plane chase vehicle after this poor showing.
In-car footage shared by Rob Holland Ultimate Air shows a couple days ago shows an Air Force officer driving a 2021 Ford Bronco as a U-2 chase car down the Wittman Regional Airport runway just ahead of its appearance at the 2021 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh show.
Check out the video for yourself below.
If you didn’t already know, while U-2s are one of the most technologically advanced and capable aircraft known to man, they do need help taking off and landing.
U-2 Pilots don’t have the best ground visibility and need powerful chase cars travelling behind them to call out how far they are from touching down.
The key word is powerful.
If there’s one thing American car makers can do, it’s equipping their cars with the largest engines possible.
Currently, Beale Air Force Base, home to the U-2 spy plane, uses V8 Dodge Chargers with enough raw grunt to reach upwards of 140+ MPH quickly.
Since this was at an airshow far from home, the U-2’s ground crew work with what they have.
Apparently, someone had the bright idea to use a vehicle known more for crawling up boulders at walking speed as a chase car.
On paper, the Bronco’s 270 (or 310) HP might sound like enough but, with two passengers, not including the driver, and gearing meant for the Rubicon, acceleration is not the Ford’s strong suit.
You can see whoever’s driving is clearly disappointed this Bronco can’t get up to speed with his head shake.
Thankfully, the U-2 plane made another go at landing and, perhaps, the U-2 team swapped out that Bronco for something more capable within a stone’s throw.
