Zephyr Net

pic is mucho higante!!
http://www.af.mil/media/photodb/photos/ ... 0S-001.jpg



HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (ACCNS) – It took 10 gallons of dark gray paint, five-and-a-half gallons of light gray paint and three gallons of silicon paint to give one F-117A Nighthawk here an F/A-22 Raptor-style makeover.

Lt. Col. Kevin Sullivan, Detachment 1, 53rd Test and Evaluation Group commander, asked the 49th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron corrosion flight to paint their F-117, nicknamed “the Dragon,” gray to evaluate if it will have a substantial role in daytime combat operations.

“The chief of staff wants to have a 24-hour stealth presence over future battlefields,” said Lt. Col. Buck Rogers, the Det. 1, 53rd TEG operations officer. “We know our current black paint scheme wouldn’t be a good color for daytime operations.”

Preparation for painting began Nov. 17, said Staff Sgt. Armond Cornin, 49th AMXS corrosion flight NCOIC. AMXS members worked day and night to complete the job.

With the project complete, the jet will participate in upcoming tests as part of a program called Global Strike Task Force, Colonel Rogers said. The jet will fly with the F/A-22 in several tests both locally and deployed.

The Dragon is a test-coded aircraft owned by Det. 1, 53rd TEG.

“We use the Dragon for everything from new tactics development to the evaluation of new software or hardware,” said Maj. Tre Urso, a Det. 1, 53rd TEG pilot. “Det. 1 has been involved in all the F-117 modifications and upgrades over the years. Now, we want to evaluate the feasibility of using the F-117 during daylight operations.”

According to Colonel Rogers, Air Force leadership will approve additional jets for the gray scheme only if the test results show the change is warranted.

Whether or not the rest of the jets are painted, this project is worth the time and effort spent on completing it, Major Urso said.

“It provides a great opportunity for us to learn about our daytime capabilities and limitations. It also helps us evaluate how the new paints will hold up over time and lets us measure the impact the color modification has on the maintenance troops who maintain the jet. Bottom line, we need to make sure we provide our leaders an accurate assessment of the costs and benefits involved with daytime ops and the gray paint scheme.”

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

I like it, it looks cool

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allah no longer exists, for I have killed him. You must worship me instead.

lol yeah i posted something about that in the wrong forum but still did... :: sticks tongue out ::

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Centurian

cuts off tongue with scissors,( yer girls gonna kill me lol )

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

I personally like that gray paint. It looks cool, and as long as it doesn't compromise stealth then I'm all for it.

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allah no longer exists, for I have killed him. You must worship me instead.

It makes no sense to fly that jet during the day... It cant get out of its own way, so if its seen its dead...

Is this another one of your 'special' reports Kap, like the Aurora?

No, cause Cent 'reported' it too on the General Discussion forum.

And those planes typically fly at about 15-16,000 feet. So it won't be very easy to see regardless.

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allah no longer exists, for I have killed him. You must worship me instead.

Higher.

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Centurian

even at night, in clear weather it's not much of a problem to spot a fighter sized aircraft at 15,000ft.

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

Well it is when it's painted black. Hell if it weren't for their strobe lights I wouldn't even be able to see these Boeing 737s that fly over all day.

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allah no longer exists, for I have killed him. You must worship me instead.

higher.

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Centurian

lol jeze Bigs my eyes are shot, and I can tell an MD-80 from a 727 at 30,000ft during the day lol

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

Well even if they can see it, it's still a very capable aircraft.

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allah no longer exists, for I have killed him. You must worship me instead.

Its a low performance aircraft, with minimal aerodynamics... To place that aircraft into a day combat situation in hostile airspace patrolled by hostile fighters is insane...

Whoever this Airforce General is, he is an idiot!

Maybe they should ask him to fly that damn thing during daylight in combat and then see if he wants to repaint it, or choose to keep it as a blackened night fighter...

At night. With adequate fighter cover. With adequate jamming. At high altitude. Flying subsonic. Straight and level. No ECM on.

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Centurian