.JPG)
2008 OSU vs. Michigan
2008 Ebony Fashion Show
Alter vs. Genoa Area
Home > Blogs > FlyDayton > Archives > 2008 > March > 10 > Entry
F-117A Stealth Fighters Retired
It”s difficult to believe, but the U.S. Air Force is retiring the F-117A Nighthawk. The odd looking fighter was formulated in the early 80’s at the Lockheed Skunk Works after significant brain and computing power devised the faceted shapes that could reflect radar, making the jet almost invisible to radar.
Operating in secret from the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada starting in 1983, the Stealth Fighter was not acknowledged publicly until 1988. The jet made it’s local public debut at the 1990 Dayton Air Show where it was surrounded by an awestruck public throughout the show.
In 1993 Dayton Daily News reporter Tim Gaffney and I traveled to the Link simulator plant in Binghamton, New York, to be the first journalists to see the cockpit of the Nighthawk. With it’s standard fighter jet layout: center stick and left-hand throttle, the most interesting part of the control panel was the green-colored infrared targeting and acquisition screen, seen at the center of the panel in this photo. Just like the grainy videos of bombs striking their targets we had seen from the first Gulf War, symbols on the green screen could be locked onto targets in the simulator, but we didn’t get to drop any laser-guided bombs. The simulator was fixed to the floor, so I didn’t get the “wobbly goblin” sensation that many early Stealth Fighter pilots described about the jets handling characteristics. I did try my hand at flying the instrument landing system and landing. Let’s just say I’m glad it was a simulator.
The Stealth Fighter will be officially retired during a private ceremony at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 after 27 years of service.
One Nighthawk from the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base will be on display and one will fly over Wright-Patterson at approximately 10:30 a.m. as a salute to the workers in the program office at the base.
Ten of the Stealth Fighters were retired last year and 27 so far in 2008. The remainder will be placed in storage next month according to Diana Filliman, director of the 650th Aeronautical Systems Squadron at Wright-Patt.
Comments
By darla
March 10, 2008 10:17 PM | Link to this
didn’t i see 3 of them this afternoon in the Springfield/Yellow Sprngs sky?By Brian
March 10, 2008 10:31 PM | Link to this
Yes, you did. The lead plane was painted as the American flag!By rob
March 10, 2008 11:47 PM | Link to this
why are we retiring this jet already. Yet still flying f 16’s 14’s and and b1’s. shouldn’t we keep using the planes untill we cant use them any longer. It just seems like a waste of money to keep building million dollar aircrafts when the ones we have a still very useful.By Ryan
March 11, 2008 1:03 AM | Link to this
We are no longer flying F-14’s…. maybe you meant F-15’s. And I agree with you that they should fly untill they fall apart. These jets cost a bit more than a million dollars a piece… try $60 million at least. Maybe I am wrong here, or maybe not, but the Clinton administration killed the F-14 making it expensive as all get out to maintain, may they killed this jet too. Go Clinton leave the country defensless, I can just imagine what will happen if Hillary gets ellected we will end up dropping daisies instead of well needed bombs.By Eric
March 11, 2008 1:11 AM | Link to this
The replacement is already in the air.By Confused
March 11, 2008 1:21 AM | Link to this
Okay, I’ll bite. How did Clinton make the price of maintaing the F-14 outrageous? Did he personally raise the price of aluminum? Spare parts? Did you drive your last car until it completely fell apart, or did you purchase a new one when the repairs became to expensive…By JohnDayton
March 11, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this
I think a major point of these planes is defense and detterence(spelling?). You can continue to use the old ones if someone, epsecially hostile, has better equipment.By JohnDayton
March 11, 2008 12:22 PM | Link to this
Thats can’t.By trentmccl
March 11, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this
The Air Force has always been at the forefront of technology when it comes to this type of technology. It takes a LOT of money to maintain these planes so it is no suprise to me that when the first F-22 squadron was stood up that it was time for the F-117 to stand down. The F-22 is far superior in every way to the F-117, it would be foolish to keep both aorund. It will cost less in the long run and we are safer with the 22 in the sky. I personally feel the Air Force has done one heck of a job with the amount of money that has been cut from its budget.By rickr
March 11, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this
just my 2 cents what other country in the world would continue to draw down their military while fighting a global warBy Baldrick
March 11, 2008 8:04 PM | Link to this
If the US didn’t try to act as World Policeman .. err, with countries that have oil reserves that is, then it wouldn’t be fighting a ‘global war’ I haven’t noticed President Bush pressing to invade Zimbabwe .. possibly the most ‘out of control’ country on the planet. I wonder why that is?