After three years of restoration, Seattle’s Museum of Flight just installed an unusual Vietnam-era spyplane.
Lockheed’s Missile and Space Division designed the YO-3A Quiet Star as a nearly silent observation aircraft, according to the museum. During the war in Vietnam, a forward observer used a downward-facing periscope equipped with night vision and infrared capabilities to spot activity on the jungle floor and direct artillery fire.
The YO-3A used an airframe based on a Schweizer SGS 2-32 glider. Its muffler-equipped engine drove a special slow propeller that eliminated the typical buzzing sound.
Museum of Flight adds new spyplane