Northrop YF-23
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| YF-23 | |
|---|---|
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| Role | Experimental fighter prototype |
| Manufacturer | Northrop/McDonnell Douglas |
| First flight | 27 August 1990 |
| Status | Canceled |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
| Number built | 2 |
The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 was an American prototype fighter aircraft designed for the United States Air Force. The YF-23 was entered in Advanced Tactical Fighter competition but lost out to the Lockheed YF-22, which entered production as the F-22 Raptor.
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[edit] Design and development
The YF-22 and YF-23 were competing in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, conceived in the early 1980s, to provide a replacement for the F-15 Eagle. Contracts for the two most promising designs were awarded in 1986.[1]
The YF-23 was designed to meet USAF requirements for survivability, supersonic cruise (supercruise), stealth, and ease of maintenance. Designed with all-aspect stealth as a high priority, Northrop drew on the company's experience with the B-2 Spirit and F/A-18 Hornet. The YF-23 was an unconventional-looking aircraft with trapezoidal wings, substantial area-ruling, and a V-tail.[1] It introduced the novel feature of rear jet nozzle troughs lined with heat ablating tiles developed by Allison, which shielded the exhaust from infrared (IR) detection from below. All the control surfaces were coupled together via the Vehicle Management System to provide "net effect" aerodynamic control. The wing flaps and ailerons deflected inversely on either side to provide yaw, while the tail provided pitch. Aerodynamic braking was achieved by deflecting the flaps and ailerons on both sides simultaneously.
Although possessing an advanced design, in order to reduce costs and development, a number of F-15 Eagle components were utilized including the standard F-15 nose wheel unit and the forward cockpit of the F-15E Strike Eagle.[1] Two aircraft were built. YF-23 #1 (PAV-1) was fitted with Pratt & Whitney YF119 engines, while YF-23 #2 (PAV-2) was fitted with General Electric YF120 engines. The YF-23 featured fixed nozzles.[1] The first YF-23 was rolled out on 22 June 1990,[2] and first flew on 27 August 1990.[3][4] YF-23 #2 first flew on 26 October 1990.[4]
The black YF-23 (PAV-1) was nicknamed "Black Widow II", after the Northrop P-61 Black Widow of World War II and had a red hourglass marking resembling the underbelly marking of the black widow spider. The black widow marking was briefly seen under PAV-1 before being removed at the insistence of Northrop management.[5] The gray colored YF-23 (PAV-2) was nicknamed "Gray Ghost".[6]
[edit] Operational history
[edit] Evaluation
Both YF-23s were furnished in the configuration specified before the requirement for thrust reversing was dropped. The weapons bay was configured for weapons launch but no missiles were fired, unlike Lockheed's demonstration aircraft.[7] The YF-23s flew 50 times for a total of 65.2 hours.[8] The first YF-23 with P&W engines supercruised at Mach 1.43 on 18 September 1990 and the second YF-23 with GE engines reached Mach 1.6 on 29 November 1990. For comparison, the YF-22 achieved Mach 1.58 in supercruise.[9] The flight testing demonstrated Northrop's predicted performance values for the YF-23.[7]
The YF-22 won the competition in April 1991. The YF-23 design was more stealthy and faster, but the YF-22 was more agile.[10] It has been speculated in the aviation press that the YF-22 was also seen as more adaptable to the Navy's Navalized Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), though as it turned out the US Navy abandoned NATF a few months later.[11]
After losing the competition, both YF-23 prototypes were transferred from Northrop to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, at Edwards AFB, California. The engines were removed. NASA had no plans to perform flight tests with the airframes, but a proposal was put forward to use one of the two aircraft to study strain gauge loads calibration techniques. The possible production configuration of the F-23A has never been publicly revealed.
[edit] Possible revival
In late 2004, Northrop Grumman proposed a YF-23 based design for the USAF's interim bomber requirement, a role for which the FB-22 and B-1R are also competing. Aircraft PAV-2 was moved from the Western Museum of Flight to Northrop's plant for refurbishment after being on outside display for more than a decade. Northrop used the aircraft to create a full scale model of its proposed interim bomber. The interim bomber requirement has since been canceled in favor of a more long-term, permanent bomber replacement requirement. The same YF-23-derived design could possibly be adapted to fulfill this role as well.[12]
[edit] Survivors
Both aircraft remained in storage until the summer of 1996, when the aircraft were transferred to museums.
- YF-23A PAV-1 (s/n 87-0800) is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft was recently put on display following restoration and is located in the Museum's Research and Development hanger.[13]
- Aircraft PAV-2 was on exhibit at the Western Museum of Flight in Hawthorne, California. It then was on display in an outdoor parking area at Northrop Grumman's production facility in El Segundo, California. Eventually, it will be on display at the Western Museum of Flight at its new location at Torrance Airport, Torrance CA.
[edit] Specifications (YF-23)
Note some specifications are estimated.
Data from F-22 Raptor book[14]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 (pilot)
- Length: 67 ft 5 in (20.60 m)
- Wingspan: 43 ft 7 in (13.30 m)
- Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.30 m)
- Wing area: 900 ft² (88 m²)
- Empty weight: 29,000 lb (14,970 kg)
- Loaded weight: 51,320 lb (23,327 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 62,000 lb (29,029 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× General Electric YF120 or Pratt & Whitney YF119 , 35,000 lbf (156 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.2+ (1,650+ mph, 2,655+ km/h) at altitude
- Cruise speed: Mach 1.6+ est. (1,060+ mph, 1,706+ km/h) supercruise at altitude
- Combat radius: 865-920 mi[15] (750-800 nmi, 1,380-1480 km)
- Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (19,800 m)
- Wing loading: 54 lb/ft² (265 kg/m²)
- Thrust/weight: 1.36
Armament
None as tested but provisions made for[1]
- 1 × 20 mm (.79 in) M61 Vulcan cannon
- 4-6 × AIM-120 AMRAAM or AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles
- 4 × AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e Winchester, Jim, ed. "Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23." Concept Aircraft (The Aviation Factfile). Rochester, Kent, UK: Grange Books plc, 2005. ISBN 1-84013-809-2.
- ^ "YF-23 roll out marks ATF debut". Flight International, 27 June–3 July 1990.
- ^ "YF-22 flies as ATFs head for deadline". Flight International, 10–16 October 1990.
- ^ a b Goodall 1992, p. 99.
- ^ Goodall 1992, p. 120.
- ^ Pace 1999, chapter 5.
- ^ a b Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor, Stealth Fighter. Aerofax, 2005. ISBN 1-85780-158-X.
- ^ Norris, Guy. "NASA could rescue redundant YF-23s". Flight International, 5–11 June 1991.
- ^ Goodall 1992, pp. 102–103.
- ^ Goodall 1992, p. 110.
- ^ The Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor, Vectorsite.net, 1 February 2007.
- ^ YF-23 Resurrection
- ^ YF-23 fact sheet with restoration status, Museum's YF-23 images
- ^ Pace 1999, pp. 14-15.
- ^ YF-23 Specifications. GlobalSecurity.org
- Bibliography
- Goodall, James C. "The Lockheed YF-22 and Northrop YF-23 Advanced Tactical Fighters". America's Stealth Fighters and Bombers, B-2, F-117, YF-22, and YF-23. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company, 1992. ISBN 0-87938-609-6.
- Pace, Steve. F-22 Raptor. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. ISBN 0-07-134271-0.
- Sweetman, Bill. YF-22 and YF-23 Advanced Tactical Fighters. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International Publishing, 1991. ISBN 0-87938-505-7.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Northrop YF-23 |
- YF-23 fact sheet on USAF National Museum site
- YF-23 "Black Widow II" page on GlobalSecurity.org
- Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 page on Baugher's site
- NASA Dryden YF-23 Photo Collection with background information
- Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 A "Black Widow II" on Voodoo-world.cz
- YF-23 "Black Widow II", Northrop/McDonnell Douglas page on fighter-planes.com
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