Ummm...you know there is stuff out there that can intercept missiles now? And some of those missiles go a lot faster than any plane ever has, so a really fast plane isn't the invulnerable piece of kit it was 50-60 years ago.
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Little known / experimental aircraft
- Thread starter Randy Daytona
- Start date
Ummm...you know there is stuff out there that can intercept missiles now? And some of those missiles go a lot faster than any plane ever has, so a really fast plane isn't the invulnerable piece of kit it was 50-60 years ago.
Here is the YA-9, Northrop’s contender in the close air support role fly off.
The two aircraft were almost identical in performance, mostly because the AF was very clear on the specifications. Northrop selected the new (experimental) Lycoming YF102 engine for the YA-9 rather than the more powerful General Electric TF34 used by the A-10. Both flew well, and test pilots even reported the YA-9 had mildly superior handling, but the USAF went with the A-10 primarily because the GE TF34 was a known engine with a solid history.
The two aircraft were almost identical in performance, mostly because the AF was very clear on the specifications. Northrop selected the new (experimental) Lycoming YF102 engine for the YA-9 rather than the more powerful General Electric TF34 used by the A-10. Both flew well, and test pilots even reported the YA-9 had mildly superior handling, but the USAF went with the A-10 primarily because the GE TF34 was a known engine with a solid history.
Another fun entry, the test bed for the The Pratt & Whitney T34 (Turbo Wasp) was a B-17.
The engine was a Navy project but they passed on it. It ended up first of the Supper Guppy but primarily on the C-130’s daddy, the C-133 Cargo Master.
The engine was a Navy project but they passed on it. It ended up first of the Supper Guppy but primarily on the C-130’s daddy, the C-133 Cargo Master.