The Flight That Never Was...

[Mach3DS]

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[Mach3DS]

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[hairyspin]

I don't see nothin'; nothin' at all, officer. No sirree!

[dhazelgrove]

46022

Dave

[stansdds]

What I saw was swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.

[Stickshaker]

<o:p> </o:p>Very nice shots! They make me look forward to the YF-23 Redux that MilViz seems to be contemplating.<o:p></o:p>

[Mach3DS]

Didn't really think of it in terms of Top Secret! But that works too! Originally had in mind what if the YF23 had won the ATF.

[Bjoern]

Pretty sure I've posted this before, but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYLiMYGBE2Q

The shot of the KC-135E with the YF-23 and YF-22 in tow is great. Late 1950s tech refueling late 1980s tech.

[Mach3DS]

That's a great Documentary! Always wished this one had won!

[Bjoern]

Well, in one of the many possible parallel universes, the USAF would have gone for the F-23 to fly top cover alongside F-111Bs for A-9s and TSR2s.
In some of these universes, program cost and duration would have also been significantly lower than for the F-22.

[Ian Warren]

Thanks Bjoern , I have not seen this, have to make a post at NZFF , I know many would like to see this. :encouragement:

[Bjoern]

Always glad to educate!


(Much too impatient for a proper teaching job though.)

[Sundog]

If you're fans of the YF-23, I highly recommend this just released book on the YF-23 by Paul Metz, the first pilot to fly the YF-23. (http://www.ginterbooks.com/AIRFORCE/AFL220.htm) I've seen small drawings of the original submission with the platypus nose before, but this book has a really good drawing of it, among other designs. It also shows the drawings and the differences between the production versions based on if the P&W or GE engines had been chosen. The artwork I made of the production version turns out to have been for the P&W version (The drawings I have). This is the first time I've seen the drawing of the production version with the GE engines.