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Lockheed F-117 Stealth Fighter (1981)
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SCALE: 1/48 |
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INITIAL RELEASE: 1991 |
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MEDIUM: Polystyrene |
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RARITY: (2) |
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ABOUT THE DESIGN |
ABOUT THE KIT |
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The F-117 Stealth Fighter -- also known as the Nighthawk -- was the first production aircraft to incorporate so-called "stealth" radar-evading technologies. First successfully test-flown on June 18, 1981, the plane -- actually a tactical strike aircraft, not a fighter -- combined a highly angular faceted fuselage, electronic countermeasures and a skin made from advanced composites that together made it virtually invisible to conventional radar. Developed under intense secrecy under the code name HAVE BLUE (smaller stealth prototypes were tested as early as the 1970s), the first F-117 was delivered to the U.S. Air Force in 1982. After much press and aviation industry speculation, the plane was finally revealed to the public in April 1990. The F-117 first saw combat running bombing raids against Baghdad in the 1991 Gulf War. Although not technically an "X-Plane," the F-117 is radical enough an aircraft to warrant inclusion in this collection. |
The first 1/48 scale kit of the F-117 to be released, Revell's model contained numerous design inaccuracies that would be corrected in later issues. This model was built from an original 1991 edition.
U.S. Air Force Photo |
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Original Box Art |
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