A few years ago, a friend retired from the US Air Force and got a job flying for an airline. I whipped up this joke with a feature for feature comparison of the plane was being hired to fly with the one he used to fly. It was a real hit.
| 737-400 | F-117A Nighthawk | |
| Manufacturer | Boeing | Lockheed Martin ("LockMart") |
| Price Tag | $41-48 million | $45 million |
| Powerplant | 2 GE CFM56-3B2 | 2 GE F404-F1D2 |
| Powerplant location | under wings | internal |
| Total Thrust (lbs) | 44,000 | 20,000 |
| Length | 119 feet, 7 inches | 65 feet, 11 inches |
| Height | 36 feet, 6 inches | 12 feet, 5 inches |
| Wingspan | 94 feet, 9 inches | 43 feet, 4 inches |
| Passenger Capacity | 146 to 168 | 1 |
| Cruise Speed | 495 mph | "high subsonic" |
| Range (mi) | 2,400 unrefueled | "unlimited w/ air refueling" |
| Weight (lbs) | 138,500 standard | 52,500 |
| Bomb capacity | 0 (otherwise call FBI) | 2 |
| In-flight activities | movie, food | refueling, bombing |
| Radar visibility | like an airliner | like a "high subsonic" duck |
| Saddam's reaction | "Can't afford one." | "Yikes! Hide me!!" |
Sources: the table is derived from data on the web sites of Boeing and the US Air Force.
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