Drivers Licence Columbus Oh Northrop F-20 Tigershark, who lost to the F-16

In the late 70's and early 80's there was a change of generation, in terms of fighter aircraft deal. Disappeared cables and pulleys and appeared FBW systems . The competition between General Dynamics and F-16 and Northrop YF-17 think it's known by all or nearly all, and that the YF-17 end up being developed until the McDoneld Douglas F-18.

Jack Northrop a brilliant engineer, especially in terms of aerodynamics is concerned, the father of the wings of p & aacute, birds such as the DC-3 or Vega, and flying wings and YB-35 YB-49 (still do not understand why he preferred the B-36 and the like. .. I guess politics), developed by this time a light fighter, the F-5 and a training plane, the T-38 Talon .

Reusing engine F-18 with a cell F-5 and some other changes, would be born F-5X . And developing it a little m & amp; aacute; s born the F-20, the latest game of the day ... But it was purchased by the Air Force of U.S. , and finally was able to export to Taiwan (for political reasons), or Korea, or Israel (beginning to the development of the Lavi to finally buy F-16 and F-15 ).

If you want to read more about this bird, see interesting photo galleries ... you can visit

C HTMLXC www.f20a.com

pd: I met this aircraft in a book called The Worst World Aircraft
, not as one of the worst appliances in the world, but at the end, its last pages, in a section called "And that might be the best." They talked about how political reasons lost the contest against the F-16 , and as the aircraft was exported General Dynamics the allied countries, while this were forgotten. Curious, if we consider that it is the first device Northrop that followed this fate. When developing the B-35 as competitor B-36 was achieved by a device that met these design requirements that the Peacemaker , but with far less drag. And they lost the contract also "politicking?