Hill Aerospace Museum welcomes ‘rare bird’ following reopening
Tonopah Test Range and Hill Air Force Base personnel unload a Lockheed F-117A on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, at the Hill Aerospace Museum.
Tonopah Test Range and Hill Air Force Base personnel unload a Lockheed F-117A on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, at the Hill Aerospace Museum.
HILL AIR FORCE BASE — The Hill Aerospace Museum has opened after a four-month COVID-19 forced closure, just in time to display one of the rarest aircraft in the world.
Earlier this month, the museum welcomed a Lockheed F-117A. In a press release, Hill Air Force Base’s 75th Air Base Wing spokesman Donovan Potter called the plane “possibly the rarest Air Force aircraft.”
Potter said only 64 of the planes were ever produced. The museum’s plane, tail number 799, is nicknamed Midnight Rider. It arrived at Hill on Aug. 5 after years stored in the Nevada desert at the Tonopah Test Range.
The plane first flew in 1983 and had a total of 54 combat sorties in conflicts Desert Storm, Allied Force and Iraqi Freedom.
“It is a unique aircraft that highlights the remarkable evolution of military flight,” said Aaron Clark, museum director. “It’s the world’s first operational aircraft designed to exploit low observable stealth technology, so you could say this was one of many instances where the Air Force crossed into the realm of science fiction when released.”
Potter said the F-117A was developed to fill an Air Force need for an aircraft capable of attacking targets without being detected by enemy radar. According to the Federation of American Scientists Military Analysis Network, the first plane went into service in 1978 and became the world’s first operational stealth aircraft. By the late 1990s, it cost about $122 million to produce one of the planes.
Clark said the museum has long sought after an F-117. He said bringing it to Hill took an entire network of supporters, including the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Tonopah, a private transport company, departments of transportation in Nevada and Utah, the Nevada Highway Patrol, the Utah Highway Patrol and several base entities.
Hill’s 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group worked to offload the plane’s fuselage.
Clark said the plane still needs to be restored, but it’s now inside the museum, located near other, more modern aircraft like the F-16, A-10, F-15 and a Predator drone.
Potter said the F-117 has a significant tie to base history. In December 1998, the Ogden Air Logistics Center began doing battle repair damage for the planes in military service.
Clark said he’s already heard from locals who had a connection to the plane and want to help with the restoration. The work will be unique, Clark said, because it will be done inside the museum, visible to guests walking through. The project is expected to be complete in 12 to 18 months.
Potter said Hill is one of only a few locations to display an F-117. Others include the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Edwards AFB Flight Test Museum and the Ronald Reagan Library.
“It may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people to see one of these airframes,” Clark said. “This is just one of the many reasons why it’s so exciting to have one of these rare birds.”
After temporarily closing in March to protect the health and safety of visitors amid the pandemic, the museum reopened to the public on Aug. 5.
Robb Alexander, executive director of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Utah, said adjusted operating hours are in effect, with the museum open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Museum officials suggest that individuals at high risk of health problems from the virus attend from 10-11 a.m.
Alexander said the museum has developed reopening guidelines in line with recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hill leadership, the state of Utah and peer institutions across the country.