TWZ: lane spotters in Fort Worth, Texas, caught a glimpse of something rare yesterday, one of the U.S. Air Force’s four E-4B Nightwatch jets flying completely stripped of paint and with much of its skin covered in a green-colored protective coating. The Boeing 747-200-based E-4Bs are commonly called ‘doomsday planes’ as they serve as secure flying command posts for the president and other senior military officials so they can perform their duties, including directing nuclear strikes, even during the most serious crises.
Aviation photographer Tori Mae Fontana was kind enough to share pictures of the ‘naked’ E-4B with TWZ, which she captured as the aircraft left Meacham International Airport in Fort Worth yesterday. The jet used the callsign Spice 98 for the flight. more
Nakes on a plane
Interesting. I wasn’t aware that the temporary Pprotective coating (TPC) was used outside the manufacturing environment (new airplane panels from sub assembly through airplane final assembly).
Still, ground testing is ground testing, and you eventually have flight testing before final acceptance of the repairs/updates.
Sippin
Maybe not temporary Protective coating. They have a whole bunch of new prototype radar reflecting/ defeating coating out there. Highly doubtful they’d put a temp coating on a skin. They’d damage the skin removing it. But you’re right, sooner of later they need to fly them.
HEY BB- You are man with hi-tech connections.Git Radioman some of that dam paint !!! I want it for my Super Sport Chevy.
In flight, it can reel out a thin wire antenna that trails the plane for over five miles. It’s used to communicate with American submarines using ultra-low frequency radio waves. One of the E-4B’s is stationed at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.
RADIOATIONMAN
396? We won a contract requiring that paint. We had to get like 5 authorization from the Gov. To buy the damn stuff. And we had to sent the unused portion back to them.
B1-B
Why am I not reassured by this?