Weird Costume Archive Volume 1

While attempting to convert some old 35mm slides to digital, I came across this:

It's an AWACS costume!

You know; it's the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft!

I took this picture on Halloween eve 1981 of Jeanne trying her best to look flighty. She's got a foam pillow on her head and the coat is one of those shiny fire protective suits that one might wear in a foundry. Compare the foam pillow to the radar dome in the picture below:

An AWACS in the air.

It was a big deal back in October of '81 when the Reagan Administration announced its plans to sell five of the U.S.-made AWACS to Saudi Arabia. Most people never heard of the AWACS before then, but I remember seeing these strange planes near Seattle years before.