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Description
In honour of Ashkrik, here is something involving a Tiger!

These are both examples of the Northrop F-5E Tiger II, both of the Swiss Air Force. Making midday manoeuvres over the Alps, this is a thrill for anyone who just so happens to be in the right place at the right time.

When this design was introduced, it was proven to be well worth the cost. Due to being cheap to purchase, cost of operating a squadron being cheaper than operating a single Phantom, capable of Mach 1.6, able to out-turn almost anything in the sky, capable of landing on short and/or rough runways, equipped with a pair of 20mm M39A2 Revolver cannons, 7 hardpoints across the wings and body, equally capable in ground attack roles as in air to air combat, and very simple for maintenance crews, this aerocraft had the potential to be a real pain for anyone who dared challenge them.

At the time though, the idea of a small and lightweight fighter was not in Amerika’s wanting. They were much too busy focusing on making ever larger and larger craft, like the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, and Grumman F-14 Tomcat, both of which were very successful in their own rights, but often found themselves at disadvantages in actual dogfights. While this design did not initially see successful use in its home nation (Amerika), it did see wide use in export to ally nations who either were physically too small of a nation to require much larger aerocraft, or lacked a sufficient economy to pay for anything larger.

In its later years of production, Lockheed modified the frame to only need one engine, and fitted it with the already-popular General Electric F404-GE-100 turbofan. It is the very engine type that powers many leading aerocraft, such as the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, Dassault Rafale A, and many other well-known craft. This modification brought the speed capabilities up to Mach 2+ performance. What was initially to be designated the F-5G, was re-named the Northrop F-20 Tigershark. Sadly, after 6 years, the F-20 did not receive any purchases, and the entire series stopped with it. It was finally cancelled in late 1986.

In Amerika, the F-5 is most commonly seen in the role of chase planes, MiG simulators in Red Flag and/or Top Gun, or as trainers for new fighter pilots. In addition, a larger derivative of this aeroframe was the YF-17, which would later become the largely successful F/A-18 series.

In 1984, Grumman Aviation would use the frame to create the X-29, which was the same fuselage, but fitted with forward swept wings and canards. This was to test high manoeuvring at slow speeds, test G-load tolerance on the pilot, and test improved performance at high speeds. The experiments were very successful, but such a design is inherently unstable, and requires the use of fly-by-wire control just to maintain any sort of control. The second craft was also fitted with a spin recovery parachute. After a very informative and very successful career run, both craft were retired in 1989. Today, the first X-29 is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (near Dayton, Ohio), and the second X-29 is on display at Dryden Flight Research Centre (north of Lancaster, California).

Description
In honour of Ashkrik, here is something involving a Tiger!

These are both examples of the Northrop F-5E Tiger II, both of the Swiss Air Force. Making midday manoeuvres over the Alps, this is a thrill for anyone who just so happens to be in the right place at the right time.

When this design was introduced, it was proven to be well worth the cost. Due to being cheap to purchase, cost of operating a squadron being cheaper than operating a single Phantom, capable of Mach 1.6, able to out-turn almost anything in the sky, capable of landing on short and/or rough runways, equipped with a pair of 20mm M39A2 Revolver cannons, 7 hardpoints across the wings and body, equally capable in ground attack roles as in air to air combat, and very simple for maintenance crews, this aerocraft had the potential to be a real pain for anyone who dared challenge them.

At the time though, the idea of a small and lightweight fighter was not in Amerika’s wanting. They were much too busy focusing on making ever larger and larger craft, like the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, and Grumman F-14 Tomcat, both of which were very successful in their own rights, but often found themselves at disadvantages in actual dogfights. While this design did not initially see successful use in its home nation (Amerika), it did see wide use in export to ally nations who either were physically too small of a nation to require much larger aerocraft, or lacked a sufficient economy to pay for anything larger.

In its later years of production, Lockheed modified the frame to only need one engine, and fitted it with the already-popular General Electric F404-GE-100 turbofan. It is the very engine type that powers many leading aerocraft, such as the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, Dassault Rafale A, and many other well-known craft. This modification brought the speed capabilities up to Mach 2+ performance. What was initially to be designated the F-5G, was re-named the Northrop F-20 Tigershark. Sadly, after 6 years, the F-20 did not receive any purchases, and the entire series stopped with it. It was finally cancelled in late 1986.

In Amerika, the F-5 is most commonly seen in the role of chase planes, MiG simulators in Red Flag and/or Top Gun, or as trainers for new fighter pilots. In addition, a larger derivative of this aeroframe was the YF-17, which would later become the largely successful F/A-18 series.

In 1984, Grumman Aviation would use the frame to create the X-29, which was the same fuselage, but fitted with forward swept wings and canards. This was to test high manoeuvring at slow speeds, test G-load tolerance on the pilot, and test improved performance at high speeds. The experiments were very successful, but such a design is inherently unstable, and requires the use of fly-by-wire control just to maintain any sort of control. The second craft was also fitted with a spin recovery parachute. After a very informative and very successful career run, both craft were retired in 1989. Today, the first X-29 is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (near Dayton, Ohio), and the second X-29 is on display at Dryden Flight Research Centre (north of Lancaster, California).