As the F-117 Nighthawk goes on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for the first time, Aviation Week editors are joined by Air & Space Museum Director Chris Browne to reflect on the stealth aircraft and its place in history.
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AI-Generated Summary
Aviation Week’s Check 6 goes on location following the arrival of an F-117 stealth fighter at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center. This episode places the aircraft’s story within the history of stealth aviation.
The displayed aircraft, called The Overachiever by its crew, has a combat record spanning four theaters: Panama, Iraq, the Persian Gulf, and Yugoslavia. Its record gives the museum an example of a once-secret program now open to visitors.The narrative traces the F-117’s origins after the Skunk Works leadership of Kelly Johnson, through studies of radar reflection, a model, and the Have Blue demonstrator. Its angular airframe sacrifices stability, relying on redundant computers and fly-by-wire controls. Secrecy shapes night operations at Tonopah, followed by integration into strike packages and eventual public exposure.The aircraft represents a design approach unlike fighters built for speed and altitude. Its purpose is to deliver ordnance while evading radar.
The discussion explains edge alignment, inlet blockers, coated cockpit glass, and the radar exposure created by open bomb bay doors. Combat history includes the aircraft’s loss over Syria and the consequences of detection. The episode compares the F-117’s stealth with the F-35’s combination of stealth and electronic warfare, and considers reports that several F-117s remain in use as aggressor aircraft.
The museum setting broadens the story to preservation, the national collection, and plans for expanded galleries. Exhibits connect the aircraft to Skunk Works designs and aviation milestones, while artifacts and histories show how the collection presents technological change across eras.
Key Topics:
- The F-117’s Arrival at the Museum
- The Overachiever’s Combat Record
- Stealth Research and Have Blue
- Flying an Unstable Aircraft
- Secrecy and Public Disclosure
- The F-117’s Stealth Features
- The F-117 and the F-35
- Preserving Aviation History
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