pjd@curie.ces.cwru.edu (dr. funk) (07/25/90)
From: pjd@curie.ces.cwru.edu (dr. funk) The F117A was indeed on static display at the Dayton Airshow last weekend. It was surrounded by a fence and a few armed guards -- nice ambience. Viewing distance was about fifty feet. Sure is a wild lookin' critter after viewing jet aircraft with nice, smoothly faired curves. Here are some features: * The first most striking characteristic is that there ain't nothing underneath it! All that extends below the A/C are the tricycle landing gear. This looks strange after roughly N decades of slinging all manner of ordnance from every nook and cranny. * I didn't note any leading edge devices, but it was parked flaps down. * The nose has several sensors/antenna. There appears to be an infrared sensor turret mounted in the the nose. Three antenna extend from the nose flush with the lower surface of the A/C. * The cockpit windows are triangular in shape with some kind of coating. (NB. The armed guards/fence were probably there to prevent people from taking "paint" samples!) Two of the windows had sawtooth edges. Overall it looks like a phone booth for coneheads. :-) * The V-tail is all flying. * The air intakes had a grating similar to those found over some building ventilation systems. I can see where it would hide the compression fans. * No engine exhausts were visible! The Dayton paper stated that the F117A taxi'd to a hanger immediately after landing (just before a massive storm, BTW.) There appeared to be a slight difference in shading between the fuselage and some "covers" that may have been installed over the exhausts. Makes you wonder if I saw the real thing...... Anyway, I may have more to report once the film comes back from the lab.... I got better shots of the F177A (which I could walk around) than the MiG-29 which was roped off. So much for the "new Soviet Union" -- kind of like the "new Nixon." :-) The MiG-29 high-alpha maneuver was impressive even in comparison with the slow-speed, high-alpha demo included with the Blue Angels F-18 show. I had a good time and the weather eventually co-operated. The F117A is definitely worth a look. -- paul j. drongowski usenet: {decvax,sun,att}!cwjcc!pjd!pjd case western reserve university csnet: pjd@alpha.ces.cwru.edu