Comparative Reality

Link: http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123088771

3/5/2008 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- A retirement ceremony to honor the contributions of the F-117A Nighthawk, the world's first attack aircraft to employ stealth technology, will take place here March 11.

But...but...the F-117 is a symbol of how totally futuristic and Space Age and massively advanced our armed forces are! And they're retiring it already? Why, it wasn't that long ago that I was playing F-19 Stealth Fighter game, where the box art showed a spearhead-shaped aircraft. Or the updated, massively fun version, with the correct aircraft shape and designation.

Ok, maybe that was a little while ago. But I grew up flying the F-117! You can't retire it! That makes me feel old.

It's been in service for 27 years, but only officially for the last 20 (and only 18 since they were trotted out for public viewing). And now the Air Force wants some shiny new F-22s.

Hell, the Navy just retired their F-14s a year and a half ago. They at least got 34 years out of those. Still, we've gotten over 50 years of service out of the B-52 and C-130.

Of course, I haven't played F-117 in years, but it was a great game. Did I ever tell you about that time when I flew deep into East Germany, skillfully avoided those pesky Doppler radars, SAM sites, and patrolling MiGs, only to blow most of my own tail off during a low-level bombing run? That was one hell of a return flight. Leaking fuel, far from a friendly base, enemy MiGs swarming around me...