Lockheed YO-3 - Bilder og video

Den Lockheed YO-3 “Quiet Star” was an American single-engined, propeller-driven aircraft that was developed for battlefield observation during the Vietnam War. It was designed to be as quiet as possible, and was intended to observe troop movements in near-silence during the hours of darkness.

Kilde: Lockheed YO-3 on Wikipedia

The Lockheed YO-3 was a military aircraft designed for low-altitude, low-noise observation missions during the Vietnam War. It was based on the Schweizer SGS 2-32 glider, but fitted with a specially modified engine and a five-blade propeller to reduce its acoustic signature. The YO-3 had a crew of two, a pilot and an observer, and carried various sensors and cameras for reconnaissance and surveillance. The YO-3 could fly as low as 200 feet (61 m) above the ground and as slow as 55 knots (102 km/h) without stalling. The YO-3 was operated by the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971, and by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from 1972 to 1976. The YO-3 was one of the few fixed-wing aircraft that could operate effectively at night in the dense jungles of Southeast Asia.