![]() But because of the stealthiness, we can concentrate on weapons to the exclusion of everything else. Among these, the GBU-27 bomb markings painted beneath the cockpit and the CAP with name blacked out on the canopy rail of one of the two aircraft. Most other airplanes have the pilot monitoring everything - even air threats. The F-117A is actually a very easy aircraft to fly, and it’s so capable that between target runs it’s much less intense and busy then the Jaguar. It’s a high-intensity job because there is no autopilot. Pratt & Whitneys PW2000 engine covers the thrust range from 37,000 pounds to 43,000. “By that I mean you’re actually flying it every second. F117-PW-100 engine is the military version of the PW2000 commercial engine that powers the Boeing 757 aircraft. “If you compare it to the Jaguar, the Jaguar is much more the flying aircraft,” he stated. He praises its “beautifully harmonized design, ” noting that it “is as maneuverable as any other aircraft I’ve flown. check-out dates, unit histories, significant dates and events, cockpit schematics. Topham said the difference is apparent on takeoff, but once the aircraft is in the air, flying the F-117A is not too different from flying most other aircraft. F-117 Nighthawk Paul Crickmore, Alison J. And since we usually fly at night, you can’t see anything whizzing by that would give you some reference to judge your speed by, which means you have to fly on instruments most of the time.” The Lockheed F-117A was developed in response to an Air Force request for an aircraft capable of attacking high value targets without being detected by enemy radar. “You can’t really hear the wind in most other aircraft. “With most aircraft you get the feeling of speed and acceleration, but with this one there is very little sensation of speed,” he said. Having flown the F/A-18 Hornet, the AV-8B Harrier II and the Mirage 2000 in addition to the Jaguar, Topham said he would rather be flying the F-117A not only because of the privilege, but because of the aircraft’s performance and capabilities compared to conventional US and European fighters. In fact, two UK pilots have flown the F-117A Stealth fighter under the Pentagon’s foreign officer exchange program. It requires the pilot to abandon human senses completely and allow electronic instruments to work in their absence, according to a British officer who is flying that once-secret aircraft under an exchange program between DoD and the UK Ministry of Defense. UK Pilot Takes “Psychology Lesson” at Controls of F-117A Stealth Fighterįlying USAF’s F-117A stealth fighter is a lesson in psychology rather than aerodynamics. Editor’s note: The RAF’s Squadron Leader Chris Topham climbed into the Nighthawk’s cockpit in April 1991. ![]()
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