Hobby Master 1/72 - Northrop F-5N VF-111 "Sundowners"

Hobby Master 1/72 - Northrop F-5N VF-111 "Sundowners"

General Background

The Northrop F-5 tactical fighter was designed as an extremely maneuverable, supersonic fighter with a high rate of reliability at a low operating cost. The F-5 first flew on July 30, 1959 with the first customer delivery in 1964. The last of more than 2,600 F-5’s was produced in 1989 and about two-thirds of these are still in service with 26 countries more than 4 decades later. The F-5 was manufactured by Northrop Grumman and under license in Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland.

The Aircraft

VFC-111 (Fighter Composite Squadron) was originally VFC-13 and was renamed in November 2006. VFC-111 assumed the name, insignia and callsign “Sundowners” when VF-111 was disestablished as an F-14 squadron. The “Sundowners” are a USN Reserve squadron based at Naval Air Station Key West Florida. It operates 12 of the 41 Northrop F-5N Tiger II aircraft in operation. Their role is that of an adversary to help train pilots in air combat tactics. The F-5N is supposed to see service through to 2015.

Specifications :

Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter – later variants became the F-5 Tiger II
Performance
Engines:	2x General Electric J85s, each producing 4,080 lbs. of thrust with afterburner
Maximum speed:	925 mph
Cruising speed:	575 mph
Range:	1,100 miles
Service ceiling:	50,700 ft.
Dimensions
Wing Span:	25 ft. 10 in
Length:	47 ft. 2 in.
Height:	13 ft. 6 in.
Weight:	20,576 lbs. loaded
Armament:	2 x 20mm cannons, rockets, missiles and 5,500 lbs. of bombs externally