F-117 still flying

[ozziecat35]

I’d be curious as to @MikeD ’s thoughts.

F-117 Nighthawk — still out there, still flying

Combat Aircraft has obtained the clearest photos yet of a flying Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk since the type was officially retired by the US Air Force in April 2008.

combataircraft.keypublishing.com

Hold on, some dudes in suits are knocking on my door....

 

[inigo88]

Very cool, those photos are of the JEDI transition on the Sidewinder Low Level Route in R2508, probably taken at Father Crowley Overlook.

 

[Oxman]

I’d be curious as to @MikeD ’s thoughts.

F-117 Nighthawk — still out there, still flying

Combat Aircraft has obtained the clearest photos yet of a flying Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk since the type was officially retired by the US Air Force in April 2008.

combataircraft.keypublishing.com

Hold on, some dudes in suits are knocking on my door....

 

[thevideographer]

I’ve always wondered, and will probably never know, how the stealth on these compares to the F22, F35, and other copycat designs.

 

[Lawman]

I’ve always wondered, and will probably never know, how the stealth on these compares to the F22, F35, and other copycat designs.

So much of stealth goes beyond just shape and radar absorbent materials. You can look at the SR-71/117 type of stealth vs today’s Raptor/Lightning/B2 and basically think of it as a better understanding of very similar concepts.

We basically fell into stealth with the SR, because it’s operational profile dictated a lot of concepts (minimal antennas, seams, etc) that resulted in reduced radar detectability.
117 was the first clunky deliberate attempt at taking all the concepts and getting them to work in concert in an aircraft from the start. So things like the idea of absorbent material was there but had to be worked in with the ability to fix an airplane, oh well just get the thing covered with the stuff and we can replace as needed. No real multi-band radios available at the time so now I’ve gotta have multiple antennas that also need to hide in penetration mode. Oh don’t forget navigation etc etc. The 117 was like a concept car combined with an R&D project resulting in a first generation workable car.

Now we’ve learned from stuff and tech/manufacturing has advanced. Ok let’s try this again with a more refined understanding of a decade worth of knowledge. You get the B-2/Raptor which are not only smoother in profile but more refined in execution to get to the same point (low detectability). You even take it a step further with Raptor putting things like data link to other aircraft so it doesn’t have to emit energy from its own Radar to do its job (radar is a huge detectable signature). Ten years later more learning, ok now F-35 and hey look we figured out sensor fusion now so again doing more while showing less and making the engineers job simpler because it brings more ideas under the same tent for coordination.

But even stuff not directly specific to Raptor/Lightning has increased capability across the fleet. Look at old radars vs modern radars and the amount of useless “hey look at me!” energy fired out into the battle space is minimized drastically. We’ve made stuff more efficient and by result increased lethality while decreasing the probability of detection. Same with communications. If I can control both direction and intensity of emissions on the electromagnetic spectrum I can take away a huge portion of being detected.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hacker15e]

I’ve always wondered, and will probably never know, how the stealth on these compares to the F22, F35, and other copycat designs.

The Raptor and Lightning are substantially stealthier than the 117.

 

[ppragman]

The Raptor and Lightning are substantially stealthier than the 117.

That's so damn cool.

 

[mrivc211]

let me fly the 117 just once damn it. lol. just once.

 

[Hacker15e]

let me fly the 117 just once damn it. lol. just once.

...said not one pilot who actually flew the Stinkbug.

 

[knot4u]

...said not one pilot who actually flew the Stinkbug.

@MikeD has spoken about flying it, it didn't sound like a lot of fun. But I suppose, other than the hands on flying experience, being a part of a program like that and actually going into combat and doing what it was built for was more important and satisfying than the stick and rudder stuff. I could be completely wrong, but that's the impression I got.

 

[Deleted member 27505]

I’d be curious as to @MikeD ’s thoughts.

F-117 Nighthawk — still out there, still flying

Combat Aircraft has obtained the clearest photos yet of a flying Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk since the type was officially retired by the US Air Force in April 2008.

combataircraft.keypublishing.com

Hold on, some dudes in suits are knocking on my door....

Dude. They didn't tell you when it started flying... WTF would they tell you when it ceased flying???

 

[knot4u]

Dude. They didn't tell you when it started flying... WTF would they tell you when it ceased flying???

They say all of the SR and A-12 airframes are parked too.

 

[mrivc211]

...said not one pilot who actually flew the Stinkbug.

Why do they call it the stinkbug

 

[milleR]

Why do they call it the stinkbug

Stink bugs also don’t fly all that well ...

 

[jtrain609]

Stink bugs also don’t fly all that well ...

Wobbly Goblin, too.

 

[milleR]

Wobbly Goblin, too.

I believe that’s what the Skunk Works folks nicknamed it

 

[Nark]

@MikeD has spoken about flying it, it didn't sound like a lot of fun. But I suppose, other than the hands on flying experience, being a part of a program like that and actually going into combat and doing what it was built for was more important and satisfying than the stick and rudder stuff. I could be completely wrong, but that's the impression I got.

I'm not a fighter pilot, but I told a girl I was once.

You sir are correct, in the military we have "Missions" we don't have "airframes." There is a lot of ass-pain leading up to a mission/sortie/flight. Sometimes you don't see the point for it, or behind it. Sometimes you are the very front of a news story, sometimes you're changing the life of any number of people around you, for better or worse.
There are a lot Mil Aviators who get out after 6-8 years and never want to touch a plane again.

My perspective has certainly changed. Wiggling the sticks isn't always what its cracked up to be.

Having said all that, I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[mrivc211]

I'm not a fighter pilot, but I told a girl I was once.

You sir are correct, in the military we have "Missions" we don't have "airframes." There is a lot of ass-pain leading up to a mission/sortie/flight. Sometimes you don't see the point for it, or behind it. Sometimes you are the very front of a news story, sometimes you're changing the life of any number of people around you, for better or worse.
There are a lot Mil Aviators who get out after 6-8 years and never want to touch a plane again.

My perspective has certainly changed. Wiggling the sticks isn't always what its cracked up to be.

Having said all that, I wouldn't change a thing.

We all started out loving aviation but it turned into something else for us all when we started flying for a living. Been gone from it for 6 years now and I now look forward to vacations again. The thought of getting on a airplane on my vacation brought anxiety previously.

 

[///AMG]

Sometimes a job is just that. Even if your office has a couple after burning turbofans in the back. I've probably been worse than some I know at actually appreciating the fun moments at times. To me, it has for the most part, become work, though I do enjoy teaching the young guys. Completely different kind of flying than hopping into some aerobatic single in your shorts and having at it. I'd say that the most fun I've had in a plane during my mil career was in the T-34. Everything after that involved some level of stress about accomplishing the mission, and being perpetually low on fuel.

 

[Hacker15e]

In my little corner of the fighter flying business, we used to say,

"Rock stars, sports stars, porn stars, and fighter pilots all get to the point where it's just a job and they don't wanna go to work today."

Personally, I have more fun buzzing around below 300' at 80 knots in an open cockpit and fabric airplane than I did being above 70K' in the U-2 or supersonic in the F-15E.