#SortieSunday #TwoForOne I had to completely create from scratch the YF-17 as none of my production models aren't like it one bit. This absolute pain in my fuckin ass models to do. It took 12 hours for me to construct these and apply hand-made fuselage, wings, both vertical and horizontal stabilizers, logos, liveries, etc. There were two YF-17 Cobra prototypes that flew 288 test flights, totaling 345 hours. It attained a top speed of Mach 1.95, a peak load factor of an impressive 9.4 G's and a maximum altitude of over 50,000 ft.
Later, McDonnell Douglas joins Northrop and came up what is familiar to Americans as the Hornet. Later in 1995, Boeing builds the larger more advanced F/A-18E & F Super Hornet.
This is one of the few prototypes that looks nearly identical to the production model only smaller and less robust landing gear the production Hornets received for carrier ops. Today, most Legacy Hornets are all but retired except in the USMC. Legacy models also played aggressor/adversary roles in it's twilight years. Also included in this thread, is a cool cutaway of the Cobra and better close-ups of my Cobra builds.