Hogan Wings M-Series 6498 Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk USAF 49th FW, 8th FS Black Sheep, #88-0843 Affectionately Christine, Palmdale Plant 42, CA, F-117 Retirement, April 22nd, 2008
Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk
F-117 #88-0843, nicknamed "Affectionately Christine", was the last of 59 production model F-117s to be made. When the US Air Force retired the F-117 on April 22nd, 2008, #843 was painted in this outstanding Stars and Stripes patriotic color scheme. This aircraft featured prominently at a farewell fly-by celebration at the Lockheed Martin Palmdale Plant 42 - the original birthplace of the F-117.
Designed and developed by Lockheed, the F-117 was the first operational aircraft conceived with stealth technology. It first flew on June 18, 1981, but was not officially acknowledged until 1988, when the Pentagon released a grainy, unrevealing photograph to the media (the aircraft itself was not seen by the public until 1990). With no afterburners and a shape designed to deflect radar signals, the F-117 is subsonic but effective. It has an automated planning system, sophisticated navigation and infrared target acquisition. It has been used several times in combat, most notably during the Persian Gulf War. It was retired in 2008, replaced by the more formidable F-22.
