I have a feeling I just missed something[D)], but did the Nighthawks go to a two tone gray camo scheme like the Raptor and Eagles? I was looking thru Revell’s upcoming stuff and they have a 117 reissue, but it is painted gray
Yes ur right, they were black, but for minimum visibility at night, at the altitude where the F-117 operates, a white bottom and a light gray top would be the best. The black colour was chosen in order to make the aircraft look more intimidating/mean. The black has nothing to do with stealth…Gordon J
EDITED
12/9/2003 - HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) – It took 10 gallons of dark gray paint, 5 1/2 gallons of light gray paint and 3 gallons of silicon paint to give one F-117A Nighthawk here an F/A-22 Raptor-style makeover.
Lt. Col. Kevin Sullivan, the 53rd Test and Evaluation Group’s Detachment 1 commander, asked the 49th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron corrosion flight airmen to paint the detachment’s F-117 gray to evaluate whether it could have a substantial role in daytime combat operations.
story can be founhd here http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2003/12/mil-031210-afpn02.htm
I saw a show on the History Channel the other day about stealth technology and they showed the bird in a SEA scheme. Looked very very odd to me…
Thanks Sasarchiver. I wonder if the ever approved the change or if Revell is just doing a scheme for that particular test bird? I saw the article was from 12/2003.
Radmax- I saw that too. Did look strange. Something different, too
I too am surprised at the new Revell version being gray. I hadn’t heard the colors were approved for the 117.
That SEA scheme was actually a FSD aircraft. The purpose of that scheme was to distort and/or hide the shape from Soviet spy satellites.
Yeah, I’ve also seen it with a tri-color scheme: brown, green… and i can’t remember the other one… I only know that this F-117 is the early version
That was the Have Blue version(first test a/c). The 4 actual F-117’s I have seen were flat black with white markings
the have blue was brown green ad (you guessed it ) blue.but the prototype crashed[banghead]
f117 had only 2 differences from the have blue.1.have blue had steeper wing angles2.the tail was inward swept.
MAN! Now I’m going to have to repaint my 1/32 Revell Nighthawk [:D]. By the way, I’m assuming the AF brass failed to see the significance of the ‘night’ part of the panes’s name?[%-)][D)].
You can always call it the “Day Hawk”.
the F-117 had many colors during it’s ringing out phase and the USAF didn’t know what color to paint them they tried a modified SEA, the “Grape” (Aggressors colors), Black, Pastel colors and even Gray, and back in the early 80’s Black was the color they chose because they thought the planes would operate mostly at night anyways, now that the A-10’s are no longer dark colored and now the 117’s are no longer the Red Headed Step Child
Have Blue was also slightly smaller than the production -117 due largely to the fact that there was no internal weapons stowage.
Well, crap! Now my plan to do a Dayhawk/Dragon is completely unoriginal.
Anyway here are some pics:
Or “Gray Ghost.”
This is Great news to me. i have the Tamiya 1/48 kit and have kept putting it off becouse black is very difficult to make interesting. But!!! now that its Blue /grey Whell!! this is just awsome.