Northrop YF-17 Cobra.One of two ever built.This is the second Cobra(tail number 72-1570)which first flew on 21 August 1974.The First(t.n.72-1569)first flew 9 June 1974 and is at Hawthorn.The two prototypes flew 288 test flights totalling 345.5 hrs.The dual engine YF-17, by Northrop,and single engine YF-16,by General Dynamics started the hunt for the next Light Weight Fighter(LWF)in the late 60's,early 70's..The Cobra was completed on the 28th of January 1971.Both aircraft were designed for the USAF.It lost the LWF battle to the YF-16 Falcon,but by then the small 17 was making room for the next generation Navy and Marine Corps aircraft to replace the costly F-14 Tomcat.The birth of the F/A-18 Hornet Carrier Based Aircraft.The 17 and 18 look identicle except for size and other alterations for the carrier.The 17 has 2 GE 15-J1A1 turbojets rated at 9,000 lb thrust each,Thin wings hold no fuel,Engines close together to minimize asymmetry in the event of an engine loss.It has a top speed of mach1.95,peak load factor of 9.4 g,and a max altitude of over 50,000 ft..Crew-1,Lenght-56 ft.,Height-16.6 ft.,range of 2,990 miles,and a rate of climb of 50,000 ft.per minute.ONLY 2 EVER Built.This one is at the USS Alabama Museum in Mobile,Al.

Northrop YF-17 Cobra.One of two ever built.This is the second Cobra(tail number 72-1570)which first flew on 21 August 1974.The First(t.n.72-1569)first flew 9 June 1974 and is at Hawthorn.The two prototypes flew 288 test flights totalling 345.5 hrs.The dual engine YF-17, by Northrop,and single engine YF-16,by General Dynamics started the hunt for the next Light Weight Fighter(LWF)in the late 60's,early 70's..The Cobra was completed on the 28th of January 1971.Both aircraft were designed for the USAF.It lost the LWF battle to the YF-16 Falcon,but by then the small 17 was making room for the next generation Navy and Marine Corps aircraft to replace the costly F-14 Tomcat.The birth of the F/A-18 Hornet Carrier Based Aircraft.The 17 and 18 look identicle except for size and other alterations for the carrier.The 17 has 2 GE 15-J1A1 turbojets rated at 9,000 lb thrust each,Thin wings hold no fuel,Engines close together to minimize asymmetry in the event of an engine loss.It has a top speed of mach1.95,peak load factor of 9.4 g,and a max altitude of over 50,000 ft..Crew-1,Lenght-56 ft.,Height-16.6 ft.,range of 2,990 miles,and a rate of climb of 50,000 ft.per minute.ONLY 2 EVER Built.This one is at the USS Alabama Museum in Mobile,Al.