Originally Posted by
UAL T38 Phlyer
Irony: it was being chased by a T-38....
Impressions:
Surprisingly large left rudder input just a few seconds into the takeoff roll.
Canopy seems way too big. Yeah, you don't want the claustrophobia of the T-38, but it seemed overkill. Does it really help vis, or is it to meet a "Same size as an F-16" criteria?
It's a big airplane, and even with a much more efficient turbofan than the J85s, I seriously doubt the flying cost per hour will be equal to---let alone be less than---the Talon.
Narrow-base F-16/F-104 style gear. How wobbly will that be for neophytes?
It looks cool, and I'm sure high-AoA characteristics will be far superior to the 38.
Waiting to see the Northrop entry.
As I recall, the first ones (FY61) were $440k each, and the final ones were $960k.
Would be interesting to see what the larger two seat canopy does for the departure characteristics, it was a problem early on with the F/A-18 B/D before the updated flight control computer software mitigated some of that.
The left rudder inputs aren't a big deal there IMHO, my sense is like the Hornet/SuperHornet, the rudders are tied to NWS so you'll see them deflect with even small inputs to the rudder pedals(NWS). My guess is that the rudder effectiveness at that low of an airspeed is nil. Just my $.02.