117

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 11/07/2013 at 10:44 • Filed to: None

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McMike > ttyymmnn 11/07/2013 at 10:49

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Until the F-117, I used to think the A-10 was the ultimate function>form aircraft I had ever seen.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > McMike 11/07/2013 at 10:56

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Form follows function man... If you build something for a purpose and to do one thing really well, it's gonna look GOOD.

Case in point, this DTM M3 is the sexiest thing on the face of the earth.

dinobot666 > ttyymmnn 11/07/2013 at 10:56

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What did they do with these planes after they retired them? I know a lot of old planes go to to large boneyards in Arizona, but you'd think that these still might have top secret stealth information or something.

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > dinobot666 11/07/2013 at 11:12

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Tonopah, NV is where the 'Hawks now roost. I tried to do a write up on them a few weeks ago when Kinja went haywire.

Menebrio > McMike 11/07/2013 at 11:17

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I still think the A-10 is better functioner. They can truly withstand a lot of damage before they finally come down.

In the F-117 defense though, what damage could they sustain if you never see them coming.

Both are truly great planes.

Menebrio > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole 11/07/2013 at 11:20

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Retired? I thought they were still operational. Such a shame and a waste if you ask me, since almost every other plane has had some sort of technological upgrade.

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > Menebrio 11/07/2013 at 11:21

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This kind:

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > Menebrio 11/07/2013 at 11:23

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117 is OLD technology. These were designed back in the 60s/70s (Starting with Have Blue/Tacit Blue).

Menebrio > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole 11/07/2013 at 11:31

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So are the F-15s, and I think those still rule the sky. They've been upgraded with plenty of weaponry and flight avionics from what I remember. They've even covered them in some more stealthy paint to lower their radar.

dinobot666 > Menebrio 11/07/2013 at 11:37

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F-15s are a more diverse fighter/attack aircraft than the F-117. Not to take away anything from the F-117, but it had a limited role in terms of being subsonic and having to be stored away from the elements etc.

It was however a good starting point for using stealth technology. The F-22 that will eventually replace both the F-15 and the F-117 (it should really be an A-117) began with this plane and took it even further.

Enginerrrrrrrrr > ttyymmnn 11/07/2013 at 11:43

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Mmmmm, the F-117. The only successful origami airplane in the US military.

Jokes aside, I never really liked them. Grew up where some of em were stationed in New Mexico. The F-4's, Tornados, and F-5's were much cooler at that base.

HammerheadFistpunch > Menebrio 11/07/2013 at 11:48

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word on the street is that certain enemies have compromised the radar and/or thermal signature of the nighthawk and they are significantly less effective than they used to be in terms of stealth. Still. Amazing planes.

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn 11/07/2013 at 11:50

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I always digged on the f117, then I read skunkworks by Ben E. Rich ...and loved them even more. For how advanced they were they were dirt cheap to build. Can't recommend this book enough.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > ttyymmnn 11/07/2013 at 12:35

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SO. DAMN. GEOMETRY. Dem Planes.

f86sabre > ttyymmnn 11/07/2013 at 19:51

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If you haven't read it yet I would highly recommend.

My F-117 story: In 1991-1992 I was in high school outside of Seattle. We had an opertunity to take a field trip to either NAS Whidbey Island or the nuclear sub base in Bangor, WA. I wanted to do both, but as an aviation geek I opted for NAS Whidbey. We arrive and they are showing us around and we come to this hangar with a guard in front of it. We walked up and started talking with the guard and a few minutes later a pilot walked up. He asked if we wanted to see something neat. We, of course said yes, and he beckoned us into the hanger. Inside was a F-117. I was one of the few people there who understood what we were seeing and how incredible it was that we were getting that close to it. This was pretty shortly after the Gulf War, so it was out in the public, but there were not a lot of up close and personal info about the plane. The pilot showed us around for about 15 minutes before we had to move on. I was amazed by what we had saw. We later heard from a classmate who had a brother on base that they had to move the aircraft after we left because civilians weren't supposed to know it was there.