Night night, Nighthawk
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As Gareth said, 1977 was the Have Blue, an about 2/3 scale proof of concept demonstrator, whereas 1981 was the YF-117, so you're both right actually! 
The YF-117 was placed at the Blackbird Airpark at Palmdale last week alongside an A-12, SR-71 and D-21 - nice 'black' assortment of Lockheed memorabillia there!
I remember flying 'with' F-117s in GWII - well...we were DCA'ing their tankers as they came and went, but anyway - they never went anywhere without a huge 'gorilla' entourage of EA-6Bs and/or F-16CG/Js in tow!
BTW - TTR is at 37°48'6.79"N, 116°46'37.53"W. Those who have been to Red Flag will agree that there's some fun flying to be had in this area!
The YF-117 was placed at the Blackbird Airpark at Palmdale last week alongside an A-12, SR-71 and D-21 - nice 'black' assortment of Lockheed memorabillia there!
I remember flying 'with' F-117s in GWII - well...we were DCA'ing their tankers as they came and went, but anyway - they never went anywhere without a huge 'gorilla' entourage of EA-6Bs and/or F-16CG/Js in tow!
BTW - TTR is at 37°48'6.79"N, 116°46'37.53"W. Those who have been to Red Flag will agree that there's some fun flying to be had in this area!
Last edited by FoxtrotAlpha18; 14th Mar 2008 at 00:37. Reason: added TTR latlon
More bang for your buck
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I've looked for Tonopah on google maps and all I can find is a small Tonopah airport (civil), so is the airbase shielded by 'stealth' technology?
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and one ANG squadrons are operational with the F-22
Not sure where it came from but in 1983 my colleagues and I were aware of the planform of the B-2 but not the F-117, and this was long before we had confirmation of the existence of any stealth aircraft project.
From Wiki
During the Kosovo War the 250th Missile Brigade equipped with the SA-3 'Goa' anti-aircraft missile system, downed a F-117A. According to NATO Commander Wesley Clark,and other NATO generals, Serb air defenses found that they could detect F-117s with their radars operating on unusually long wavelengths. This made them visible on radar screens for short times.
Reportedly several SA-3s were launched, one of which detonated in close proximity to the F-117A, forcing the pilot to eject. According to an interview they had a number of spotters spread out looking for F-117s and other NATO aircraft. The commanders of the SAMs guessed the flight paths of earlier F-117A strikes from rare radar spottings and positioned their SAM launchers and spotters accordingly. It is believed that the SA-3 crews and spotters were able to locate and track F-117A visually, probably with the help of infra-red and night vision systems.
Some American sources acknowledge that a second F-117A was also damaged during a raid in the same campaign, and although it made it back to its base, it supposedly never flew again.
which explains
During the Kosovo War the 250th Missile Brigade equipped with the SA-3 'Goa' anti-aircraft missile system, downed a F-117A. According to NATO Commander Wesley Clark,and other NATO generals, Serb air defenses found that they could detect F-117s with their radars operating on unusually long wavelengths. This made them visible on radar screens for short times.
Reportedly several SA-3s were launched, one of which detonated in close proximity to the F-117A, forcing the pilot to eject. According to an interview they had a number of spotters spread out looking for F-117s and other NATO aircraft. The commanders of the SAMs guessed the flight paths of earlier F-117A strikes from rare radar spottings and positioned their SAM launchers and spotters accordingly. It is believed that the SA-3 crews and spotters were able to locate and track F-117A visually, probably with the help of infra-red and night vision systems.
Some American sources acknowledge that a second F-117A was also damaged during a raid in the same campaign, and although it made it back to its base, it supposedly never flew again.
which explains
post-Kosovo, it doesn't fly anywhere nowadays without dedicated ECM jamming cover, thus calling into question its unique selling point, ie its 'invisibility' to radar.
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During the Kosovo War the 250th Missile Brigade equipped with the SA-3 'Goa' anti-aircraft missile system, downed a F-117A. According to NATO Commander Wesley Clark,and other NATO generals, Serb air defenses found that they could detect F-117s with their radars operating on unusually long wavelengths. This made them visible on radar screens for short times.
