Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > Interests > Tilted Motors


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 04-22-2008, 08:29 AM   #1 (permalink)
Tilted Cat Head
 
Cynthetiq's Avatar
 
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
Goodbye Wobbly Goblin

Quote:
View: F-117 is leaving the same way it arrived -- stealthily
Source: LA Times
posted with the TFP thread generator

F-117 is leaving the same way it arrived -- stealthily
The Air Force and Lockheed Martin are giving a secret retirement send-off to the world's first radar-evading fighter.
By Peter Pae
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

April 22, 2008



They were born shrouded in mystery in a windowless building in Burbank. They flew combat missions over Serbia and Iraq virtually invisible to enemy radar. And today, the black, bat-like F-117A Night Hawks will fly quietly into the night as stealthily as they came.

The last four of the world's first stealth fighters will make their final flights from Palmdale to a secret desert base in Nevada, where they will be locked up indefinitely in a secure concrete hangar.

But unlike the passing of other notable planes, there will be no public fanfare or farewell for these mysterious aircraft that revolutionized aerial warfare. The F-117 is still so cloaked in secrecy that only employees and retirees who worked on the program can attend its retirement ceremony at Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Skunk Works plant in Palmdale. A few aerospace reporters have been invited, but they had to be U.S. citizens.

"Some aspects of the plane are still classified," said Dianne Knippel, spokeswoman for Lockheed, whose legendary Skunk Works design house, formerly in Burbank and now in Palmdale, developed and built the aircraft.

The hushed send-off is no surprise to aviation buffs and historians who have followed one of the nation's most secretive aircraft programs since the Pentagon covertly launched it more than 30 years ago.

"It reflects a hyper-security culture that has accompanied this thing since the beginning," said John Pike, a defense policy analyst with . "It's the nation's first stealth technology, and as a result you might imagine all the caution with security."

The single-seat F-117 was the first plane that could evade radar detection; it was designed to fly into heavily defended areas to knock out radar installations and anti-aircraft missile batteries, clearing the way for other fighters and bombers. It was also used to destroy military command and communication centers.

The planes cost $45 million each, and 59 were built. The F-117 first flew in combat during the 1989 Panama invasion that led to the capture of dictator Manuel Noriega. F-117s were also among the first aircraft to strike targets in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and in the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In 2006, with the introduction of the F-22, a fighter that features the latest stealth technology, the Pentagon decided to retire all 59 of the F-117s, leading to today's final flights.

The retirement also serves as a reminder of the decline of the aerospace industry in Southern California. The plane was built in the 1980s when Lockheed's Burbank plant employed more than 17,000 workers. The Burbank plant closed in 1994 and Lockheed now employs about 4,000 engineers in Palmdale.

Although a number of companies in the region still make aircraft parts and develop advanced weapon systems, large-scale manufacturing has mostly disappeared. The C-17 military cargo plane plant in Long Beach and the F-18 fuselage factory in El Segundo are about all that remain.

"It does show how dramatically the industry has changed in Southern California," said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

The F-117 retirement ceremony is likely to be a somber event mostly attended by retirees who can finally talk about the aircraft -- if only to a certain extent.

"I would rather not get into it. I'm not sure if that is still classified," said Sherman N. Mullin, the former president of Lockheed's Skunk Works who led the F-117 program in the 1980s, when asked how the plane was transported from Burbank to its test flights in Nevada.

He declined to confirm news reports at the time that massive C-5 Galaxy military cargo planes were used to "deliver or pick up secret cargo" -- the stealth -- in the dead of night. The speculation arose after residents complained about aircraft noise from Burbank airport late at night, according to a 1984 Times article. The plane was assembled in a hangar next to the airport.

During its development, the F-117 flew only at night to avoid prying eyes and Soviet spy satellites, thus its name Night Hawk.

The project was so secretive that Mullin couldn't even tell his wife what he did.

"She didn't know for 10 years," Mullin said, adding that every Friday, the entire complex was locked up for the weekend and no one was allowed to take work off-site. "I don't think she minded. She liked that I didn't bring home any work on the weekends."

Monday's telephone interview from his home in Oxnard was the first time Mullin had talked to a reporter about the F-117, more than a quarter-century after he led its development efforts.

Mullin said his fondest memory was a Friday afternoon in 1983 when the Air Force declared that the plane was ready for combat. But it would be four years before the government acknowledged its existence.

"It was an afternoon of great emotional satisfaction for me," Mullin said. "But we didn't celebrate. We didn't do a damn thing. We just locked up the place and went home."

peter.pae@latimes.com
I grew up around Skunkworks. We all know SR71s flew out of Burbank Airport from time to time, we just couldn't see them take off in the dark nights.

This plane, I never got to see.
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.
Cynthetiq is offline  
Old 04-22-2008, 11:04 AM   #2 (permalink)
 
ring's Avatar
 
Location: ❤
I did...they are spooky big awesome beautiful ugly creatures,
like metallic bats.
ring is offline  
Old 04-22-2008, 05:27 PM   #3 (permalink)
Crazy
 
Byrnison's Avatar
 
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Two of them were parked at the Van Nuys airport a couple of years back - security prevented anyone from going behind them to look at the engine outlets, but other than that they were up for display.

This seems a good time to rub in the fact that you live in NY now, missing these opportunities
Byrnison is offline  
Old 04-22-2008, 06:00 PM   #4 (permalink)
... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.
 
Willravel's Avatar
 
Fantastic design, amazing technology, and badass. I'll miss it.

Still, I find myself wondering what it will be replaced with. I may not be big on war, but I love toys. There is no greater toy than military aircraft.
Willravel is offline  
Old 04-22-2008, 06:46 PM   #5 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Ilow's Avatar
 
Location: Pats country
Quote:
Originally Posted by willravel
Fantastic design, amazing technology, and badass. I'll miss it.

Still, I find myself wondering what it will be replaced with. I may not be big on war, but I love toys. There is no greater toy than military aircraft.
I, too wondered this. It looks like they believe the F-22 can do the same job. I never knew that there were actually so few ever produced. They really did give the US air superiority in the first Gulf war.
__________________
"Religion is the one area of our discourse in which it is considered noble to pretend to be certain about things no human being could possibly be certain about"
--Sam Harris
Ilow is offline  
Old 04-22-2008, 06:52 PM   #6 (permalink)
... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.
 
Willravel's Avatar
 
The F-22 looks too much like the F-15 to get me excited. Don't get me wrong, the performance stats are awesome, but the F-117 is fucking sexy.
Willravel is offline  
Old 04-22-2008, 07:32 PM   #7 (permalink)
The Reverend Side Boob
 
Bear Cub's Avatar
 
Location: Nofe Curolina
It is sad indeed to see it go. The first time I saw one, it was parked in an airfield in Colorado in plain sight as we approached the airport in Colorado Springs. I'll never forget that sight, either.
Bear Cub is offline  
Old 04-26-2008, 12:14 PM   #8 (permalink)
MSD
The sky calls to us ...
 
MSD's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: CT
I saw one for the first time when I was standing here
<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&amp;ll=41.20304,-73.254773&amp;spn=0.000944,0.001824&amp;t=h&amp;z=19&amp;output=embed&amp;s=AARTsJqzARj-Z8VnW5pkPMLMmZbqrJcYpw"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&amp;ll=41.20304,-73.254773&amp;spn=0.000944,0.001824&amp;t=h&amp;z=19&amp;source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>
the night the Afghanistan operations started. My brother and I were out walking, and heard an unfamiliar jet engine overhead. Based on size compared to my thumb at arm's length, it couldn't have been more than about 3000 feet up, and was traveling in the neighborhood of 600 mph. I imagine they fly this far north to catch the Gulf Stream and cut some time and fuel cost over the Atlantic.

I've heard from USAF retirees that they were flying well before they officially became operational, although I'm skeptical of the Vietnam stories.



edit: I was talking to my mom the other day, and I remembered this completely wrong. It was the night the Afghanistan campaign started that I saw the F117. It was another military plane, maybe a B-52 the night Gulf War II started.

Last edited by MSD; 05-31-2008 at 01:42 PM..
MSD is offline  
Old 04-26-2008, 07:31 PM   #9 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Saw an F-117 at an airshow in Hickory, NC when I was 10-12. I also distinctly recall being reminded of a bat.

I also wonder why the retirement of a very effective weapon system. Can the F-22 replicate the F-117's effectiveness? Probably, but since it's not (to the best of my knowledge) deployed outside the US, we don't yet know how it stacks up. We also know the Russians have developed techniques which render the F-117 visible, techniques which the F-22 may be better adapted to countering whether structurally or electronically.

There's also the rumour of an equally "black" project; a stealthy variable-geometry fighter-bomber possibly intended to replace the F-111 and compete with the SU-32 Fullback. If the "Switchblade" proposed and funded by Northrup Grumman performs as intended, it would certainly be a worthy and much more capable successor to the F-117.

I do note with some glee, however, that amidst all this high-tech wizardry, impressive as it is, the good old A-10 soldiers on.
The_Dunedan is offline  
Old 04-26-2008, 08:02 PM   #10 (permalink)
... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.
 
Willravel's Avatar
 
The Ascari A-10?!
Willravel is offline  
Old 04-27-2008, 06:47 AM   #11 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Ilow's Avatar
 
Location: Pats country
Quote:
Originally Posted by willravel
The Ascari A-10?!
haha, that one is cool, but a depleted uranium spewing, tank killing, armored cockpit, beast is the real deal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-10_Warthog
__________________
"Religion is the one area of our discourse in which it is considered noble to pretend to be certain about things no human being could possibly be certain about"
--Sam Harris
Ilow is offline  
Old 05-05-2008, 08:14 AM   #12 (permalink)
Riding the Ocean Spray
 
BadNick's Avatar
 
Location: S.E. PA in U Sofa
Even the greatest athlete occasionally stumbles:

BadNick is offline  
Old 05-05-2008, 08:26 AM   #13 (permalink)
... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.
 
Willravel's Avatar
 
There should be feet with red and white striped socks under the plane. That'd be funny.
Willravel is offline  
 

Tags
goblin, goodbye, wobbly

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:18 AM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360