Tour around the Northrop YF-23 - the best fighter jet never built?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2024
- Join me in this walkaround tour of this Northrop YF 23 prototype that was considered for the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter program but lost to the YF-22. This is one of only two ever made and on display at the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton Ohio.
Thumb pic: National Musem of the USAF / Ty Greenlees
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0:00 intro
0:43 starting at the nose. flush ports
1:32 chines
2:02 weapons bay and missiles
2:46 novel air intake
3:46 Pratt and Whitney
4:05 wing design
4:15 GE M61 20mm Gatling gun
4:46 main landing gear
5:18 V tail design
6:12 unique stealth exhaust system
7:08 wing design again
7:58 Grey Ghost
8:04 forward landing gear
8:25 Pratt & Whitney YF119-PW-100 turbofan
8:56 cockpit - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
![[TH] VCT Masters Shanghai Playoffs - Grand Finals // GEN vs TH](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HL-hhLrtctw/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for watching everyone. Several people have commented on the name of PAV-2. Inside the nose landing wheel well, you'll see the name 'SPIDER' printed and this can be seen in numerous photos and videos. Here's a photo from Wikipaedia: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/YF-23_PAV-2_%22Spider%22_Static.jpg
Sad to see the poor girl sitting out in the sun, while the other ship sits in glorious company in Dayton. Has anyone described how the Black Widow name came about? That there are two orange/red danger signs painted on the belly that turned out to look like an hourglass
The plane was in Deadly Skies 3
Video game the plane has one of the coolest designs
The F22 is an incredible bit of kit and it still looks like something 20 years ahead of its time. But the YF23 looks like something aliens left behind. It’s jaw dropping.
The YF-23 actually outperformed the F-22 on various metrics, which many people are unaware of. It was actually faster than the F-22 in supercruise and with afterburners. It had a smaller radar cross-section from all but one direction. The military chose the F-22 because of Lockheed consistency, previous experience with stealth, and because the design was more conservative and traditional. With Northrop's successful but massively over budget B-2 program that experienced cost overruns and time delays, the military opted for the lockheed model.
@@thomasbarrack1384 does yf 23 really had longer range than f22
@@thomasbarrack1384 In addition northrop was going thru some issues in the 80s and any government project is all about how well you pay the politicians. The f22 barely got off the ground the day of testing.
@@thomasbarrack1384 not to me tonight that the USAF had a grudge going way back against Jack Northop, the company founder, due to his original flying wing bomber concept that started back after WWII and the many issues (budget, delays, etc.) so that did not help either.
Add in the fact that the F-23 didn't have thrust vectoring engines and that it fell behind in demonstrations (such as the F-22 early on demonstrating its weapon firing ability from the internal bays whi h the F-23 never actually demonstrated whereas the F-22 did this VERY early on in testing) and with everything combined hurt and eventually ended the chances of Northrop winning the USAF contract.
Personally, while I understand why, at the end. the F-22 was chosen, I personally wish the F-23 would have been chosen as it is still an amazing aircraft and is just BEYOND a beautiful design. I won't take anything away from the F-22 as it too is an AMAZING aircraft and is king of the skies and most likely will be for sometime.
At the very least, China has a cheap dollar store knock off that may soon be flying the skies AND Japan has seemingly taken an interest in the design so much that a future Japaneae craft will most likely resemble one as well.
@@CONSOLETRUTH2 too much to respond to. The delays and cost overruns actually make sense as to why they happened. They build a giant bomber that is more stealthy than even the F-22 raptor, and started designing it earlier. Computing power wasn't enough back in those days to use for figuring out how to manufacture and produce all the parts and equipment. The B-2 was the most advanced, stealthiest, and capable bomber, and possible aircraft the world had ever seen. And they had no one else's work to draw off of. Innovating isn't always timely.
Regarding the f-23, its own designers stated that they went without thrust vectoring because it wasn't needed to achieve desired maneuvering capabilities, the futuristic design of the aircraft in tandem with it's superior thrust to the F-22 made it just as capable if not more. The military has a pattern of favoring Lockheed, some of which is due to the deep state and politicians trying to keep jobs in their states for constituants, and the other was that the F-22 was viewed as a natural progression of the f-15 where the f-23 was futuristic and would be harder to sell to the public. At bottom the f-22 won becsuse of politics and bureaucracy, not solely on it's merit as an ATF
People forget that the competition was for an air superiority fighter and the f-22 with its thrust vectoring was better for that role. In hindsight the YF-23 might have been the better choice for the fighters needed today. But the truth is if it had been an F-23 today there would been videos and people talking about the YF-22 and how it was better and should have been selected. Both these planes are amazing with different strengths and weaknesses and probably both should have been made.
Exactly!
Agreed.. we should add 360 trust vectoring to the YF-23 and build them 😂🇺🇸🦅
Literally the only thing the F-22 had over the yf-23 was politics.
The YF-23 was faster, stealthier, and had greater weapons options.
In an air superiority role in this modern day thrust vectoring means nothing on a stealth jet, if a stealth fighter is in dogfight distance it's made many mistakes to find itself there.
feel like the yf23's higher preference given to stealth would have aged better with what missiles are able to do and the fact that su57 is basically maxxed out on anti stealth tech and j20 is no where near stealthy. im bothered that china realizes stuff could pop off soon and started production on their j35 competitor model even though it lost to j20. kinda feel like were putting all our eggs in 1 basket with f35 but atleast were making them way faster than china can for way cheaper.
especially f16 legacy models that theyre starting to mass produce in india. with a potential fly away cost of 10-15m per f16, it might cost russia more in s400 missiles to shoot one down that it will for the US to make lol
@@ltcuddles685 can’t argue with that 👍
The YF-23 Designed and Silhouette is so far-ahead of it's time that it basically looks like an actual 6th gen on a 5th gen Air Force project of that time.
It still does. I saw the one prototype at the Western Museum of Flight and it's amazing how sleek it looks in real life. It looks stretched and flattened comparted to pictures. Very impressive and futuristic. Also terrible what kind of shape this particular prototype is in. It is just sitting outside off in a far part of the air field.
How great would it have been to see a fleet of F-23s flying off of carriers.
But it was a usaf concept so it would never have flown off of carriers plus the navy already has the f35
@@Ian4bis Sure, this was also well before the F-35s time, even before the Super Hornet. As was the case of the Classic Hornet being developed out of a competition for a USAF aircraft, the production F-23 (or what ever it would have become had it been developed further) could have been a replacement for the Classic Hornets and the Tomcats. But as we know from the F-22, there was just no where near enough money for that to happen with the cost of either of these machines, hence the Super Hornet and now the F-35.
@@omarhossam789 The chief reason for selecting the LM project was that the government was more assured that LM could manage the program. Their faith in NG at the time was quite shakey. The LM project at the time of testing was quite a bit more mature than the NG project.
While I’m not sold on the USAF wanting an aircraft because it would have been an easier conversion for the Navy, the US did look briefly at a version of the Raptor to replace the F-14. The idea was that the Navy could leverage the F-22 program and the USAF could leverage the A-12 program to create a replacement for the F-111. However with the cancellation of the A-12 this never happened. The F-22 proposed for carrier ops was swing wing (obviously with a bunch of other major changes to the platform to make it suitable) and was finally judged to be too difficult and expensive to complete or justify generally due to the projections that this would not provide any advantage over the current fleet that the Navy operated nor lessen the cost burden on the F-22 program (at the time a production Raptor had not even flown and already cost estimates were blown out and procurement numbers were coming down).
Anyway, we know the Navy got Super Hornets and the USAF got naff all Raptors. The Raptors may get upgrades to prolong their service into the future out of the NGAD program however that program looks likely to go in a different direction to current platforms.
@@omarhossam789 That is not true. Either version would've been expensive, but possible, to convert for Naval operation.
@@Ian4bis actually it was also competing for the NATF program concurrently and there were already plans to build a navalized F-23
Love the YF-23. Great video and thank you. I remember carefully following the selection process and when the YF 22 was announced as the winner I was thinking “oh, I wanted the cool looking one!”
Glad you enjoyed it
Me, too.
Ikr? I was just going to make the same comment. ☺️
Its the cooler plane, easily
Me too. I was so disappointed when they selected the “safe” pick. The F22 is pretty awesome but the F23 was something special
Thanks for watching everyone. I made a mistake with the name of the other prototype YF-23. It was actually called the "Black Widow II"
No worries, you did a great job! Thank you, It's one of the best YF23 videos!
Yes, and anyone can view it at the Western Museum of Flight at Zamperini Field in Torrance, California.
Fun fact: The F22 Raptor was once called "The Rapier".
Is that a tipjet Hiller helicopter on the ceiling? And the other ones are what exactly?
Fun Fact: For a short time, the Black Widow II had a red hourglass marking on it's underside, until Northrop management (killjoys that they are) had it removed.
Another Fun Fact: The other nickname of the "Gray Ghost" was "Spider". So you were only kinda wrong.
YF23's diverterless supersonic inlet was truly ahead of its time. It had many engineering characteristics that were superior to a more "conservative" YF22's design.
Agreed. The choice between the YF22 and the Y23 was probably also about conservative vs. innovative, and they probably wanted to avoid the risk of the more innovative stuff having problems and increasing the cost. The F22 already turned out to be pretty expensive, now imagine the F23 having problems with any of the unconventional stuff. Not saying that it would, just that there is always the risk
Yes but just before they selected the winner USSR collapsed, with that USAF lost the only near-pear adversry capable to present any challenge and financing of the program collapsed as well. The best performance options was considered YF-23 with GE engines and the cheapest combination was YF-22 with PW engines. They practically had to select the cheapest YF-22/PW combination still barely saving the program at all. Additionally USAF was forced to reduce the program from initial 700 airframes to 190.
thats just says that both aircraft were truly ahead of its time.
It's a sham, the Air Force knew the YF-23 was the better option but because of politics the F-22 got the nod. Northrop shot themselves in the foot due to controversies involving previous programs like the B-2 that went way over budget. The Pentagon possibly believed this was going to be another fiasco were they over pay for a new fighter.
@@joeclaridy The biggest issue was the YF23 was just a mockup with placeholder electronics/software, while the YF22, although early stage, had a working proof of concept. Military tend to be conservative with their projects, and understandably, they went with a more certain option.
My dad had a professional model of this on his desk for years. He lead a team at Garrett Airesearch that helped design the leading edge flaps for this plane and many others. Miss you dad. 😢
coolest aircraft ever built hands down. can't wait to see the new NGAD and F/A XX and see what similarities it will have to the yf 23
The 23 was way ahead of its time
The chines also avoid creeping waves. This is where radar waves coming in from abeam "stick" to the circular cross section of the fuselage, wrap around it and are then sent back in the direction of the receiver - like doing a 180 on a roundabout. Instead they spill off the fuselage at the chines and away from the radar.
Hi Paul. Such an interesting ( and different) design to other aircraft of that time. I love the curves
Glad you enjoyed it
Such a cool wasted aircraft design. Much better looking than the aircraft that went into production, although F22 Is still a beautiful aircraft. Great video again Paul.
The YF-22 was a weird, oddly proportioned aircraft. That ugly duckling really turned into a swan with the production model though. Weirdly, supposed renders (best guess) of what would have been the F23 show a far less attractive machine than the gorgeous YF-23.
It's not really a "wasted" design. They learned a lot making it and can still incorporate the best features of it in future designs. But I get what you're saying, it's a very cool design. I would say that the only thing cooler looking than the F-22 Raptor is the YF-23.
@@patrickdaly5988where I can find them?
They both should have been put into production. They both are unique and could serve different mission roles. YF23 and 22 compliment each other for the perfect high profile strike mission.
yes not affordable just dont.....i know.
Expensive to build both
Another awesome documentary you have made, Paul.
Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful documentary with us.
3:09. That's pure genius.
it's a fascinating design
Some great video footage and detailed commentary as usual from you Paul about a very impressive aircraft. Amazing design and engineering helping to reduce "radar returns" and "heat signature". There are so many issues to consider in designing a new aircraft. Well done Paul and looking forward to the next aircraft review.
The saddest part is we will never know how good it really was because both YF-23s did less than 60hrs flight time.
Why does that seem so minimal?
Any idea how long they ran the f22, compared to the yf23?
@@elgoog7830 well if you really take into consideration most pilots do about 6-8hrs give or take a week flying so 60 hrs flight time that like maybe 8-9 test flights, probably less since some tests they most likely did extended runs to see how long it could go things like that
@@elgoog7830 Hi I cannot remember how many hours the YF-22 did before winning the contract as I cannot find my book but I think it was similar 60ish hrs. Their was no direct fly-off as popular belief has it.
As a Northrop employee I am biased, but I suspect that F23 would have had less problems in introduction and operation than the F22, and definitely had more room for mission growth. The stealth was much better on the F23.
@@saltyroe3179 you got it right.
Thanks for another great video Paul, looking forward to more.
Glad I got to watch this video. You covered several interesting facts about it, and did a very informative and intelligent review of the YF23! Thank you!
Great stuff. I'm learning so much about aerospace and fighters from your channel. Thank you.
Glad you're enjoying them
My favorite aircraft of all!!!! Thank you so much for that super close up!!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Imagine having those large tail fins and thrust vectoring
thanks for this! This plane was one of the ones I most wanted to see on my Museum visit
An absolute tragedy that this lost to the raptor. Absolutely adore the 22, but god damn the 23 was on another level.
A belated hi to you Paul. I predict ( June 2024) that the to be revealed new air superior fighter for the US Airforce will look very similar to the YF 23. Most would agree that this craft looks absolutely futuristic.
Always good, concise and informative videos. Thank you Paul!
My pleasure!
Seems like perforated titanium plates are a common theme with US stealth jets. Interesting!
Excellent break down and coverage of this fighter. Well done. SIR!
Cheers!
Another great video Paul. Thanks for that!
Thanks Paul, I always loved The Grey Ghost. I remember when the YF-22 and YF-23 first flew and were in completion. Nice to see her up close.
Glad you enjoy it. I'm off to Dayton again later this month for more filming.
Paul great vlog as always
Best Video I've Seen About The Plane. Direct & To The Point Without A-lot Of BS. Performance Notwithstanding, It's Certainly The Best Looking Fighter Ever & Thanks Very Much.
Thanks Paul, another great video of a plane I had no idea existed. Wonderful looking titanium tiles...
Glad you enjoyed it
@@PaulStewartAviation Are those titanium troughs not built with vertical sidewalls? They appear to be very near to 90deg intersections.
So VERY cool, Paul.
Thanx for this one- I've been looking forward to it for some time.
😎👍
My favorite jet design ever. It's just beautiful. Shame they didn't win the contract.
Its so good we should build it today. We missed a great opportunity because half the battle is in the mind of people today and everyone knows this is the shit! Its a work of art.
Paul, another Home Run! This may be one of the most informative vids I have seen on this aircraft (and I have seen A LOT!). I am particularly glad you mentioned the fact that the Japanese are looking into this aircraft for their indigenous fighter, I was going to add that. Many people have said that the YF-23 was actually superior in most ways to the F-22, I lack the expertise to make that determination.
Looks like I'm going to have to plan another trip to the NMUSAF.
One thing of note, during the flight test competition the YF-23 suffered a software "hiccup" and the plane oscillated just above the runway until the pilot forced it down into a hard belly landing. The plane still flew an excellent test profile against the YF-22, just that event probably looked bad. Still a great airplane. I will say we still got a great airplane with the F-22 Raptor though.
That is false. After award, the Air Force and Lockheed conducted further testing with the YF-22 and that is the aircraft that suffered the belly landing. The software hiccup with the YF-23 was during taxi. If you watch early taxi tests, the flight control surfaces are moving as the flight control system reacts to bumps on the runway. The software was updated to eliminate that annoyance.
Everything Jim M said is correct.
Yeah, that was the -22.
That was the YF22 that had that accident. The pilot stated it was his fault.
You are spreading FALSE INFORMATION. The F-22 crashed. Dont come in here trying to sound smart. Youre definitely a Wanna Be.
One of my favorite jets that never made it to production. Great example of form following function
Such a beauty. I mean the Raptor is an aesthetic masterpiece no doubt, but the Widow is something special to me.
Nice work, really enjoyed it and detailed everything very well.
Thank you very much!
It's interesting the YF-23 seemed to be the better design overall. Great video - thank you for the detail. I have loved military planes since I was a little boy, and have been to Dayton several times. However, I've learned more watching your videos than I have anywhere else. Appreciate the detail!
Glad you enjoyed it
Great looking plane. Thanks Paul!
Thanks for a great video on this wonderful machine.
Thanks Paul good video !
One of my favorite jets.
Was the YF-23 recently put on display at the National Air Force Museum? I don’t remember seeing it before! Awesome plane.
Same, it wasnt there in 2014 either
@@jrk098 I was there a few month ago and I don’t remember seeing it. Must just be that stealthy haha
There's one on display at the Western Museum of Flight, at the Torrance, Ca airport.
@@Paul51178Yeah - I see it most times I go to the grocery store - I often can't resist stopping in to say hello!
Same. I went there probably every month for years but haven’t been since 2019 and I don’t remember it
Great video Paul. Great looking aircraft. The shaking like a shopping trolley is called "shimmy" and something you can encounter on small GA aircraft a bit. The Cessna nosewheels are well known for it as they get older.
Or on a certain aircraft that had its launch bar equipment removed because it wouldn’t be operated from a carrier. 😒
Your videos are great and informative. Keep up the good work man!
Up there in the best-never-built aircraft list. Terrific YF-23 video. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video! I remember the flyoff between the two aircraft, and at the time, both looked like spaceships, or something out of an anime.
Paul, the reason for the trough between the engines is to preserve the AREA RULE.
Look at a chart of the area rule for the F22 and F23.....The F22s has a peak in the center, where its belly is.
The F23s is a smooth hill from tail to nose.
Smoother area rule = more efficient drag = better gas milage = larger range.
Another awesome detailed video
Really interesting tour video once again Paul. I'd agree that it really looks like nothing else. Similar space ship-esque look of the XB-70.
Great stuff mate!
I grew up in Cincinnati, just 30 min south of Dayton. I regret never going to this museum.
I am filming there in a week and plan more filming so you can live vicariously through my videos :)
@@PaulStewartAviation thank you 👍
Great video! Your vids never disappoint!
Best video on this airplane that I have seen so far.
It looks sooooooo sick and the military I already know is gonna bring it back
This is just totally awesome
One of the biggest shames in aviation history was that this plane did not go into production.
Amazing engineering. Beautiful aircraft.
Indeed it is!
Thank you Paul 👍👍
Awesome video really enjoyed that cheers👍🙏
Glad you enjoyed it
Excellent video! Thank you for the informative information!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Such a gorgeous jet. NG did a great job on making a sexy functional jet with the YF23.
The race between Lockheed Martin and Northrop to build the F22/23, the fact that only the engineers knew about it and spen years designing and putting it together, but what's more amazing than anything is that this all happened in the early 90's !
The contract mod to add the PAVs....Prototype Air Vehicles....was in late1985/early 1986. The jets flew in 1990 with down-select shortly thereafter
F22 is one one my favourites but the yf23 is just a beautiful aircraft
Amazing movie Paul, as always :-)
Interesting, thanks for sharing
Thanks Paul for another interesting video. I really do reckon that the F22 and YF23 are two absolutely beautiful airframes, and it is a shame that this model is virtually wasted, tho I guess they learnt lots from this sort of prototype. But seriously, the lines on these models are just gorgeous, and packed with tech. Cheers mate.
Thank you. It was always a dream of mine to visit that specific museum just so I can see the YF-23.
Glad you enjoyed it!
That thing had a ceiling of 62,000'??? That is wild!
Goodness at least yours are loaded with facts, TY ! !
Awesome... like something out of a Clint Eastwood movie! 👍✈️
Details in your narration are spot on - thank you for doing the research. Northrop/MD already had a developed configuration for the production F-23A which would have split the weapons bay into two bays, reprofiled the "bread loaves" over the engines to be smaller to reflect the deletion of a thrust reverser requirement, and replaced the boundary-layer plates in the intake with diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) design.
Glad you enjoyed it. I'm off to Dayton later this month for more filming
Yeah, the bay was split into a forward bay for the 2 Sidewinders and an aft main bay carrying 4 AMRAAMs stacked in a 2x2 configuration.
I've always wondered about the change in the type of intake, and have to think that this represented quite a bit of risk that could have been reduced by the demonstration but obviously was not. The F-23 ended up being more different from the YF-23 than the F-22 was different from the YF-22.
Fun and interesting - thank you for doing this!
My pleasure!
This is the most beautiful aircraft to ever fly, bar none. It's tragic that only two ever flew. Northrup should resurrect the design for a future fighter!
Best-looking aircraft ever built, in my opinion.
Love the video god bless from Texas.
Cheers, thanks!
Some of the concept art for the proposed 6th Generation fighters do slightly resemble the YF-23. The Mitsubishi F-X has a very similar layout.
I still can’t help but feel the YF-23 was the better aircraft. Love it!
Beyond maneuvering, thrust vectoring gives the F-22 more efficient cruise and supercruise trim that allows its aerodynamic control surfaces to mostly remain in their stealthiest neutral positions.
The decision was made to save the weight instead on the F-23, which is also a valid option, although it does give up some pitch authority at extremely slow and high (supersonic) speeds, as a consequence.
I was there a long time ago. I forgot how awesome that museum was.
Great vid 👍👍💪💪💞💞🙏🙏 enjoy your weekend
Glad you enjoy it. I'm off to Dayton again later this month for more filming.
im new here, recently ran across your channel and i love it.
when i was a kid i would build scale models of fighter jets amongst other things and this reignited my excitement as an adult. thanks, keep up the great work!!
also, im looking online now for lego and mega block models of these things hahahaha
I remember I used to see this plane outside of the air museum by the Northrop plant in Hawthorne CA, and always wondered “why are they letting it rot?” It’s an awesome looking plane. Thanks for this video because I know now it’s in good hands.
Perfect design
Excellent Narration. Extremely thorough yet efficient description. I wonder if Active Flow Control would ever be considered for this Aircraft. Might make all the difference in the world in terms of Stealth and Maneuverability. Perhaps in a Sixth Generation Model. Superb video.
6:50 The cleavage was probably there to satisfy an aerodynamic design criteria of having a smooth cross sectional area profile. What that means is, if you were to take station-line cuts along the length of the plane, then calculate the area for each slice, then plot that area on a graph as a function of length, that curve should look smooth.
Fair comments
i allways wanted the YF23 to win the contract , it looks amazing , and those 50 degee tailplanes look massive , and how deep is that engine from the back , and mixing cold air into the jet blast !! once again paul thanks !
You might not knew what the YF-23 was until or unless you have played the Ace Combat games. That is how I first got introduced to the fighter jet!
this plane has always been awesome!!!!!
I’ve always wanted to visit this aircraft. I love PAV1/2!
most beautiful
Right On Great video
Love your videos
It would be great to see a fleet of F-23s taking off from an aircraft carrier.
Just imagine what they must be working on right now !!