In 1980, an order was placed for seven preproduction F-20s with options for another 83 production models.
The F-20 was a truly amazing aircraft that a lot of people outside the aviation industry don’t know about. The F-20 was ahead of its time, and it was a great fighter plane. It was also an excellent plane that people don’t know about.
The F-20’s most notable feature is the use of all composite materials in its construction, which makes it very light and agile. This allowed for better maneuverability at high speeds than any other fighter plane on the market at that time or since then.
It was a twin-engine, single-seat aircraft that weighed roughly 15,000 pounds. It had a maximum speed of Mach 2.6 with a service ceiling of 60,000 feet.
The F-20 Tigershark is an American fighter bomber with the following specifications:
- Twin-engine, single-seat, supersonic, all-weather, variable-sweep wing aircraft.
- The F-20 was a variable sweep aircraft.
- It was designed in response to the United States Air Force’s TFX program which sought to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter that would succeed the F-15 Eagle.
- Northrop Aircraft had also been working on its N-156 design since 1965 with its own version of a lightweight fighter.
In 1971, General Dynamics submitted its proposal for what was then known as “F-16XL” or “LARV”, which would become the F-20 Tigershark. General Dynamics designed the aircraft with both maneuverability and low cost as major factors. They proposed an aircraft with 1g maneuverability using simple leading edge slats, speed brakes, and spoilers rather than thrust vectoring like many contemporary designs; this is similar to how Russian aircraft such as MiG-29 use aerodynamic surfaces rather than thrust vectoring for high agility without sacrificing speed. The design also featured a dual flywheel system intended to improve sustained turn rate at high angles of attack, two large 5’4″ x 8’43/4″ main wheels mounted directly below and behind each engine (to minimize drag) so that if one failed during take-off or landing then a single tire failure wouldn’t cause catastrophic damage, unlike other designs where main landing gear are located further aft near fuselage spine where both tires could be destroyed by hitting runway surface hard enough while taxiing back into the hangar after touching down on the runway.
Northrop Aircraft had also been working on its N-156 design since 1965 with its own version of a lightweight fighter. The project was canceled in 1968, but the company continued to develop the concept of the YF-17 Cobra, which competed in the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition and eventually became the F/A-18 Hornet.
The F-20 was developed by Northrop Corporation as a lightweight fighter aircraft competing against McDonnell Douglas’s XF-18. The company used the YF-17 as a starting point, adopting the twin vertical tail stabilizers, double delta wing, and forward canard design. The F-20 features stealth technology, fly-by-wire controls, and an advanced avionics package.
The first flight took place on 13 July 1994 at Edwards Air Force Base with test pilot Chuck Sewell at the controls. During this flight, it was determined that one engine failed to spool up properly after takeoff due to a compressor stall caused by low engine acceleration from a high angle of attack during ground operations (the aircraft’s nosewheel was raised for taxiing). This was traced back to faulty wiring but did not affect further flights. The second prototype (N405NA) flew in late 1994 fitted with new engines offering greater thrust than those used on N404NA which were replaced with higher speed versions later on.
Other major changes included the nose and tail being extended, and the engine intakes being moved to under the wings.
The F-20 prototypes were delivered in 1976 and 1977, for testing. Northrop won contracts for two prototypes in late 1972 which were delivered for testing in 1976 and 1977 respectively.
The YF-17 Cobra was the competition that would win the contract over the F-20. The YF-17 had lower life-cycle costs than any other aircraft then flying.
The F-20 was designed to be a high-altitude fighter, but not to the extent of being incapable at low altitudes. The N-156 was designed to excel at low altitude as well as high altitude and was still inferior in both categories compared to the F-20. The aircraft performed extremely well in high-altitude tests against its earlier design from 1965 (N-156), outperforming it at high altitudes, but not low altitudes.
The F-20 Tigershark was a truly amazing aircraft that a lot of people outside the aviation industry don’t know about. It is a shame that it never entered production, as it could have been one of the best fighters ever developed if given the chance.
