F-117 flying again? | Page 3 | FerrariChat

F-117 flying again?

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by alexD, Nov 16, 2010.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. kylec

    kylec F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 9, 2005
    3,572
    Orlando
    Are you sure about that?
     
  2. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,984
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    Sean- The stealth geometry and coatings on the F-35 and F-22 are far superior to those on the F-117 both from maintainability and low observables standards. The F-117 was designed when we only had a 2D stealth code.
     
  3. finnerty

    finnerty F1 World Champ

    May 18, 2004
    10,406
    #53 finnerty, May 13, 2013
    Last edited: May 13, 2013
    Even if the thrust were adequate, the 117 is aerodynamically utterly incapable of going supersonic --- not designed with speed as a goal.
     
  4. finnerty

    finnerty F1 World Champ

    May 18, 2004
    10,406
    #54 finnerty, May 13, 2013
    Last edited: May 13, 2013
    Whether or not they were scrapped, those photos are either fake or they are of an aircraft that had sustained major damage prior --- that is NOT how we would scrap an aircraft --- especially a 117.

    "scrap" does not equal "destroy"

    They are carefully dismantled, and many materials and components are inventoried and salvaged. They are not crushed, ripped apart, and tossed in the dumpster :).
     
  5. finnerty

    finnerty F1 World Champ

    May 18, 2004
    10,406
    117 stealth counter-measures included --- low heat signature, oblique surface angles, and radar absorbing material (RAM) covering.

    35 & 22 stealth counter-measures include --- low heat signature (though not as low as the 117), oblique surfaces, radar absorbing structure / coatings, and active electronic detection / mitigation of incident radar & laser systems.
     
  6. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Mar 31, 2006
    32,793
    East Central, FL
    Full Name:
    Wade O.
  7. alexD

    alexD F1 Rookie

    Oct 1, 2006
    4,670
    sunnyvale
    Full Name:
    alex d
    Umm, the RCS of the F-22 is at least two orders of magnitude lower than that of the F-117.
     
  8. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,984
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    Alex- Affirmative and about 4 generations of LO technology newer.
     
  9. RacerX_GTO

    RacerX_GTO F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 2, 2003
    13,965
    Oregon
    Full Name:
    Gabe V.
    In the wake of the Edward Snowden mess, my documented, snooped and recorded reply is sufficient for public chat.

    ;)
     
  10. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,984
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    Gabe- We all know more than we are saying.
     
  11. Tcar

    Tcar F1 Rookie

    Good statement, but, as we all know, the internet is flush with folks that 'say' WAY more than they know...
     
  12. kevin956

    kevin956 Formula Junior

    Jan 26, 2004
    495
    Pasadena, CA
    #62 kevin956, Jan 2, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    BJK likes this.
  13. Tcar

    Tcar F1 Rookie

    Prolly looked like a flock of birds on radar... ha...
     
  14. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,984
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    Kevin- Great photos, thanks. Since F-117s hardly ever flew in the daytime except for airshows, that is a really rare photo.

    We ended up with several of them in our hardened hangar facilities in Taif when they had problems on their way to Khamis Mushayt. Pilots varied from "stay away from my airplane" (new guys) to "let me show you how they work". There were some operational restrictions for them in Desert Storm, but those were fixed postwar.
     
  15. dmaxx3500

    dmaxx3500 Formula 3

    Jul 19, 2008
    1,027
    wernt they really re-bodied F16's?,i was told that by the F117 pilot back at NAS Glenview at an airshow in late 80's-early 90's
     
  16. BMW.SauberF1Team

    BMW.SauberF1Team F1 World Champ

    Dec 4, 2004
    14,244
    How would they rebody an F16? The fuselage is the body...
     
  17. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
    33,736
    Austin TX
    Full Name:
    Brian Crall
    What a goofy looking thing.

    I always thought it should have been named Goblin II after the F85.
     
  18. MarkPDX

    MarkPDX F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Apr 21, 2003
    15,111
    Gulf Coast
    The F-117 used a lot of off the shelf components and if memory serves the F-16s fly by wire system was part of that. Otherwise its pretty significantly different with internal bomb bay, two engines, etc. Engines are a non after burning variant of those used in the F-18 (F404s?) if I remember correctly.

    Frankly its a lot easier to just gloss over a lot of details when working an air show and "rebodied F-16" isn't too much of a stretch I guess since they do share some parts.

    You can only explain that pitot tubes aren't machine guns so many times.....
     
  19. MarkPDX

    MarkPDX F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Apr 21, 2003
    15,111
    Gulf Coast
    Wasn't one of its nicknames the Wobblin Goblin?
     
  20. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,984
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    Wobbly Goblin came from Red Storm Rising.
     
  21. dmaxx3500

    dmaxx3500 Formula 3

    Jul 19, 2008
    1,027
    i read the were called wobbly goblin,because the had so many computers to keep it flying
     
  22. zygomatic

    zygomatic F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 19, 2008
    4,847
    Washington, DC
    Full Name:
    Chris
    I'd always heard the story reported below: a test pilot described the aircraft as feeling like a "wobbly goblin" before some computer compensation kicked in on an early test flight.

    F-117A: Frequently Asked Questions
     
  23. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
    33,736
    Austin TX
    Full Name:
    Brian Crall
    Reading that link about their unit patches reminds me of my brothers best friend many years ago. He was a Marine attached to the security detail at Camp David. They were not allowed to have anything that said Camp David or to admit they were assigned there. So the Marines renamed the place. They called it "CAMP FUN". They even made sweat shirts that had big letters "Camp Fun. The locals thought they were counselors at a summer camp.
     
  24. NürScud

    NürScud F1 Veteran

    Nov 3, 2012
    7,273
  25. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Mar 31, 2006
    32,793
    East Central, FL
    Full Name:
    Wade O.
    #75 Wade, Aug 24, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Here's another angle:

    .
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
    BJK likes this.

Share This Page