Stealth Technology Proposed
Dr. Windecker believed that composite aircraft construction had a ready military application, because composites are nearly invisible to conventional radar systems. In 1962, he and Dow Chemical Company proposed a radar-invisible airplane to the Kennedy Administration, who showed no apparent interest. 1n 1971, he again proposed a stealth airplane to his congressman, George Mahon (D-Texas). Mahon contacted the Air Force, and a test of Dr. Windecker's personal Windecker Eagle was conducted against an Air Force radar system at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. The Air Force reported that the radar registered only the engine and the landing gear, not the plane's composite body. An Eagle, modified to reduce radar, infrared, acoustic and visual observables, was tested by the U.S. Army at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland in 1972 under the code name CADDO. The results were compelling, prompting the U.S. Air Force and DARPA to order an Eagle built from scratch to minimize radar detectability. Windecker built Eagle serial number 9, incorporating numerous modifications to reduce its radar detectability, and delivered it in February 1973 as the YE-5 to the Air Force who tested it secretly for five years at Eglin AFB, Florida. It was then transferred to the Army, who continued testing its stealth application for many years. Eventually, the Army transferred the YE-5 to the Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The YE-5 was destroyed during classified testing in the late 1980s. The Army Aviation Museum received Eagle serial number 5, N4196G, to replace the lost stealth prototype. Eagle N4196G is in storage at Fort Rucker and not on display.
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