Celebrate The F-117's Extended Service With This Tonopah Canyons Active Retirement Community T-Shirt
Tonopah Canyons: A safe and secure community for the granddaddy of stealth to live out its still remarkably active golden years.
It's one of the most intriguing stories in military aviation. Nearly a decade and a half after its official retirement and four decades after it first flew, Lockheed Skunk Works' F-117 Nighthawk's story continues on. Based out of the hangars that line the so-called 'canyons' at the same high-security and remote airbase where it began its service in the early 1980s, Tonopah Test Range Airport, F-117s are still flown by the 'Dark Knights' on adversary support 'red air' and test and developmental missions on a regular basis. After years of the Air Force largely keeping mum about its operations, the 'Black Jet" is even flying openly from other airfields now, as it serves as a stealthy threat for front-line aircrews and air-defense system operators to train against. It's an incredible way for the iconic jet to spend its golden years.
So, celebrate the world's first stealth combat jet's amazing legacy and what has become its very active retirement at its equally as enigmatic home with this 'Tonopah Canyons' T-shirt we cooked up with the mad-scientist apparel gurus at Blipshift.
The shirt features our spoof on an elegant retirement community logo — the Air Force could have sent the F-117 to other lesser retirement homes or had them put down permanently altogether, but instead, they gave their beloved Nighthawks the best shot at a fulfilling twilight to their storied lives at Tonopah Canyons.
The shirt also includes the control tower as well as the iconic rows of hangars at Tonopah, which make up the lovingly nicknamed 'canyons.' These were originally built to house the F-117s — ironically, in retrospect, the program was code-named SENIOR TREND — during its top-secret early operational years.
The two rows of four sets of hangars at Tonopah Test Range Airport, referred to as canyons, is where the F-117 fleet existed during its top secret years and where it has since returned to in retirement. Roughly four dozen F-117s remain at Tonopah, the majority of which are packed into hangars with their wings detached. The fleet is slowly being disposed of, but a handful of F-117s could continue to fly for many years to come.
This is all set against a silhouette of the surrounding desert mountains, with an F-117 triumphantly streaking into the sky, just as the jets continue to do after all these years. Red, black, and white — the same colors that adorn the F-117s—was our color palette for this one-of-a-kind design.
We are offering this bad boy in various tees, hoodies, long sleeves, and tanks in two distinct versions, starting at $20.
For this holiday season, we are also re-upping our Hog's Breath masks due to massive demand, including two new special editions!
I always wanted to do a version that celebrates the original green European theater camouflage the Warthog was born into and served in during the last act of the Cold War and a bit beyond. So we did it! You can grab one here.
Another special edition is a full warthog tusk version, just like the nose art worn by a couple of A-10 units. This is our most aggressive hog mask yet! Grab one here.
You can also get the original, which has been poorly imitated by lesser folks since we introduced it, here.
All of these Blipshift-partnered designs will only be available for a very limited time (literally the clock is ticking on each listing!), so grab them now while you can. All orders will arrive before Christmas.
Finally, take a look at our branded merch store with War Zone logo shirts, hoodies, hats, and even mugs, here.
Thanks so much for grabbing a shirt or mask or two. We wish you and your family a fantastic holiday season!
Contact the editor: Tyler@thedrive.com