The NT-43A Radar Airborne Testbed (aka RAT 55), a modified 737 for testing the radar absorption of stealth aircraft
Posted by ToeSniffer245@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 29 comments
JeanPolleketje@reddit
The plane she said you don’t have to worry about…
MrScootini@reddit
Wow… they really did all sorts of stuff to the poor 37 huh….
joe9teas@reddit
Think the cancelled AEW Nimrod has this beat?
JNack-Reddit@reddit
That’s the Gerard Depardieu of planes.
Sh00ter80@reddit
…if Gerard ate some ‘abeilles’.
joe9teas@reddit
Both poking their noses into Russian affairs
cat_prophecy@reddit
Brits really love their wing root intakes.
joe9teas@reddit
StGenevieveEclipse@reddit
Those kinds of in-wing engines always get me excited, in all their pain-to-maintain glory
joe9teas@reddit
Yes, they had to be regularly inspected for Puffins which found them ideal for nesting.
psunavy03@reddit
That’s called “preflighting the aircraft.” I mean a giant bird nest would be blatantly obvious.
joe9teas@reddit
Puffins are notoriously crafty
curiousnc73@reddit
Who can still overhaul jt8s
SapphosLemonBarEnvoy@reddit
Well it's the US military. They can afford to stockpile parts, especially for large budget niches like test and/or ELINT.
AzureBelle@reddit
This thing's pretty secretive, and appears to still be flying (at least as of last year), even with the retirement of the "normal" T-43's. I'm slightly surprised by the tail boom - I'd think there'd be an increased danger of tail strikes.
psunavy03@reddit
Not if you just measure the angle and then tell the aircrew “hey, don’t rotate or flare beyond this pitch attitude or else Very Bad Things will happen.”
AzureBelle@reddit
sure, but this one seems especially egregious. 737's have had plenty of tail strikes to the point of needing skid bars, but I guess that's mostly publicized with commercial air carriers, and not whichever elite pilots the USAF is using in top secret aircraft like this.
Live-Fruit-943@reddit
A 737-800 or -900 has a shallower rotation/flare limit.
francis2559@reddit
Good point on tail strikes. I imagine it’s fairly light all things considered, so it might have a lot of time to get the nose off the runway.
xerberos@reddit
Jesus Christ, look at the engines. What is that, a 737-200? Those engines are old...
hankjmoody@reddit
We've still got -200s flitting about Canada. They're real handy in the remote corners of the world.
adrewflowers@reddit
A 737 that sneezed and farted at the same time...
ConspicuousSomething@reddit
Nose AND ass cancer. Poor thing.
Kichigai@reddit
Cancer? In its ass?
captainwacky91@reddit
Maybe it's the tailboom skewing perspective, but man that 737 looks really short.
SnooPets8441@reddit
W
Altitudeviation@reddit
By the engines, this looks like it started as a 737-100 or -200?
ColdHooves@reddit
They call it “The Sniffer”.
Horror_Yesterday3007@reddit
I have a soft spot for obscure specialized mission modified airlines. Do you have more info on the model