Air Zoo to display F-117 military aircraft
Courtesy Air Zoo
One of the first Lockheed F-117 Nighthawks will soon be on public display after parts of the aircraft were delivered to the Air Zoo in Portage last week.
“I really can’t believe the time has finally come to sign for and start this exciting journey back to southwest Michigan with the first operational Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk released for public display east of the Rockies,” Air Zoo President and CEO Troy Thrash said as he prepped for the trip to Tonopah, Nevada, on Nov. 30. “This is a monumental event for not only the Air Zoo family but for everyone in southwest Michigan, and this positive news could not have come at a better time.”
Kalamazoo Air Zoo Welcomes F-117 Nighthawk To Museum
The Kalamazoo Air Zoo welcomed a brand new aircraft to its facilities last week when Shaba (only one of four F-117s released to museums this year) arrived by truck on Friday afternoon.
After a little more than two and a half years, the F-117 finally arrived at its final destination in Kalamazoo via several trucks carrying the wings and fuselage. On December 5th, the first wing from the F-117 Nighthawk Shaba arrived at the Air Zoo and by December 7th, both of its wings were unloaded into the museum. After the delivery of the wings, the staff was simply waiting for Shaba s fuselage to arrive so that they could start to assemble and restore the aircraft.
Visitors can watch restoration of ‘Shaba’ F-117 Nighthawk at Air Zoo in Michigan
Updated Dec 12, 2020;
PORTAGE, MI Plane enthusiasts in the Midwest have the opportunity to see a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk be restored while it is on display at the Flight Discovery Center at the Air Zoo.
The F-117, nicknamed ‘Shaba’, which comes from the Arabic word for ‘ghost’ arrived at the Air Zoo on Friday, Dec. 11 after a 2,600-mile journey from Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.
Crews prepare to put on the wings of Shaba , the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk (817), arrives at the Air Zoo in Portage, Michigan on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com
F-117 Nighthawk ‘Shaba’ arrives for display at Air Zoo in Michigan
Updated Dec 11, 2020;
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PORTAGE, MI After an extensive journey of traveling 2,600 miles from Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, the ‘Shaba’ fuselage arrived at the Air Zoo to a crowd of excited onlookers.
Shaba, the nickname for the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, is the first operational F-117 released for public display in a non-government museum.
The wings of the plane arrived in Portage on Monday, but the fuselage, being an over-sized load, arrived on Friday, Dec. 11, 10 days after leaving Nevada. People followed along the journey of Shaba through the Facebook page ‘Get Shaba’, detailing the journey across the United States.