F-20 Tigershark
F-20 Tigershark
Description
Role	Fighter
Crew	One
Dimensions
Length	46 ft 6 in	14.2 m
Wingspan	26 ft 8 in	8.1 m
Height	13 ft 10 in	4.2 m
Wing area	186 ft²	17 m²
Weights
Empty	11,220 lb	5090 kg
Loaded	15,060 lb	6830 kg
Maximum take-off	26,290 lb	11920 kg
Powerplant
Engines	One General Electric F404 -GE-100
Thrust	17,000 lbf	76 kN
Performance
Maximum speed	Mach 2.1
Combat radius	345 mi	555 km
Ferry range	1,715 mi	2760 km
Service ceiling	55,000 ft	16800 m
Rate of climb	50,030 ft/min	15250 m
Armament
Guns	2 x 20 mm M39 cannon
Missiles	2 AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles
Bombs	8,000 lb	3,600 kg

F-20 Tigershark was a privately financed fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the USA, starting in 1975. It was a further evolution of Northrop's F-5 Freedom Fighter (in fact it was originally designated F-5G), although ultimately it shared little more than a strong family resemblance to that aircraft. The main change was the replacement of the F-5's two General Electric J85 engines with a single General Electric F404 turbofan, increasing its total thrust by 60%. Like the F-5, however, it was designed as a low-cost, high-performance fighter plane that was easy to maintain. It could reach speeds of Mach 2.1 and had a ferry range of 1,715 miles (2760 km).

The F-20 made its first flight on August 30, 1982, and a total of three prototypes were created. It was intended for sale to foreign countries and militaries, but the market for the plane never developed, as President Ronald Reagan relaxed the restrictions on selling fighters such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon to other countries. After six years and no major buyers, Northrop cancelled the $1.2 billion project. Air forces that could afford the F-20 bought the F-16, while ones which could buy neither, purchased the cheaper F-5E/F Tiger II or the Russian MiG-21. While its performance was comparable to the Block 1/5/10 F-16 Viper and superior to the turbojet-powered export-variant F-16/79, the F-20 airframe had virtually no remaining expansion capability, as it was built on essentially a 20 year old airframe at the limits of its capabilities. The F-16, on the other hand, was a brand-new jet that had not even begun to approach its eventual capabilities.

The last existing F-20 is on display at the California Science Center . The other two prototypes were lost due to crashes during world sales tours. The crashes were caused by pilot error, and were not linked to any malfunction of the planes.

Aerospace legend Chuck Yeager, who worked as a spokesperson for Northrop during the F-20's development, frequently touted the plane and was regularly featured in its advertising.

Quotes

"The F-20 impressed everybody but the people it was supposed to."

External links

• California Science Center - F-20 Tigershark exhibit
• F-20 Tigershark information and chronology