The Air Force's stealth fighter, cloaked in secrecy for years, dazzled about 50,000 people Saturday afternoon at an air show. The $42.6 million fighter, designed to fly undetected by enemy radar, opened the show by soaring over the Westmoreland County Airport, about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. ``It's nice to see your tax dollars at work,'' said John Sarver, 38. ``I'd paid for it,'' said William Alexander Jr., 65. ``I wanted to see what I'm paying for.'' The dark-colored aircraft passed over the crowd, banked to the right, circled over nearby St. Vincent College, then returned to the airport's main runway with it landing lights on. It dropped to about 500 feet above the main runway, engines screaming, before climbing and circling once again. The fighter, known as an F-117A, repeated the maneuver before disappearing into an overcast sky southwest of the airport. Air Force officials said the appearance of the aircraft contributed to a near-record, one-day attendance. The fighter was flown from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Stealth fighters are scheduled to appear at several air shows this summer, including Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Langley and McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, said Capt. Kevin Baggett, spokesman for the Air Force Tactical Air Command at Langley. The F-117A costs more than $100 million a copy, according to a recent report by the General Accounting Office. The Air Force gave a figure of $42.6 million _ the so-called fly-away cost of one plane, without counting development costs for the program.
