The story of the F-117 begins in 1964, when Soviet mathematician Pyotr Ufimtsev published the paper, Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction. It demonstrated that the radar return from an object depended more on its shape than size. Given the technology at the time, Ufimtsev’s insight was dismissed as impractical in Russia. But by the 1970s, given friendly aircraft losses to SAMs (surface-to-air missiles) in Vietnam and the Middle East, engineers at Lockheed’s “Skunk Works”—famous for designing cutting edge military planes like the P-38 Lighting, U-2 spy plane, and F-104 Starfighter—began taking the idea seriously.

• READ MORE: Reaching Uncharted Corners of the Globe in a Fokker F.VII

One key to minimizing radar return was to replace conventional streamlined, rounded surfaces with flat, angled surfaces designed to scatter radar waves in different directions. The wings would be swept back at a steep angle, like an arrowhead, and the vertical stabilizer (tail fin) replaced by an angled V-tail, all to reduce its radar profile.

The two turbofan jet engines were placed above the wings to shield their heat signature from the ground. The flat, reflective surfaces of the turbofan itself were shielded by an intake grill (to the right).

The engines have special exhaust ports in the rear to shield and minimize the heat released. The F-117 has no afterburners to give it extra thrust, as this would defeat the purpose of nondetection.

Instead of slinging weapons and bombs outside the fuselage, they are stored in an interior bay, safe from radar detection. Even opening the bay doors dramatically increases the F-117’s radar profile, so it must only be done for a few seconds over a target. Additionally, the exterior surfaces of the F-117 are all covered in a special coating, designed to absorb and deflect radar waves. The fork-like prongs jutting from the front of the F-117 are sensors to detect airspeed, angle of attack, and other instrument readings. The F-117 has no radar, which would immediately give away its presence. The glass panel in front of the cockpit is an infrared “eye” that enables the pilot to see in the dark and guide bombs to their target.

The windows of the F-117’s cockpit are ingrained with gold, which allows radar waves in but not out. Examples of the F-117’s cockpit are now on display in museums, and the layout is fairly similar to other single-pilot combat airplanes.

• READ MORE: Exploring the Checkered History of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

Initially a “black project” funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), starting in 1975, Lockheed cobbled together two prototypes under the code name “Hopeless Diamond,” which first flew in 1977. Although both prototypes crashed, the project was a sufficient enough success to proceed with a production model, which took its first flight from Area 51 in 1981. The first airplanes were delivered to the U.S. Air Force in 1982.

The radar-minimizing design features of the F-117 make it quite unstable to fly. In fact, it can really only be flown with computer assistance, using a fly-by-wire system derived from the F-16. Because of its difficult aerodynamics, the F-117 quickly gained the nickname “Frisbee” or “Wobblin’ Goblin.”

The shielding of its jet engines, and lack of afterburners, also means that the F-117 is subsonic (it cannot break the speed of sound), making it much slower than most conventional fighters. In fact, despite its designation, the F-117 is not a fighter meant to intercept and dogfight with enemy airplanes. It has no guns, and though in theory it could carry air-to-air missiles, its lack of radar would render them fairly useless.

• READ MORE: The Story of the Schneider Trophy and the Supermarine S.5

The “Stealth Fighter” is actually an attack aircraft or light bomber, intended to be used in covert missions or evade air defenses, mainly under the cover of night. Some say that the “fighter” designation was used to attract pilots to the program who would normally have preferred flying fighters over bombers.

After testing at Homey, the F-117 was assigned to a special secret unit at Tonopah Test Range, also in Nevada. A total of 64 combat-ready airplanes were eventually built. Throughout the 1980s, however, the F-117 was kept completely secret. While rumors and sightings of it abounded, the U.S. government refused to confirm that any such aircraft existed. The first acknowledged use of the F-117 in combat was during the U.S. invasion of Panama to topple dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989.

Before I elaborate on its combat history, I need to land this airplane. The F-117 doesn’t have any flaps or air brakes to slow it down. I pull the throttle back to nearly idle just to descend. The approach speed of the F-117 is really fast—around 250 knots—and it touches down at 180 knots. So on landing I pull a handle next to the landing gear to deploy a parachute, to slow me down in time.

Now let’s talk about the known combat record of the F-117. It’s 3 a.m.  on January 17, 1991. Just over a day since the coalition deadline for Saddam Hussein to withdraw his Iranian forces from Kuwait has expired. An F-117 flies over the desert just south of Baghdad.

F-117s are leading the first strike of the coalition air campaign in the first Gulf War, aimed at taking out key command and control installations in the Iraqi capital. With a radar reflection the size of a golf ball, the F-117 glides silent and unseen over the bends of the Tigris River toward its target. Meanwhile, Iraqi anti-aircraft guns fire blindly into the night sky—a scene I remember watching unfold live on TV as I sat in my college dorm room. Combat losses for the F-117 that first night were projected at 5 percent. In fact, every single one of them came back from their missions safely.

By the end of the first Gulf War, the F-117 had flown 1,300 sorties, hitting an estimated 1,600 high-value targets, with the loss of a single aircraft. Though some of its performance may have been exaggerated—initial estimates of 80 percent target accuracy were scaled back to 40-60 percent—the F-117 became a leading symbol of the U.S. technological edge that helped establish it as the world’s sole superpower going into the 1990s.

• READ MORE: Recreating the Final Flight of the Red Baron

Fast-forward to the evening of March 27, 1999. At Aviano Air Base in northern Italy, an F-117 prepares for another night of bombing Yugoslavia, as part of NATO’s intervention to compel Serbian forces to withdraw from Kosovo. The aircraft, call sign “Vega 31,” is flown by Lieutenant Colonel Darrell Patrick “Dale” Zelko, a Desert Storm veteran. His target is a command-and-control center in downtown Belgrade, the Serbian capital. Along with several other F-117s on similar missions, he will fly east across Slovenia and Hungary before refueling midair and turning south to enter Yugoslav airspace.

I’ve heard the story two ways. The first has Zelko approaching Belgrade from the northwest and being picked up by Serbian radar as he opened his bomb bay doors—presumably before he could hit his assigned target. The second version, which the pilot himself tells, has him skirting Romanian airspace and coming toward Belgrade from the east. He dropped his bombs on target then continued west to head back home. (From what I can gather, Zelko was actually quite a bit higher than I’m portraying here, and there was a cloud layer about 2,000 feet above the ground.)

Just south of the two in Ruma in the countryside west of Belgrade, a mobile S-125 Neva SAM unit detected the F-117, despite its stealth profile, and locked on. Two SAMs were fired. The first missed the cockpit by inches, and the proximity fuse somehow failed to trigger. The second hit one wing and sent the F-117 tumbling out of control. After an initial struggle, the pilot ejected, was able to evade Serbian ground forces, and was rescued by U.S. helicopters. Years later, Zelko met the man who commanded the SAM unit that shot him down, and the two became friends.

Interestingly, the U.S. did not take any steps to destroy the wreckage of the downed F-117. The official reason was that the technology was already out of date, and there was no rationale to fear it falling into enemy hands. While the F-117 Nighthawk was used in 2001 in Afghanistan, and again in 2003 over Iraq, it became increasingly clear that it was nearing the end of its useful days, soon to be replaced by newer aircraft like the F-22 and F-35 that incorporate further advances in stealth technology. In 2006, the U.S. Air Force announced that it was retiring the F-117 and began putting the fleet into storage. A few went to museums, and others began being scrapped.

However, in recent years, there have been a number of sightings of F-117s flying near Edwards Air Base near California’s Death Valley. Some were reportedly painted grayish white, earning them the nickname “ghosts.” It is widely suspected that these F-117s are taking part in exercises designed to train pilots to detect and intercept enemy stealth aircraft. For fans of the iconic “Stealth Fighter,” it’s gratifying to know that some of them still appear to be flying.

In its entire operational life, there was only one known F-117 shot down. Its time may have passed, but that’s a remarkable record.

If you’d like to see a version of this story with more historical photos and screenshots, you can check out my original post here. This story was told utilizing Aerial Simulations’ F-117 Nighthawk add-on to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, along with liveries and scenery downloaded for free from the flightsim.to community.

The post Reenacting Bombing Missions in an F-117 Nighthawk appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Known as the “first stealth fighter,” the aircraft with its distinctive angular lines is one of 10 displayed in a museum. The official welcome party will beNovember 11 in honor of Veterans Day.

Tickets for the event were sold out by Wednesday, noted Alissa Kobe, museum marketing manager, demonstrating just how much people like this aircraft.

“Everyone is excited about this,” said Kobe.

The airplane, also dubbed  as “The Lone Wolf,” will take its place in the museum’s space wing next to a Lockheed SR-71.

“Few individuals have been lucky enough to see this aircraft in person, and we have the unique privilege of being the only museum in the Pacific Northwest to provide this experience to our guests,” said museum CEO Tyson Weinert. “Sharing the Lone Wolf’s restoration journey from this first moment adds a new dimension to our community engagement.”

The keynote speaker at the welcome event will be Major General Gregory A. Feest, the Air Force chief of safety, at  U.S. Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C., and commander, Air Force safety center at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. He is a command pilot with more than 5,600 flying hours, including several in combat flying the F-117.

About the F-117

The design for the F-117 began to take shape in the 1970s during the Cold War. It was a top secret project, as classified as it gets. Much of the early design and testing was done in “secret places in the desert,” and it flew for the first time in 1985. When the aircraft was finally unveiled to the public, it looked so unusual that there were some who swore it was alien technology. The faceted design was ostensibly created to give the aircraft a lower radar profile.

• READ MORE: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force – Stealth Aircraft

The Nighthawk was used extensively during the first Gulf War. According to Kobe, the museum’s F-117, serial number 85-0816, was credited as dropping the first bomb in Desert Storm and went  on to fly 39 missions during that conflict and another eight during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The aircraft was retired on October 12, 2007, and put into storage in Nevada. It had to be dismantled to be moved to Oregon.

“We had to do fundraising to move it here from Tonopah, Nevada, and now we are fundraising in order to begin the restoration of the aircraft,” said Kobe, adding that the pace of restoration is being driven by the amount of donations the museum gets from the community.

When aircraft like this are delivered to museums, they often arrive in shifts like a giant puzzle.
The day FLYING spoke with Kobe, the wings of the aircraft and a box of smaller parts arrived at the museum. Kobe stressed that the aircraft will be viewed from the outside only at this time and that all the “top secret bells and whistles” were removed from the airplane prior to its shipment. Although the F-117 was officially retired from its Air Force combat role in 2009, a few are still flying, and their technology is still classified.

The restoration process will be a long one, according to Kobe, but the museum plans to make the most of the educational opportunity by reaching out to schools that have 3D printers and asking for their help in making parts. The museum will have the assistance of those who were part of the development of the aircraft, and it will also be able to reach out to Lockheed for consultation.

The museum is encouraging donations to facilitate the restoration project.

“The faster we get the money, the faster the project can be completed,” said Kobe.

For more information visit evergreenmuseum.org.

The post Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum Accepts Rare Bird appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Washington, D.C.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

“One of my favorite things to do is watch visitors come into the Udvar-Hazy Center, busy and distracted, and then be totally mesmerized by the sight of the SR-71 Blackbird. I love seeing them slowly lower their phones, their jaws dropping as they take in the sleek, majestic shape of the fastest jet airplane ever built. I can’t blame them, I had the same response when I saw it for the first time! The SR-71 is certainly one of my favorite aircraft. It still looks like it’s from the future, even though its design began in the late 1950s. It was designed by hand, calculated with slide rules, long before computer-aided design techniques existed. It was also the first airplane to be designed from the beginning to reduce its detectability by radar. Although it is not a ‘stealth’ plane by today’s standards, it was a foundation for later stealth aircraft like the F-117 Nighthawk and the B-2 Spirit. I think the fact that the Blackbird is also an unarmed surveillance and reconnaissance plane adds to its mystique. This is not a plane that engages in active fighting, but its role demonstrates just how important reliable information is for national security concerns. The Blackbird provided key intelligence during the Vietnam War and most of the Cold War, allowing policy makers at every level to make informed decisions.”

– Mike Hankins, aviation curator, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Pitts S-1C 

“Betty Skelton’s Pitts S-1C is the oldest existing Pitts as well as a unique/the smallest Pitts still in existence. Betty’s story stands alone in her pursuit of aerobatic excellence as three-time Feminine Aerobatic Champion, twice in this aircraft—1949 and 1950. The championships and her airshow performances created the buzz and respect for the design. The plane’s excellent aerobatic qualities created by Curtiss Pitts made it the aerobatic aircraft of choice for U.S. acro pilots in the 70s and 80s (an American won the 1972 World Aerobatic Championship flying the Pitts S-1S—that type also in our collection), and it remains an important aerobatic trainer to this day. I am so pleased Betty’s Little Stinker greets everyone at the Udvar-Hazy Center entrance, and Betty was delighted too!”

– Dorothy Cochrane, aviation curator, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Lockheed Vega 5B

“Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega 5B is the huge draw in my collection for obvious reasons and is possibly in the museum’s top three or five after the Wright Flyer and Spirit of St Louis.”

– Dorothy Cochrane, aviation curator, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Boeing 247-D, 307 Stratoliner, Ryan NYP

“Boeing 247 (the subject of my first book); the Macchi C.202 Folgore (I love Italian machines); Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis (it is the “Spirit” after all); the Boeing 307 Stratoliner (it is too cool), and many more.” 

– Bob van der Linden, aviation curator, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Curtiss F9C-2 Sparrowhawk

“I am particularly fond of the Curtiss F9C-2 Sparrowhawk currently on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center. It is a Navy biplane that was specifically assigned to the airship fleet, and operated from the flying aircraft carriers USS Macon and USS Akron. It used an incredible hook and trapeze recovery system that allowed it to be launched from and recovered by the airships in flight, and were stored within the airships in specially designed hangars.”

– Thomas Paone, museum specialist, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

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