The aircraft is headed for the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, where it will join the permanent collection. The handover comes nearly two decades after the Air Force retired the airframe from combat.
Reservists from the 512th Airlift Wing flew the two-day mission. Strategic airlift is business as usual for them, the Air Force said, even when the payload is a piece of aviation history.
Millimeters to spare
Fitting the 29,500-pound load into the C-5M’s cargo compartment took precise weight distribution and clearances measured in millimeters. The Dover-based crew landed in Palmdale, California, and set about staging the aircraft for loading.
Within two hours of landing, loadmasters had eased the Nighthawk’s detached wings into the hold and secured them, with ample room left for the fuselage. Missions like this draw on airmen from a range of career fields, from flying crew chief to pilot, said Maj. Billy Hafker, the aircraft commander.
“Growing up in the ‘90s and 2000s, I remember thinking of the F-117 as the most unique plane,” said Hafker, an instructor pilot with the 709th Airlift Squadron. “Being able to move it to the Smithsonian to preserve it for future generations is an incredible opportunity, and we’re all honored to do it.”
An overnight fix on the tarmac
The cockpit was another matter. Its loading was unexpectedly held up overnight by what the Air Force called a coordination breakdown over how many tie-down points the aircraft needed.
With both aircraft grounded on the tarmac, a mechanical team from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works worked through the night to fabricate and install the points. Their work meant the whole plane could be delivered, the Air Force said.
“It was a little difficult to load in, but we got the job done,” said Senior Airman Lucas Richard, a loadmaster with the 709th Airlift Squadron. “This is probably one of the coolest pieces of cargo that I’ve ever seen.”
Demilitarization came first
The Air Force grounded its F-117 fleet in April 2008 and has disposed of approximately four aircraft a year since then. As of January 2021, approximately 48 F-117As remained in its inventory.
An aircraft has to be demilitarized before it can go on show in a museum. That process requires immense cooperation between the Department of War and its industry partners, the Air Force said.
“There’s a lot of people that participate in a project like this,” said Jeff Corbets, a program manager at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works who led the restoration. “Demilitarization was the most difficult piece, but I think it went really smoothly, all things considered.”
A record that earned a nickname
The jet’s combat record earned it the nickname “The Overachiever.” It flew in Just Cause, Desert Storm, Allied Force and Iraqi Freedom.
During its 1991 participation in Iraq, it flew 1,271 sorties with an 80% mission success rate and took no battle damage, according to the Air Force. The jet retired in 2007.
It will soon go on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center. The museum draws more than a million visitors a year.
