The engineering feat back then to work out all the angular surfaces, the materials to use, how to dissipate the heat from the engine, to make it even fly! Amazing! Thanks Paul.

@2hedz77

2 жыл бұрын

Very true! You can see that this is the revolution in stealth as most (except the angular surfaces) are still employed in modern stealth aircraft. New stealth is very much an evolution of the OG...the F-117

@ericq9049

Жыл бұрын

And if not for the fly-by-wire engineering that had just been done for the F-16, the Nighthawk might have been taken delayed longer, or even scrapped.

Nice job Paul. I spent most of my Air Force career working on F-117A's at Holloman as a Crew Chief. They were such a hodgepodge of parts from other aircraft in the US inventory that they were a fun aircraft to maintain and kept you on your toes when they did break. Which wasn't really very often. During the last years of the aircraft in service , the F-117A had the highest FMC (Fully Mission Capable) rate of any fighter aircraft. Considering that there were only 63 total airframes built (including the five YF-117A's like 780-784) that was/is an impressive accomplishment of the people who maintained it. It will always remain my favorite aircraft. After they were retired in Apr of 2008 I stayed at Holloman and transitioned to F-22's. The phenomenal leap in ease of maintenance between the two is mind blowing.

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the extra insights John! I filmed the F-22 at the same museum and plan to make a video on it. Could I email you with a few questions and see how many answers are NOT classified? :) If so, please email me at pstewart001@gmail.com

@That_Stealth_Guy

2 жыл бұрын

@@PaulStewartAviation Ask away, I'll do my best to answer whatever I can.

@Sterlingjob

2 жыл бұрын

Was there anything classified about the exhaust nozzles? At fairford one year they covered them up…but wouldn’t say why.

@That_Stealth_Guy

2 жыл бұрын

@@Sterlingjob They were at one point it time. However, we mostly kept them covered to prevent damage to the materials and coatings they were made of while we had the aircraft on static display at airshows

@gastonbell108

2 жыл бұрын

F117 was a codeworded black project during development and TS for most of it's life, but after Lt. Col. Zelko's F-117 was successfully shot down and recovered by the Serbians in 1999 (with all of the electronic and physical data being instantly and gleefully shared in full with the Russians and Chinese), nobody even attempted to pretend that the technology was worth trying to keep TS anymore. The B-2 was well on it's way at this point anyway. The Air Force still huffed and puffed went through the motions but it was around then when they also started releasing decent open-source data on the Nighthawk and they also started offering them to museums. Rest assured: you don't put a plane on public display unless you're 100% certain your enemies have already completely mined it for useful intel. This is how I also know the B2 has been thoroughly cracked by the Chinese already.

I can confirm the golf ball claim Paul, I never see any of my golf balls once I've hit them down the fairway

I was stationed at Holloman when 9-11 happened. Since we had the Nighthawks, there was a rumor that our base was going to get hit. I believe a few went to Turkey, others to germany and a few to Italy. It was a ghost town doing patrols at the hangers. From seeing those planes everyday, to watching each one take off till none were left. Incredible.

When I was a kid, Microprose's F-19 Stealth Fighter was my favorite game, I thought the plane looked so cool and often got a finger wag at school for drawing pictures of it instead of paying attention. It was a real 'mind blown' moment for me when this plane was revealed and it somehow looked even cooler. Got to see one at an airshow once but it was in the early 90s and there was no chance of getting this up close and personal with it, so thanks for sharing a bit of my childhood dream with us.

@MrMotorNerd

2 жыл бұрын

Microprose games . Thanks for the flashback man . haven't heard that for eons

@jakejoyride

2 жыл бұрын

Same bro

@2hedz77

2 жыл бұрын

Was that the plane with the semi-circular wings? I still have a model from that time (yet unpainted) sitting in my study room.

@stop_tryharding

2 жыл бұрын

@@2hedz77 Yep, it was kind of teardrop shaped.

@rbrtck

3 ай бұрын

I played that game, too, on my Commodore 64, which I still have, and it still works. By the way, did you ever notice the correlation between the F-19 and F117 designations? There was the F-111, which was followed by the F-14, which would have been the F-112 if that progression had been followed instead. Similarly, the F-15 would have been the F-113, the F-16 would have been the F-114, the F-17 (never entered service) would have been the F-115, and the F-18 would have been the F-116. Now, the F-19 designation was apparently skipped, since the F-20 Tigershark came next, followed by the F-21 Kfir (Israeli fighter) and the F-22 Raptor. But if there had been an F-19, then according to the other numbering system, it would have been the F-117. A-ha! So for some weird reason the Nighthawk ended up getting the F-117 designation instead of the F-19 designation that had been reserved for it. So the game wasn't wrong about this after all. F-19 is just an alternate designation for F-117.

The radar observability of the F117 was "around the size of a golf ball!" Amazing technology. Thanks again Paul for interesting facts and detailed commentary and good camera work.

Beautiful plane. That hangar would've been highly classified 50 years ago, and now it's a museum. Amazing

I was on deployment to Yuma MCAS in 1996 during their airshow weekend. I was actually brakeman in one of our Tornado GR1's trundling along when I looked up and saw an F117 with a T5 chase plane on finals. We arrived at the hanger and were putting our aircraft to bed when our USAF liaison officer arrived and informed us we would have to leave shortly as the F117 would be sharing the hanger that evening. When it arrived the crew chief told us we would have 5 mins to look around the aircraft before the security detail arrived and not to touch the airframe with our hands. I was surprised how low tech the cockpit was but it shows how old the design was. Right on time, a squad of armed security personnel arrived and we were politely asked to vacate the hanger. The aircraft flew at the airshow that weekend and it was still a novelty to see one of these things in the sky. As an aside, when I was working at Wright-Pat in 2009, I saw a Tornado GR1 in 617 Sqn colours in the museum. I recognised the registration and on reading the placard saw it was one of my old (now disbanded) Sqn aircraft not an original 617 Sqn aircraft. It might even had some parts on it I had fitted. Not sure if it was the same one in the background of this vid, I'll have to re-watch carefully!

love it Paul ... you have shown us the awesome vids of classics like XB-70, SR 71, B2, now the F117 .... can't wait to see you do F22 close up !!!!

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

Such an incredible machine. The engine exhausts are just a work of art. It must have been such a privilege for the folks that built and flew these.

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

Fantastic detailed presentation! I was working in Chicago all summer in 1990 when they were flown over the city and shown publicly for the first time! Quite the sight indeed !

While living in Spanaway WA we would see many classified aircraft as they would be landing at McChord Field. It came over doing a banked left as it went by. It was surprisingly low compared to other aircraft we would see fly over.... I was surprised at how BIG the aircraft is. Once in a lifetime moment for me.

@stevennagley3407

Жыл бұрын

It’s an airbase, it doesn’t house classified aircraft, yes during air shows there may be displays on ground like the f-117 but I don’t know what your talking about classified operations it’s a strategic airbase which complements both cargo and fighter operations but classified is unlikely

Thank you very much, Paul, for sharing another very interesting documentary with us.

I got to see one of these flying the day I left Edwards AFB, Ca. I pretended it was a sendoff for me :) So cool looking, especially in the early 90s.

I was there when this aircraft was flown in to the "X'd" off, closed runway in Area B near the museum. It was during the day, previously announced, and well attended. The coolest thing was just after touchdown, a black parachute popped out the back to slow it down. Nice touch.

AND NOW THEYRE BACK !!

At a Blue Angels air show many years ago, I stood nearly that close to a Stealth Fighter when they were still active. The big difference was that between me and the jet were several fur-coated razor blades and a bunch of guys with guns. (True Lies reference).

That’s pretty cool to know they are still flying them, even if it’s just for training.

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

@PlatinumHustle

2 жыл бұрын

Probably doing other things as well, that we have no idea about lol 🤔

@lemmingsfly

2 жыл бұрын

@@vukmandusic9359 and they still couldn’t figure out how to build something like this even after getting lucky with one

I've been to this museum 14 years ago. Seeing these aircraft close up was a dream come true.

Its a marvel of engineering, which changed the modern warfare. Thank you for this great video!.

Another great video, keep up the good work

Thanks for posting Paul. A truly iconic plane.

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers

Excellent walk around Paul!

Great video. I remember when these were state of the art. Neat looking planes.

Thanks for a nice and very interesting video.

The closest I'd ever been to an F-117. Awesome video.

Keep up the good work! Your insights are very interesting and also entertaining! I'm looking forward to more tours! Thanks a lot!

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

Thanks for the pointers🙂

Of all the stealth planes around, this really takes the cake for being so extreme. Gotta love it.

@Wolf-md2ui

Жыл бұрын

“Laughs in b2”

@Oldsmobile69

Жыл бұрын

@@Wolf-md2ui The B-2 at least follows normal aerodynamic principles.

My daughter,father and I was there at the Museum today and we got to see one of the first pilots that flew that plane… He told us that is the first F-117 made and it was caused a lot of UFO reports on the 1980s.. It was cool to listen to him talk about it..

Paul another great vlog !

That plane is SO COOL 😎 Thanks

Epic aircraft to get on the channel mate, great job!

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

The flying brick. There’s a really good book about the development of this aircraft. They had to double check the test radars that they were indeed powered on because the radars were not seeing anything.

What a great explanation video! Well done !! ..by the way, that museum looks like.. heaven !!! :)

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks. And yeah it’s an incredible museum!

Worked on her from 85-89 at Area51. Great days.

Thanks Paul good video ! 👍

Another great video 👍

Thank you. I didn’t know that there was only one pilot, incredible team who designed it

This bloke is the best. Thanks for doing this well in depth walk around. This was my main reference source for building 1/48 F-117 aircraft kit. Mate, if you can do a F-15c and an F-15e please. Regards.

One flew right in front of me on I-95 taking off from Savanna, GA recently. Is actually quite large.

The F-117 actually had a massive Flexible Linear Shaped Charge [FLSC] in the back center to cut the panel covering the tail hook. We were instructed during Safe for Maintenance to check if the pin was in, but under NO circumstances to walk, reach, or lean under that big red outlined panel.

these videos are the best in their genre imo. great thanks

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you like them!

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

@@PaulStewartAviation knocked down on the ground ... You Tube - F-117 shootdown on Budjanovci, Serbia - Oboren nevidljivi NATO avion u selu Budjanovci 38.604 pregleda 30. 3. 2020. On 27 March 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, a Yugoslav army unit shot down an F-1…

Amazing video and very interesting informations ! Thank you

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

This dude is has child like joy whenever he’s around a plane.

I remember just after the 117 was publicly announced we went to Shawfest at KSSC Sumter after hearing the stealth fighter would be on display. What we got was a roped off area with a armed MP and a sign that read "Stealth Fighter." Arranged in the center were two landing gear and nose gear hahaha... Even funnier was overhearing people asking if it was invisible and many taking pictures. Airforce sense of humor.

These video makes you wonder what there working on now, that they're not telling anyone about (love it, Paul!!!)

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

I fully agree! Maybe in 2050 I'll be doing a detailed tour through some stealth hypersonic drone! 😂

@WRic86

2 жыл бұрын

@@PaulStewartAviation LOL, hope I'm still around to watch it!!!

@MikeG42

2 жыл бұрын

@@PaulStewartAviation Maybe you could do a video about the Aurora aircraft someday ?

@scotttild

2 жыл бұрын

Light bending. And element 115

Great video

I read just after the plane was revealed that the air intake grilles acted like the mesh on a microwave oven window, the spacing of the gaps being smaller than the wavelength (or amplitude?) of the radar/micro-waves and thereby preventing them from entering (or exiting in the microwave case)... no doubt has multiple effects, though!

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

@deang5622

Жыл бұрын

Wavelength, not amplitude.

@deeann8923

2 ай бұрын

The radar absorbing material coats the grills and also extends in to the intake tunnels. I’m a docent at the Palm Springs Air Museum and we have a video of our plane (#833) being soda-blasted. It appears that they are working at least a foot into the tunnels.

Another great video Paul! I didn't realise that it was so slow but I guess it makes sense why they wouldn't use an afterburner!

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

@deeann8923

2 ай бұрын

Subsonic so no audible Sonic Boom!

Thanks Paul!

Exotic and beautiful

Well done

This marvel exudes such an eerie and mystical presence……

Was waiting for this

Great vid 🙏🙏💞💞👍👍

Damn dude. You've really been pumping out quality vids. 👌. Out-fucking-standing.

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers

@bugproductions9050

2 жыл бұрын

@@PaulStewartAviation You're welcome sir. Please don't stop.

I really enjoy your channel and I learn a lot

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Awesome, thank you!

I had a tour on some of it back in Budjanovci.

Great video! Refueling the -117 at night and in the weather was challenging

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Fascinating! You flew in the kc-135s?

@mrkc10

2 жыл бұрын

@@PaulStewartAviation KC-10 Travis AFB CA 79th Air Refueling Squadron

@mrkc10

2 жыл бұрын

In the summer of 2000 we refueled F-117’s from Holloman AFB to RAF Cottesmore for the week long Royal International Air Tattoo…best Airshow experience ever!

Ever since I saw an F-117 on a poster when I was a kid, I fell in love with it. I finally got the chance to see it in person last month at Ronald Reagen Library. It was mounted on a pole outside and you couldn't really get close to it and the viewing angles were limited. Thank you for this video. I feel like I'm there seeing it myself.

@deeann8923

2 ай бұрын

Come to Palm Springs. We have #833 on display, on the floor.

We're getting one of these at our state's only aviation museum. Might already have it, I haven't heard. I'm looking forward to seeing it in person.

@PaulStewartAviation

6 ай бұрын

Evergreen?

@NonEuclideanTacoCannon

6 ай бұрын

@@PaulStewartAviation Yep

@deeann8923

2 ай бұрын

At the Palm Springs Air Museum, ours (#833) has been on display (indoors) since April of 2022.

That was excellent. I had no idea she had no radar. Makes sense though.

Amazing tech

Really fascinating plane! Great video!

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

man i remember back in 97/98 when i was 10 years old, me and my mom always used to drive down to miami during spring break to avoid the canadian winter and we ended up going to an air show in ft. lauderdale and they were letting just kids sit in the cockpits of these things as long as we didnt press any switches or buttons. man have times have changed.

Finally! Yes! Cheers Paul. Such an icon.

Very beautiful aircraft. 🥰

@PaulStewartAviation

Жыл бұрын

It really is!

I remember seeing one of these in person at an air show in Alaska back in the 90's. It was roped off with a pretty good distance all around it, and guys with M-16's standing all around facing out, looking like they meant business. They had signs saying not to take pictures of it.

@brucecampney465

Жыл бұрын

The Austin Tx airport used to be an Air Force base. At an air show the F-117 was on display with the guys with M-16s. A skateboarder zoomed in and had to jump the rope to keep from tripping over it, or to show off. His feet were not touching the ground as he was carried off.

@purplebugs2

5 ай бұрын

Hahaha....I seen the same thing at an air show in California. There was a guy with an M-16 standing behind two ropes with the nighthawk. I asked him "what would happen to me if I was to jump over the first rope"? He replied. "I would give you a stern warning to turn back". I then asked, "what would you do if I jumped over the second rope"? He replied, "I have strict orders to shoot you dead". As interested as I was, at this marvel of machine, I suddenly found myself admiring it from further and further away...lol.

Great video as always. Wondering if you have ever been to the EAA airventure Oshkosh show?

Ahh,the good ole "Wobblin' Goblin".what an amazing piece of hardware only possible through software.actually,its kind of ironic when you think about it

Nice Tonka (Tornado) in the background :)

This entire aircraft is one big compromise between aerodynamics and what it was meant to be. Truly amazing that, although it has such bad aerodynamic properties, a balance between being a flyable airplane and being stealth, which enabled it to become a useful bomber, was indeed found in the end. In fact, it doesnt take much for a pilot to overstress the airframe and make the wings break off, hence flying it always required the pilots to refrain from a whole range of standard flying manouvers which are normal for other military aircraft, such as flying tight turns. The germans tried to use the same early stealth technology to develop a F-16 style light fighter called "Lampyridae" back in the 80s. It was under development by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm or MBB but never made it past wind tunnel testing. For obvious reasons : The aerodynamically unfavourable "diamond" shape , which already is limiting the options of a bomber like the F-117 was even far more unsuitable for a fighter whichs very essence is do to flying manouvers.

I worked on the B1 back in the day, and after meetings at Wright Patt, had a few hours before my departing flight, so went to this fantastic museum. Was there when they rolled this beauty in. After placing it on station, the workers left for lunch. No one else was in the museum that rainy day so I got to see this 117 before it was roped off. Two things; 1) it reeked of glue, and 2) the underside is surprisingly flexible- it felt almost kite-like. A wonderful day I remember with fondness. Thanks for a great vid and channel.

@spuds416

10 ай бұрын

It smelled of glue which is called Peanut Butter by the "Martians" or the specialists who install and maintain the RAM Radar Absorbing Material

Very interesting Paul! I’d love to see inside this beautiful bird. Thanks very much!

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

You and me both!

@That_Stealth_Guy

2 жыл бұрын

Not much to see inside the cockpit, especially since this aircraft as it is a YF-117A and never received the final production cockpit layout. There are multiple pictures of both version of the cockpit on the web,

@Harryjmacneil

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much John!

@That_Stealth_Guy

2 жыл бұрын

@@Harryjmacneil I take it you found the pictures I was referring too.

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste .... idiot...

I was born the same year that the technology that brought the F117 to life was first thought about... i always wondered why i was so captivated by it, now i know why

I lived in Middle River MD I remember seeing this plain fly in the distance during the air show when one of them crashed.

@deeann8923

2 ай бұрын

A wing was not properly bolted together.

Good info,I Did see one of these in uk at Mildenhall Airshow and also the B2,The F117 is Very Small But Still looks like somthing From the Future,Lockhead Martin Do Come up with some Great Designs,I Do Wonder What the Skunkworks Are Working on Now ?

I remember the first time I saw a F-117 at an airshow in Topeka Ks. The armed guard and the roped off area around it were very noticeable. This was back in the 80's I think. During my 4 years in the Air force all I saw ere f111's, f4's , b52's mostly.

@ClaudeMagicbox

Жыл бұрын

Impossible, the F-117A was unveiled to the public a few days before the beginning of Desert Storm in 1991. I remember it perfectly with the TV saying "in the imminent attack on Baghdad the USAF will use a new fighter/bomber for the first time that has been kept secret for many years and is apparently invisible to any radar. A unnamed official has told us it's called F-117A and is based on a new technology called 'Stealth' which makes it almost impossible to intercept". The day after the first Baghdad bombings the Pentagon also released photos of it and everybody was like shocked because it looked totally out of this world, like a frigging UFO, and many though "how the hell can that thing fly?". 😊

Awesome Paul... I think the first stealth plane is a Mosquito made from plywood as you know.👍✈️

Saw one flying around Savannah a few weeks ago for Sentry Savannah

I remember one year at RAF fairford they covered the exhausts for some reason, it was either to do with rain or there was something classified they didn’t want us to see.

@deeann8923

2 ай бұрын

The latter. They are designed to lower the temperature of the exhaust when it exits so there isn’t a BIG thermal signature if you do an infrared scan.

I remember seeing this machine at an airshow in the 90s. You could not get inside of 20 feet from it, as there was a barrier with no less than 4 armed guards with M16s and M203 grenade launchers, and signs posted that lethal force was authorized if you dared cross. All to prevent somebody from scratching off a bit of the RAM and smuggling it to adversarial nations. Absolutely wild to see you just casually going right up to and under it!

@jasonjenkins-ferris

2 жыл бұрын

Same at Operation Handshake (old Kansas City air show), except I only remember 1 guard at a time. who knows if the M16's were loaded. After the rumors of unloaded weapons by troops in airports post-9/11, I wouldn't be surprised if the guards around the F-117 were defenseless.

@Military872

11 ай бұрын

The special coating has been removed .

@mytube001

10 ай бұрын

@@Military872 And a whole aircraft's worth of RAM landed in Serbia in the late 90s anyway, so whatever it is, all potential adversaries already know what it is.

@deeann8923

2 ай бұрын

@@mytube001 They knew before that. We didn’t go get the wreckage as it was stated that it was “mature technology”.

Realy I like this powerful stealth fighters

One seldom-discussed aspect (which is unusual, since I believe it had to be a major reason the plane was retired) is that of communications: The F-117 had retractable radio antennas which were pulled in prior to crossing into enemy territory. Not only were the pilots forced to stay radio-silent to avoid detection, they were essentially deaf to incoming radio messages as well. An F-117 in combat was as invisible to allied aircraft (even their own squadmates) as they were to the enemy. Today's technology demands that stealth aircraft have the ability to communicate even when they're supposed to be invisible to the enemy. That tech wasn't there when the F-117s were first made, so they couldn't integrate and coordinate with other forces on the battlefield.

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the extra info

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

@That_Stealth_Guy

2 жыл бұрын

The plane was retired earlier than planned for the simple reason of the Air Force wanting more money in the budget for other low observable aircraft in the inventory. The cost of maintenance on the low observable coating was high and the money saved by retiring the aircraft could then be used to help fund the F-22 and F-35 programs... The aircraft could receive radio messages when the antenna's were retracted quite well. Also the pilot had the ability to choose to extend the upper, lower or both UHF antenna's as desired. So if the risk of detection was low, like flying over friendly airspace, they could extend the upper antenna to minimize detection and to communicate with other aircraft like tankers etc.

@fastone942

9 ай бұрын

There a chip out of a F117 pilot get caught in the middle of a dog fight during the first gulf was first thing he see is a MIG29 go by with both blowers lit up then a few seconds later a US air to air missile go by the canopy then a F15 with both blowers lit up after the MiG which did blow up when the F15 diver was told his MiG kill was confirmed by a another aircraft his first words was what other aircraft after that near collision they laid out flight path for coalition aircraft to stay out of

@deeann8923

2 ай бұрын

Also, the RCS for the F-22 was quite a bit smaller. It is .003 square meters for the F-117 compared to .0001 square meters for the F-22. I think that made the decision easier.

Cool ! I seem to be using this word alot lately with this series of videos !!! Maybe I should find some new ones... Amazing !, Awesome !, Wow !....I am sure there are many more !

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you like them! Yep there's probably another 15-20 coming :)

@heathertruskinger6214

2 жыл бұрын

@@PaulStewartAviation wow 😲

I saw one of these in Tenerife around 1996

Cool

I was stationed at Norton with Lonnie Scott in 1980/81. (Crew Chief)

Wao it is beautiful🌹

Nice video Paul! Fingers crossed you can do a "part 2" and get into the cockpit some time?

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

I agree!

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

Great video and beautiful hair!

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

😂

Paul, your videos always have some wonderful details. I grew up near that airport where they flew it out and in fact, my dad used to fly out of it on almost a weekly basis. Hard to believe that such a secret plane was flown out of a regular passenger airport in the middle of Southern California.

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

A detailed inspection was done during the war in 1999, in the village of Budjanovci, when it was shot down by a rocket and was inspected in the field by officers of the Serbian, Russian and Chinese armies, and then it was inspected by gypsies and taken to waste ....

@vukmandusic9359

2 жыл бұрын

you are a peasant and that is why you are delighted with the fair performances ...

@mpk6664

2 жыл бұрын

@@vukmandusic9359 The fucks your problem dude lol

I think rather the coated canopy panes simply reflect radar in accordance with the stealthy external shaping of the rest of the airframe. Gold/ITO (indium tin oxide) films just like this are used as shielding from strong sources of radio energy, as well, so this makes the most sense.

I remember hearing years ago that in the Gulf War the F-117 comprised of only like 3% of all aircraft flying but did like 30% of all the damage. Could go in and bomb some place and get out of there with out it being seen. Pretty impressive.

One of the top 4 as far as we know... 1) Wright Flyer, 2) SR-71, 3) F117 and 4) F22 Raptor

@PaulStewartAviation

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve got a video on the SR-71, F22 is coming but sadly the Wright Flyer is currently locked away in Washington.

Excelente 🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷

Great video! It's amazing the lengths they went to in saving money. At first, I would have guessed an 'open cheque book' approach would have occurred. But given the secrecy of this project I suppose they didn't want to draw attention by pushing for huge budget increases. Makes me wonder what they're working on now.

@skraminc

Жыл бұрын

A10 landing gear sold me on this project and its dedication. They were performing an sr-22 tier project and could have stolen a billion dollars to redesign the wheel but someone else had already mastered it. Still expensive as all hell but at least some project manager had a heart to not nickle and dime the next 50 years of Americans.

@deeann8923

2 ай бұрын

@@skraminc It shortened the design time as it was a matter of adapting rather than starting fro scratch.

Im like 98% sure i saw one of these or a divation of one of these flying over my house not to long ago the back end looked identical, i couldnt see the front where it was nighttime though but it was darn near touching the trees and i couldnt even hear the darn thing fly right over my head

4:00 - What also contributed to the F-117 getting shot down was the fact that the Serb army realized that F-117 was flying the same flight route (via NATO intelligence) from previous attack runs and was able to move its missile batteries to get a better firing position. They used a "dual radar" system consisting of a Soviet P-18 early warning radar (set to low frequency) which would alert them the F-117 was approaching about 15 miles away. When the P-18 alert went off, the second SNR-125 radar was activated and picked up the F-117's open weapon bay door. Ironically, the successful missile didn't actually hit the F-117; it detonated in close proximity and the fragment damage resulted in loss of flight control, forcing the pilot to eject.

@bobfeller604

2 жыл бұрын

Flying the same route was the mistake, they should have known better.

@Zfast4y0u

2 жыл бұрын

cause that missle was made to explode like it did. no missle nowdays actually hit plane, its enough to go boom near it and brake its wings.

@shrimpflea

Жыл бұрын

The vast majority of ground to air missiles do not hit planes directly. They detonate near them.

@Finkaisar

Жыл бұрын

@@bobfeller604 Also it was flying without prowler support

@nikoladjukovic8010

Жыл бұрын

SAM missiles never hit a plane. They detonate while approaching to it and wreck the wing or other vital part of the plane by detonation. Reality is not like in the movies. Hitting the plane by a rocket is like hitting a bullet by bullet since modern planes and rockets fly more than a speed of sound.