Last of line flies flag in style
Part 1 of a series on the F-117AHollogram
By Staff Sgt. David Wagstaff, 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Alamogordo Daily News
Article Launched:04/10/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
Sailing through the sky, a triangular shaped American flag zips by as hundreds of heads turn. The flag banks and flies off into the sunset.
This will be the sight over the skies of Holloman Air Force Base and Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, Calif., in April as the U.S. Air Force retires the final four F-117A Nighthawk aircraft to Tonopah Test Range, Nev.
Tail number 843, the final F-117A delivered to the Air Force, has been given the distinct honor of having the stars and stripes painted on its underside for the farewell tour heralding the airframe's retirement. The distinctive paint job, which was originally painted on the underside of tail number 782 upon its unveiling to high-ranking officials, became a trademark of the aircraft.
Aircraft 782 wore the distinctive paint scheme on several occasions, the last of which was in 2005 shortly before its retirement to Tonopah Test Range.
Airmen in the Fabrication Flight at Holloman took on the ominous task of replicating 782's paint job earlier this year. While painting the plane the group took the Air Force core value of "Excellence in All We Do" to the next level.
"We had to figure out the pattern and the spacing of the stars and stripes on our own," said Staff Sgt. John Fromm of Marsing, Idaho. "There was no blueprint from the original plane, so it took a little more work."
The painting was done with incredible detail and care, right down to painting the Downward Looking Infrared (DLIR) screen with a roll-on method as opposed to spray. This was done to avoid getting paint on the turret housed within the screen. The DLIR is used to see under and behind the aircraft. It was also used for target designation through impact during missions.
Throughout the year, the Airmen from the Fabrication Flight Corrosion Control section work on keeping the assigned aircraft looking good. This is done by painting jets on standard rotation twice a year. However, keeping up with the air show circuit is a full-time job for the Airmen.
"We paint the air show jets right before the season starts, and then do touch-ups," said Sergeant Fromm.
The Airmen assigned to this section, known by most as the "paint barn," are usually here on quarterly rotations. They also function in other sections of the flight, such as working with sheet metal and radar absorbent material (RAM) for the aircraft.
Earlier this month, tail number 843 journeyed to Dayton, Ohio, where it performed a fly-by at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for the closing of an F-117A special projects office.
"Flying 843 at Wright-Patt will be an experience I never forget," said Capt. Mike Driscoll of Daytona Beach, Fla. "It wasn't a perfect day for flying, but I think we gave them a show they all enjoyed. The cloud cover provided a unique background for the red, white and blue scheme on the bottom of the plane."
The flag paint scheme will draw a lot of attention as part of the formal F-117 retirement ceremony, which is being dubbed the "Sunset Stealth Tour," at Holloman and Palmdale on April 21.
"Airmen from the Corrosion Control section are proud of their work, and look forward to seeing it fly," said Senior Airman John D. Sharp. "Painting the flag on 843 was a great way for us to send off the last four jets."
Last of the Line
Tail number 88-843 was the final jet delivered to the U.S. Air Force, and it has evolved into quite a "unique" named plane, according to Arlan Ponder, former 49th Fighter Wing assistant historian.
"It was lovingly dubbed 'Affectionately Christine' by the maintainers because rumor has it the plane was built from spare parts that were lying around the factory," he said. "It sort of took on a life of its own, like Stephen King's 1958 Plymouth Fury."
The plane was delivered on June 27, 1990, after making its first flight on May 11, 1990. Although there was a formal ceremony at Palmdale for this "last of the line," it still made its contractor and USAF acceptance test flights at Groom Lake the month before.
The Nighthawk, which in the early days featured a woman dressed in black riding a white horse and carrying a bomb on the bomb bay door, has more than 4,500 flying hours with more than 2,300 sorties. It has deployed to Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia and Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, in support of Operations Desert Storm and Allied Force. Tail number 843 has also been deployed to South Korea numerous times.
On February 23, 1996, shortly after takeoff the plane experienced a failed power takeoff shaft. As the pilot turned back to base, the left engine fire light illuminated. The pilot landed successfully and ground egressed with no problems.
According to many maintenance officers, the Auxiliary Power Unit on "Christine" is notorious for turning itself on with little or no notice. Incidents of maintainers performing routine inspections and the APU firing up are countless.
Capt. Chrissy Stone, a former aircraft maintenance officer, recalled, "I was walking past the hangar one day and I heard an APU fire up. I looked in the cockpit and there was no one in there. Suddenly an Airman came scrambling out of the intake. It was pretty funny, but I'm sure pretty scary, too."
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