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By: - 26th October 2003 at 20:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Yes, what did happen to the F20?
Where are they now?
How did they compare?
Anybody brought any cakes in today?
Flood.
By: - 26th October 2003 at 21:27 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
You could see the F-20 (not f20 ! ) as the "final" development of the F-5 / T-38 family. It was basically the same plane with one engine instead of two, and a glass cockpit (with that time's standards ;) )
It got axed, as the USAF didn't want of it, and the only potential buyer which would have rendered the plane as economically viable was, IIRC, Iran. When the customer disappeared, the plane did too.
I would see a somewhat similar manoevrability to the F-16, but far less room for growth.
By: - 26th October 2003 at 22:14 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
If I remember correctly, Taiwan was also interested in the F-20.
The F-CK-1 likely has some components or aspects on the design that draw from the F-20.
I think the F-20 was a great airplane, but it just came along at a time when the F-16 was already in service and the USAF just wasn't interested.
By: - 26th October 2003 at 22:22 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
It did have some advantages over the F-16, e.g. IIRC it had Sparrow from the beginning, which i don't think Block 15 F-16s had to begin with. Maintainance and reliability was said to be better than F-16s from the same era. Also, it would have been cheaper to operate than an F-16. Undoubtably it would have suited some countries better than the F-16 with, but the USAF was interested in lowering the unit cost as much as possible, so the F-16 was offered even where the F-20 would have been a better fit.
By: - 26th October 2003 at 23:07 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The F-20 Tigershark is very underrated in my opinion.
I don't know in what way, nor by whom, but I'm going to say it anyway. I like it. A lot.
So there.
By: - 26th October 2003 at 23:14 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
What a nice design
By: - 26th October 2003 at 23:15 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
dropping bombs
By: - 26th October 2003 at 23:16 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
fire maverick
By: - 27th October 2003 at 00:23 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
In the first photo, why is there a difference between the canopy of both the aircrafts?
By: - 27th October 2003 at 00:41 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I never noticed that before, and I've looked at that picture a hundred times.
Nice eye Saleem.
My guess is that it was an attempt by Northrop to redesign the canopy for better visibility for the pilot.
By: - 27th October 2003 at 00:54 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I read somewhere that F-20 would've been the fastest scrambler than any other plane in the world, it could scramble very fast for interception. I think it would've been great interceptor.
By: - 27th October 2003 at 03:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Originally posted by Srbin
I read somewhere that F-20 would've been the fastest scrambler than any other plane in the world, it could scramble very fast for interception. I think it would've been great interceptor.
Can you please explain is to what does it mean by "fastest scrambler"? Is it from cold start to height or AUX-height?
By: - 27th October 2003 at 11:58 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
IIRC the F-20 wasn't going to go to the RoCAF, even though they wanted it, and Northrop were willing to sell it, the US government and the USAF decided that it was too much of a good a/c to sell to them.
After a 5 year negotation with the US government to buy them, the RoCAF conseded defeat and started work on the F-CK-1. This was a turning move for them, as it was going to be the first plane that their realtively small and still young a/c industry was to fully produce.
Northrop did chace a few other orders, Chile, Brazil and Kenya to name a few, but all the countries either had no money or wanted the plane to have some combat experience first.
In actual fact, the Royal Jordanian Air Force was very interested in it mainly because it was an F-5 with the same engine as the much sort after F-16, and the RJAF would have been able to introduce the F-20 with minimal conversion from the current F-5 fleet. but as the deal was being talked over, the US government decided to offer the Jordanians the F-16's thus finally killing off the F-20.
Northrop canned the program after loosing millions but got their revenge in the end in the form of the B-2
By: - 27th October 2003 at 12:04 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Originally posted by PhantomII
I never noticed that before, and I've looked at that picture a hundred times.Nice eye Saleem.
My guess is that it was an attempt by Northrop to redesign the canopy for better visibility for the pilot.
Bingo, PII :D
Northrop designed a new panoramic canopy for the F-20 that gave the pilot a 50 percent increase in rearward visibility over previous Northrop fighters. An improved seat and headrest design combined to substantially expand over-the-shoulder visibility, which is critical in air-to-air combat.
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
By: - 27th October 2003 at 12:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The problem with the Tigershark was that it had to compete with the F-16.
The F-16 has better range, better thrust, better payload.
By: - 27th October 2003 at 12:16 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
But was it a partial redesign of the F5, or a completely new airframe that looked like the F5?
If parts of an older F5 had been used then that might also explain the difference in the canopies! Afterall, was it not going to be the F5G?
And WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Flood.
By: - 27th October 2003 at 12:30 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Spot-on Flood...the F-5G designation was in fact used at first.
Where are they now?
Northrop F-5G Tigershark redesignated F-20A in 11/82
82-0062/N4416T w/o 10 Oct 84 at Suwon AB, Korea.
82-0063/N3986B w/o 14 Apr 85, Goose Bay, Labrador.
82-0064/N44671 now in Museum of Science and Technology, Los Angeles, Ca.
82-0065 cancelled before completion: never finished.
Best regards
Steve ~ Touchdown-News
By: - 27th October 2003 at 13:01 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The F-16 competitor was turned into the F-18 wasnt it? Saw that in wings on discovery. But that was the F-17...??????:confused: :confused: :confused:
By: - 27th October 2003 at 13:09 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Originally posted by xanadu
The F-16 competitor was turned into the F-18 wasnt it? Saw that in wings on discovery. But that was the F-17...??????:confused: :confused: :confused:
to make istory short...YF-16 and YF-17 in the USAF race, YF-16 wins become F-16, USN wants find aircraft to replace A-7, find YF-17 suitable, so walla F/A-18:D
By: - 27th October 2003 at 13:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
So where did the F-20 come from and become a compitetor of the F-16???????????
By: Anonymous (not verified) - 25th October 2003 at 15:27
i want an educated talk on the f20 and if it had been made instead of the f16, also how would the f20 compare with the usual flanker, fulcrum, j10, eurofighter, grypen, etc. what we compare the f16 to now. how good is the f20, in the 80s, 90s and now? i want to hear proper debates and pros and cons, eg which can turn better or fight better? so over to you...
ps the f20 is my fave jet but on planes im unbiased...:D