Amazing time-lapse shows technicians taking apart America's most iconic spy plane

It turns out the best way to keep America's most iconic spy plane flying is to completely take it apart.

After 4,700 hours of flight time, the still-in-service U-2 spy plane is taken in for maintenance. But engineers aren't just kicking the tires and looking at a few gauges inside an aircraft that first debuted in 1955.

They completely disassemble it, go through every inch of fuselage, inspect every screw, repaint it, and put it all back together.

It's an incredibly complex process that ensures a "record-high operational rate" - meaning no glitches - as a new video from Sploid shows.

Developed in complete secrecy during the 1950s, the single-seat, single-engine spy plane flew top secret spy missions above 70,000 feet over the Soviet Union, Cuba, Korea, and many other places. The plane was also involved in some high-profile incidents that heightened Cold War tensions, such as when one was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, and another was lost over Cuba in 1962.

Still, the aircraft has proven its worth to the Air Force, which still keeps 33 of the planes in active service. The service plans to keep the U-2 in service at least until 2019.

This video shows the maintenance from Lockheed Martin technicians that makes that happen.

(h/t Kelsey D. Atherton at Popular Science)