Max Hawkins
| Max Hawkins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sex | M |
Max Hawkins was an Air Force colonel and commander of the 317th Fighter squadron that had a memorable dogfight in December 2000 between his F-117A Stealth fighter and Jennlynn Swift's 1964 Learjet [Skyhook].
The 317th was one of the units stationed in the Nevada area that was known for visiting the Redlite Ranch, often before deployments or on return. They were scheduled for a year's deployment in Saudi Arabia, leaving the Monday before Christmas 2000. Max and friends came to the Redlite "to have a party to remember for a long time while they baked in the wineless and womanless deserts of Saudi Arabia."MC28
Max had not only partied with Jennlynn before, but had also worked with her on a classified project with Lambdatron to upgrade the Stealth bomb guidance. Max had booked four hours the night before their unit left with Jennlynn at around $3000. The next morning, they raised the bet to $12,000 against another night of partying. He was unprepared for how well-trained Jennlynn was at dogfight tactics by General Hanneman. Max had also forgotten that the Learjet was originally designed as a Swiss fighter-bomber while the F117 was designed as a small bomber but due to Pentagon politics given a fighter designation. It also has lousy aerodynamics as a side effect of the design choices made to improve its stealth characteristics.
