High Gallery
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Military Aircraft YF-17A Photo By Coll B. Thouanel |
| When the US Air Force issued its specification for a light weight fighter, Northrop was ready well advanced with the design of its P-530 Cobra as a private venture advanced tactical aircraft. This now used as the basis of the company's P-600 submission. With a General Dynamics design, it was one of two out of five submissions that was ordered in prototype form. The two YF-17As first flew in June And August 1974. The YF-17A lost to the General Dynamics YF-16A for a production contract. However, the YF-17A became the basis of the McDonnell Douglas/Northrop F/A-18 Hornet navel fighter and attack aircraft. The YF-17A featured blended contours in a airframe of complex yet effective aerodynamic form. There was only modest sweep on the mid set wing, which had long leading edge root extensions. The highly swept tail plane was located on the outer side of the two engines, which were aspirated via lateral inlets under the wings, and two swept fin/rudder assemblies were outward canted above the fuselage between the wings and tail plane. The airframe featured a high proportion of composites, and the cockpit offered very good field of vision for the semi reclining pilot. |
TECHNICAL DATA
| Description | Specifications |
| Manufacturer: Northrop | Length: 56 ft. 0 in. |
| First Flight: Two YF-17As June and August 1974 | Height: 22 ft. 2.5 in. |
| Model: A | Wing Span: 35 ft. 0 in. |
| Crew: One | Wing Area: 350.0 sq. ft. |
| Nickname: | Empty Weight: |
| Basic Role: Air combat fighter prototype. | Max. Weight: 23,000 lb. |
| Other Versions: YF-17A agile air combat fighter prototype. | Armament: One 20-mm multi barrel cannon and two Sidewinder AAMs. |
| Principal User: USA |
Propulsion |
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Performance |
Power Plant: General Electric YJ101-GE-100 turbojet. |
| Range: 576 miles radius. | Horsepower: 15,000-lb reheated thrust |
| Max. Speed: 1,320+ mph. or Mach 2+ at 36,000 ft. | No. Of Engines: Two |
| Ceiling: | |
| Climb Rate: |