Palmdale F-117 Tribute by Michael Darcy and Jim Mumaw

The Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk is a true milestone in aviation history. It was conceived by famed Lockheed designer Ben Rich, who followed Kelly Johnson as head of the Skunk Works, and born from the engineering genius of Alan Brown. Under some of the strictest security in aviation history, the design progressed from the Have Blue test article with its peculiar inward-canted rear stabilizers to the F-117A Nighthawk of Gulf War fame.

It was fitting that the F-117’s final goodbye at USAF Plant 42, in Palmdale, California on April 22nd was an event with some of the highest security in memory. The Nighthawk made its debut with little fanfare in the late 1980’s, and it retired almost as quietly with a private tribute for the employees that built her. The only cameras allowed at the ceremony were those of the Lockheed photographers and a small media contingent. Surrounded by a crowd barrier, the black jets were carefully positioned in front of Hangar 601 at Plant 42 – a most appropriate setting, as it was in the same hangar that the 59th and final F-117A Stealth Fighter was completed.

A crowd of well over 1000 was on hand for the big good-bye at Plant 42. It included former and current Lockheed Martin workers, designers, pilots, and others who were part of the family that made Ben Rich’s vision of the first aircraft with stealth as its prime design feature a reality.

“It’s time to say farewell to an old friend,” said Master of Ceremonies Dr. George Zielsdorff, Lockheed Martin’s Vice-President for the U-2 and F-117 programs. “The F-117 is recognized as one of the great success stories in aviation history.” Lt. Col John Forsythe spoke about how the aircraft “is the embodiment and definition of stealth in everyone’s mind … an aircraft that lives in the national psyche.” ”Stealth technology is still the number-one thing our adversaries would like to get their hands on,” he added. Colonel Jeffrey L. Harrigian, Commander of the 49th Fighter Wing, Holloman AFB noted that, “No weapons system can hold a stick to what you guys have developed here.” As the speakers were giving their farewells, the current and former employees were allowed, one by one, to sign personal messages on the weapons bay doors.

The four black jets landed at Plant 42 the morning before the ceremony. Only a handful of lucky photographers were on hand to see the planes come in. The aircraft first made a formation fly-by, led by #843, named “Affectionately Christine” and with her underside painted in an outstanding Stars and Stripes scheme. The flag markings were applied at Holloman AFB and completed on January 25, 2008. Affectionately Christine is the second aircraft to carry this color scheme, the first having been YF-117 FSD-3 #782.

Affectionately Christine was flown to Palmdale by Lt. Col John K. Forsythe, Jr. Commander of the 49th Operations Group at Holloman AFB, a 1984 US Air Force Academy graduate. Flying # 824, #800, and #809 respectively were Lt. Col. Ken “Tot” Tatum, 9th Fighter Squadron Commander, Lt. Col. Mark “Drink” Drinkard, 49th Deputy Operations Group Deputy Commander, and Lt. Col. Tod “Meat” Flesch of the 8th Fighter Squadron.

Emotions ran high at the Plant 42 ceremony. While there was upbeat talk of the new “Fifth Generation” F-22 Raptors and the JSF F-35 Lightning II being worked on in the buildings behind the F-117s, most people’s feelings edged on sadness as they recalled the roles they played in manufacturing, testing and operating the amazing aircraft before them.

The 558 pilots who flew the F-117A included three Lockheed test pilots – Harold “Hal” Farley, Dave Ferguson and Tom Morgenfeld – who were present to say farewell to old friends. They were the first-flight pilots, in order, for YF-117 Full-Scale Development (FSD) articles #1, #2, and #3. Hal Farley has the distinction of making the first flights of both FSD -1 on June 18th, 1981 and the last production F-117A, #843, on May 11th, 1990. Dave Ferguson later flew the first flight of the YF-22 on September 29th, 1990. Tom Morgenfeld did flight testing for the F-22 program and logged the first flight of the X-35A, later to become the F-35, on October 24th, 2000.

During the ceremony, Alan Brown recounted an amusing anecdote in regard to the Nighthawk’s designation. While most people know that the number “117” was purposely out of sequence, many believe that the “F for fighter” mission designator was part of the same cover story because the F-117A has no air-to-air capability. In reality, the “F” was a marketing tool to entice fighter pilots into the program. It became clear early on that the best-suited pilots to fly the new bird would be those with fighter experience, and Bob “Burner” Jackson, a former USAF Thunderbirds team lead, was tasked to recruit them. Since a self-respecting fighter pilot would not, under normal circumstances, leave his pride and joy to fly anything with a “B” for bomber or “A” for attack designation, some fudging of the designation was in order. Once the pilots got over their first shock of seeing such a non-aerodynamic shape and began flying the aircraft, they never regretted their decision to become “Bandits,” the call sign of the Nighthawk pilot. Hal Farley’s call sign was “Bandit 117,” Dave Ferguson was “Bandit 105” and Tom Morgenfeld was “Bandit 101.”

Another of Brown’s remembrances dealt with the Nighthawk’s fly-by-wire system. The Nighthawk was the first military aircraft which is unstable in pitch, roll and also yaw. Not only does the plane have quadruple-redundant flight control computers, but the flight controls also have artificial resistance to assist the pilots while maneuvering. The pilot’s inputs are fed into the computers, which decide what control surfaces to activate, and to what degree, to perform the maneuver. This curious concept means that the control surfaces actually used might not be the ones the pilot thinks he is moving.

How well did the system work? Well, Brown recounted how one of the vertical stabilizers separated during a test flight. The computers responded so fluidly that the Air Force pilot did not know “the right fin of the aircraft just broke off at the root” until the chase plane told him he’d better land as soon as possible, and why!

With the ceremony concluded, it was time for photographers to find a location outside the plant from which to view the Nighthawks’ departure. There was much conjecture as to the best location, as there were numerous possible flight paths the aircraft could use. Anticipation was running high as many present offered their opinions about where the prime viewing spot would be. After all, such a sight would never be seen again! The safe bet was the local enthusiasts' location, simply called “the corner.”

The pilots did not disappoint. Prior to the Nighthawks’ takeoff, a pair of unannounced black T-38s came screaming from the runway catching those on the corner totally off-guard. After some time, the outline of pure stealth was discernable on the runway, landing lights on, shimmering in the heat waves like a mirage. One by one, the Stealths screamed over, banking hard and low to say their final farewell to those at the corner. Traffic on Sierra Highway was jammed, as amazed people stopped to cheer the jets on. The aircraft banked north and formed up. The four Nighthawks came in from the northeast over runway 22 and proceeded over the hangers of the Lockheed Martin facility. Employees outside watched for the last time the aircraft on which many of them had spent the majority of their aerospace careers.

As the quartet left the runway and flew over the favorite haunt of aviation enthusiasts in the Antelope Valley, it brought back memories of years gone by and the impromptu airshows we have enjoyed watching. Imagine the mighty SR-71 making numerous passes, some in full afterburner, then a B-1B doing the same thing on the same day…. Sights like that are but a small representation of the very special times that have been witnessed by so many at the corner. And now the final F-117 flypast has been added to our memories.

After the tribute, the aircraft’s final destination was the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada where they will be placed in indefinite flyable storage, making room in the USAF inventory for the newer breed of Stealth aircraft to follow.

While the operational career of the Nighthawk is officially one for the history books, a single F-117 will continue in service as a test vehicle through September of this year. Should you see a familiar shape in the skies in the next few months, it might not be a mirage but rather a last reminder of one of the most amazing aircraft ever built and of the people behind it.

Personal note by Jim Mumaw: While the crowds were massed at that favorite “corner” a couple of miles away, I was at the approach for Runway 22. I was the only person there, alone with my thoughts and recollections of the F-117. As the formation appeared and I began to shoot, I thought back to all the friends who had made these aircraft a reality, both those on-hand for the ceremony and those who are gone from this world physically but still very much present in memory. Only one word came to my mind: “Thanks!”

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