So, my cousin flies to Oskosh every year. He's taking an RV class, and starts talking to the guy next to him about how fun it was to see the U-2. Guy pulls out phone, shows photo of him in full gear- he flew one of the last flights. Cousin felt pretty small flying a 152.

Flying a 152 isn't really anything to brag about. The only thing smaller and slower is a Cub. Give me a Glasaire III Turbo and I'd be happy. BTW, the only thing that would out-AW the U-2 would be the SR-71. I actually saw one of those 6/25 in Huntsville Alabama at the US Space & Rocket Museum

Last club I belonged to, one member was a former SR-71 crew member. I don't think he was the pilot although he was a rated AF pilot. Couldn't get him to say much about the rides.

The Glasaire is a pretty airplane. But I've always had a soft spot for the Beech Twins, Baron, Duchess, etc.

I'll bet the U-2 pilot started out flying a similarly sized small aircraft . Some advance as far as space flight and some remain Cessna 152 pilots for their entire flying career , either way there should be no shame in anything flown for the love of flight .

Current version of the U-2 is the U-2S and is a vastly different airplane than the original. Current users are CIA and NASA. Though both usually use Air Force pilots and support. Interesting fact is at altitude it flies in a speed window of some 12 mph between a stall and over stressing the airframe. Really just a big glider.

Always wanted to build a model of one and fly it FPV. See how high and far I could get it.

If you can't get a medical certificate, you can't even fly a Cessna 152, and may even be denied a Part 107 drone license due to the TSA vetting. So if you can legally fly a 152, consider yourself part of the upper echelon of society!