area 51 jets

Area 51 Jets - No afterburner All three flight axes are stabilized using the on-board computer No curved background Limited payload

This striking scouting report is likely to cause concern for some pilots, but there is another piece of information that will dispel those thoughts:

Area 51 Jets

The plane was a Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk. 40 years ago today, it was first lifted out of Nevada's Dry Lake - now known as Area 51 - under government protection.

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All of the less-than-ideal fighter attributes were needed to meet the real need for the F-117—stealth. When the F-117 flew that day in June 1981, it became the first jet in the skies with stealth as its primary characteristic.

The Cold War conflict introduced the jet fighter for the first time Although the United States has a technological advantage over its adversaries, adversary airspace remains a threat to pilots and their aircraft. Advances in enemy technology can lock in American fighters and remove them from the air at alarming rates.

In the United States, aircraft manufacturers have taken up this challenge: Minimize features that could reveal the aircraft's location. This means subsonic flight to reduce noisy speakers This means there are no afterburners or large exhausts in the engine to emit infrared signals. This means flat surfaces deflect radar waves

McDonnell Douglas' F/A-18 Hornet took to the skies for the first time in 1978 when Lockheed Martin won the F-117 contract. GA designed the brand new F404 engine specifically for the Hornet. Reliable, maintainable, lightweight and affordable, the F404 quickly earned its stripes.

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Some employees at GE's Lynn, Massachusetts plant were unaware that the F404-F1D2 was made for the GE F-117. It was almost the same version as the F/A-18's F404. Gee built more than 100 of these engines on a separate assembly line staffed only by state sanitation workers.

The 1970s trim of the F404 that powered the F/A-18 Hornet was designated F404-GE-402. The F404-GE-F1D2 had no afterburner Credit: GE

Bill Formosi, GE's F404-F1D2 program manager from 2000 to 2004, remembers seeing the F-117 in person for the first time.

"It was probably the highlight of my career," Fermosi recalled. “He was at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. They pulled an F-117 out of a hangar and into a Quonset hut to prepare for takeoff.

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“When they were getting ready to launch the plane, they put us in the back of a pickup truck and as they taxied, they followed the F-117. People think that it doesn't have a special exhaust and no afterburner, it doesn't have a lot of power - they are wrong. The machine was moving and the whole truck was shaking. "

I'm still coming, almost 20 years after that plane flew, when I first stood next to an F-117, then sitting in the truck... I mean, it blew up.

Formosi, who remains at GE as a materials and logistics manager, is one of GE's remaining employees working on the F404-F1D2 program.

“It really had its own beauty. They were able to take an existing engine that had the required thrust and mass and make it work. The F-117 had some minor modifications to accommodate the special input"

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Unlike other jets of the time, the F-117's air intake was louvered and covered with a special radar-absorbing coating. There were also spring-loaded hatches that open on the ground to allow more air to reach the engine After flight, the hatches are closed to maintain the aircraft's stealth characteristics

"If you look at an F-117 from the back, you'll notice that you can't see the engine like you can on other aircraft," Fermosi explained. “Intentional and had everything to do with it being stolen The F/A-18 had an afterburner like the F404 instead of a 12-stage exhaust pipe that exited circularly at the engine end and flattened at the exhaust end. "

This was done to spread the hot exhaust air over a larger area, reducing its heat signature.

The approximately 15-foot long tube also needs a layer of material to absorb heat from the engine. Excessive noise can affect the radar-absorbing paint covering the exterior of the aircraft

F 117 Nighthawks Photographed Heading Toward Area 51

A Republic F-84 Thunderjet with an experimental slotted exhaust nozzle, circa 1958. The same general design principle was applied to the F404-F1D2 exhaust pipe. (Photo: NASA)

Many people who work in aviation are also passionate about the industry, so Fermosi also had some free time as he was working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. He found an F-117 scale model kit in his house collecting dust and believes someone gave it back to him when he was the F1D2 program manager. Fermosi assembled and painted the model, which is undoubtedly his favorite aircraft to this day

He recalled when Lin's employees found out that Geo built the machine's engine. "Nothing philosophical to say. Geo was very proud to have a say in the matter. "

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