The Air Zoo is excited to welcome Captain Thad Darger to the Flight Discovery Center, located at 3101 E. Milham Rd., Kalamazoo, MI, on Tuesday, September 3, where he will be reunited with his F-117 Nighthawk (tail number 817), Shaba. Join us from 11am-5pm for talks and tours with Captain Darger, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism while flying in the stealth aircraft displayed at the Air Zoo’s Flight Discovery Center. This experience is included with daily admission and free to Air Zoo Members. Attendees can check in or purchase admission at either building on Tuesday.
Thad Darger is a native of Sioux Falls, SD who attended the United States Air Force Academy prior to serving on active duty as an Air Force pilot for over eleven years accumulating nearly 3,000 flight hours in the T-38, B-1, and F-117 Nighthawk. During Operation Allied Force (1999), Thad flew multiple combat missions over Yugoslavia, attacking multiple strategic targets. Thad’s various Air Force decorations include, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Aerial Achievement Medal, and Air Force Commendation Medal.
Following his Air Force career, Thad flew for United Airlines and for the past twenty years has been involved in sales leadership for a variety of medical device companies.
Thad has been married for over thirty-three years to his wife, Danyel, and they have four children including a daughter that currently serves as an Instructor Pilot in the C-17 Globemaster in Charleston, SC. Thad and Danyel have lived in Central Massachusetts for the past eighteen years.
About F-117 Nighthawk (tail number 817), Shaba
Nicknamed Shaba, the Arabic word for phantom, this F-117 is the first in history to be on public display at a non-military museum. As one of the Air Zoo’s combat veterans, Shaba participated in operations Just Cause, Desert Storm, and Allied Force, completing 59 missions and logging 5,038.30 hours of total flight time before retiring from service.
This highly decorated aircraft was transported on two trucks across the country in 2020. The Air Zoo’s Restoration Team invested more than 8,300 hours, reuniting wings and tail fins, recreating the aircraft’s leading edges, priming, painting, detailing, and adding the finishing touches for permanent display at the Flight Discovery Center.
