Subject: Northrop F-5 (12 of 12)

From: [email-masked] (joseph.f.baugher)
Date: 12 Aug 94 03:07:14 GMT

The F-5G was the designation given to a vastly improved version of the 
F-5E Tiger II that would be offered to the export market.  It was to 
have a performance that would equal that of the best available 
fighter aircraft anywhere in the world and at a reasonable cost.  

The project was approved by Northrop management in January of 1980, 
and they decided to proceed with the development of several pre-production 
aircraft at their own expense.  Northrop received approval for the
development of the F-5G from the State Department, which issued
a specification for an Intermediate Export Fighter known as FX.
President Jimmy Carter had revoked an earlier ruling that military 
aircraft would no longer be built specifically or modified for export.
The FX was thought to meet the President's arms transfer policy,
which still maintained that countries would best be served by aircraft
specifically tailored to their requirements.  However, the State   
Department also made it clear that there would be no financial help
from the governement for aircraft such as the F-5G.  The Northrop
company nevertheless decided to push ahead, assuming that the firm 
success of the F-5E would assure a lucrative market for a follow-on
aircraft. 

The twin J85 turbojets of the F-5E were replaced by a single 
General Electric F404 low-bypass turbofan, offering an afterburning 
thrust of 16,000 pounds.  An effort was made to keep the weight down, 
and although the F404 turbofan was heavier than the pair of J85s that 
it replaced, the empty weight of the F-5G was only 17 percent greater 
than that of the F-5E.  In the interest of saving cost, many F-5E 
components were used.  

The aircraft had an empty weight only 17 percent greater than that of 
the F-5E, and with an additional 60 percent of engine thrust the F-5G 
offered significant performance improvements.  

The wing of the F-5G was much the same as that of the earlier F-5E.  
However, it was provided with tapered inboard leading edge extensions 
that were lengthened and modified as a result of the redesign of the 
engine inlet ducts.  These new inboard leading edge extensions 
increased the maximum lift coefficient of the wing by about 12 percent 
with an increase in wing area of only 1.6 percent.  

The nose was flattened slightly and rounded in planform to enhance 
stability at high angles of attack.  The rear fuselage was quite a bit 
narrower as a result of the powerplant change, but the longitudinal 
stability characteristics of the earlier F-5s were retained by the 
addition of a flat shelf on either side of the lower rear fuselage 
which gave it much the same shape as that of the twin-engined F-5.  A 
single variable-geometry exhaust nozzle replaced the twin nozzles.  
Graphite composite skins are used in the rear fuselage for increased 
strength and reduced weight.  

The engine intakes were extended forward and enlarged slightly.  They 
were mounted further from the fuselage in order to clear the thicker 
boundary layer encountered at the higher speeds.  They were equipped 
with two-shock inlet ramps to ensure more efficient operation at Mach 
2+ speeds.  

The cockpit canopy was 44 percent larger in area and offered an 
improved all-round view as compared to the F-5E.  

The initial avionics suite of the F-5G was to be essentially the
same as that of the late F-5F, including the Emerson radar and the
General Electric gyro gunsight, which helped to reduce the cost.
It was planned to offer numerous different avionics options so that 
the customer could tailor the Tigershark to his own individual 
requirements and budget.  The Tigershark is equipped with Multimode 
Coherent Radar (MCR) which can fulfil three different functions and 
can pinpoint objects that are either moving or stationary.  Other 
electronics include a Digital Display and Control Set, a Mission 
Computer, a Laser Inertial Navigation System, and a Heads-up Display.  
The throttle was mounted on the control stick, which meant that the 
the pilot could operate the aircraft in combat without having to take 
his hands off the control stick.  

The Air Force was sufficiently interested that it ordered four 
examples of the F-5G for evaluation.  Serials were 82-0062/0065.  The 
first F-5G took off on its maiden flight from Edwards AFB on August 
30, 1982, Russ Scott at the controls.  It also carried the civil
registration of N4416T.

The F-5G was considered sufficiently different from the F-5E that 
proceeded it that the Air Force decided to assign it a brand new 
series number.  In November of 1982, the F-5G was redesignated F-20A.  
Some references indicate that the reason for the mysterious gap at 
F-19 was that this designation had been deliberately skipped at 
Northrop's request so that the Tigershark could be given the F-20 
slot, the number 20 presumably making for better advertising 
copy--"Northrop F-20: first of a new series of fighters....".  

The first order for four aircraft was placed by Bahrain.  However,
having experienced government resistance in sales support, the 
decision to initiate production was delayed since the Bahrain
order was too small.

The F-20A was shown at the Paris Air Show in 1983 and at Farnborough 
in England in 1984.  Following Paris, the more powerful F404-100
turbofan was fitted.  The Tigershark aircraft had an excellent
performance, and was in most respects actually superior to the General 
Dynamics F-16, its most likely competitor.  Northrop had high hopes 
that the F-20A would be the natural successor to the F-5E Tiger II on 
the world arms export market.  It even hired the famous test pilot 
Chuck Yeager as a "consultant" to tout the virtues of the F-20A in the 
hope that on the strength of Chuck's recommendation foreign customers 
would beat a path to Northrop's door, checkbooks in hand.  

By April 1983, work was well under way on the second Tigershark
(82-0063, N3986B).  It was fitted with GE G-200 radar, a GE heads-up
display, Honeywell laser inertial navigation, a Bendix head-down
display, and a Teledyne mission computer.

The third F-20 (N44761) flew on May 12, 1984 and conducted numerous
weapons trials including Sparrow missile launches and Harpoon 
antishipping missile compatibility tests.  Tests were also carried
out with various combinations of "iron" and "smart" bombs.

Although the F-20's performance appeared to make it very attractive
to foreign air forces, it soon became obvious that a sale large
enough to justify starting production would have to wait until there
was a substantial buy for US forces first.  

On October 10, 1984, test pilot Darrel Cornell was killed when his 
F-20 (N4416T) crashed while flying a demonstration for the ROKAF at Suwon 
in Korea.  Cornell had put his F-20 into a climbing roll with flaps and
landing gear extended, when his plane stalled and crashed.  Five months
later, Tigershark No. 2 (82-0063) crashed while performing a similar
maneuver at Goose Bay, Labrador.  The pilot, David Barnes, was killed.
Although the aircraft was apparently not to blame for either crash,
there was a lot of finger-pointing between Northrop and the Air Force.

The F-20A was not able to break the grip on the world fighter market 
that was firmly held by the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the F-20A did not 
succeed in attracting any more firm customers.  In view of the protracted
development of the F-20, in 1985 Bahrain substituted its 1982 order for
four Tigersharks with one for the F-5E.  The primary reason for the 
reluctance of foreign customers to commit themselves to the F-20A was 
because the USAF did not choose to order the plane for itself.  The
crash of two F-20As while carrying out strenuous maneuvers did not help 
matters any, even though the aircraft itself was not to blame.  After 
having spent over a billion dollars on the project, the Northrop 
Corporation officially terminated the program.  

Three F-20A Tigersharks had been completed before the program was 
terminated.  Two of them crashed during aerobatic maneuvers.  I am not 
sure where the surviving Tigershark is now located.  

82-0062/0065 	Northrop F-20A Tigershark 

Specification of Northrop F-5G (F-20A) Tigershark: 

One General Electric F404-GE-100 low-bypass turbofan, 17,000 lb.s.t.  
with afterburning.  Maximum speed: Mach 2.1 at 36,000 feet.  Service 
ceiling: 55,000 feet.  Initial climb rate: 50,300 feet per minute.  
Climb to 40,000 feet in 2 min 18 sec.  Takeoff run: 1450 feet.  Range 
with maximum fuel was 1543 miles.  Combat radius with maximum internal 
fuel and three 275 US gallon external tanks and two Sidewinder 
missiles: 345 miles.  Ferry range with maximum internal and external 
fuel: 1715 miles.  Total internal fuel capacity was 677 US gallons.  
With maximum external fuel, a total of 1502 US gallons could be 
carried.  Wingspan 27 feet 12 inches, wing area: 186 square feet 
Length: 46 feet 6 inches, height: 13 feet 10 inches.  height 13 feet 4 
inches, wing area 186 square feet.  Weights: 11,220 pounds empty, 
15,060 pounds combat, 26,290 pounds maximum takeoff.  Armed with two 
20-mm cannon in the fuselage nose.  Two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles 
could be carried at the wingtips.  A total of 8000 pounds of ordnance 
or fuel tanks could be carried on external pylons.  

Sources:

  The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

  Jane's American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Centry, Michael J.H.
  Taylor, Mallard Press

  Modern Air Combat, Bill Gunston and Mike Spick, Crescent, 1983.

  United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and
  Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

  Fighters of the United States Air Force, Robert F. Dorr and
  David Donald, Temple Press/Aerospace, 1990

  The World's Great Attack Aircraft, Gallery, 1988.

Joe Baugher			**************************************
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